How Your Genetics Shapes Your Glutes - What’s Your Bum Shape?
There are 5 common shapes of bums, Heart Shaped, Square, Round, V-Shaped and A-Shaped; which one you have is determined by:
The shape of your pelvic bones
Your fat distribution, which is often hormonal, and
Where your glute muscles attach to your pelvic bones.
This article is here to help you only as a generalised guide to identify where you lie on the glute shape scale and why.
With social media bombarding us with perfect bums every second of the day it’s easy to get caught up in a loop of self loathing, wishing you had the glutes those girls do.
Truth is you need to learn to love your bootie and work with what you have and stop trying to have someone else’s.
Let’s dig in…..
Basically your skeleton and hormones will decide what shape glutes you have. You can’t change it but you can build, lift and sculpt your glutes to improve their overall appearance by building muscle and losing or adding fat.
Your pelvic anatomy is an important factor for determining which exercises you should prioritise and how you should approach those exercises.
Let’s begin by looking at the anatomy of the female pelvic girdle.
Your pelvis and hips are made up of five main bones:
the Ilium, Pubis, Ischium, Sacrum and Coccyx.
On the side of the pelvis are the:
Acetabulum (hip socket)
and the Femur, which encompass the Femoral Head (ball),
Femoral Neck,
Greater Trochanter and Thigh bone.
How Skeletal Anatomy Shapes Your Glutes
Your skeleton is the one thing we cannot change and the shape of your body and muscles is underpinned by this simple fact.
So the glute shape you have is the one you have to work with, we can build muscle and loose or add fat but that’s it.
So don’t get hung up on what you can’t change and focus on what you can change - body composition, building muscle, eating well, keeping a healthy mind and lifestyle.
I cover all these in The Strong Girl Guide Which you can download free here.
These factors will have a bigger impact on how you look rather than your genetics.
So how do all these bones and joints interact to create the 5 different bum shapes?
There are many combinations of the following factors:
A - the size and width of the ilium,
B - the length and angle of the femoral neck,
C - the vertical distance between the ilium and greater trochanter,
D - the size of the greater trochanter
And the distance between the Ilium and Hip socket which can create the appearance of hip dips (image below).
Image copyright Bret Contreras
Image copyright Bret ContrerasLet’s look at the 5 bum shapes and what factors come together to create different bum shapes.
The Heart Shape Bum
This heart or pear-shaped booty is the most desired shape. it’s the classic big booty, slim waist look.
It is characterised by medium/narrow ilium bones, long femoral necks, and pronounced greater trochanters,
It is also due to the fat distribution around the lower section of your butt and lower portion of your thighs that gives you this shape.
Do you have a Heart Shaped Bum?
Then you’ll definitely want to read this article on how to grow your heart shaped bum and stop your bum from sagging!
The Round Shape Bum
Aka The Bubble Butt.
Characterised by wide ilium bones, long femoral necks, pronounced greater trochanters, outward curves and a shorter distance between the ilium and hip socket meaning little to no hip dips.
Your fat is mainly located on your butt cheeks and not your hips or thighs.
The Square Shape Bum
Characterised by wide ilium bones, long femoral necks, pronounced greater trochanters, pronounced inward curves and a longer distance between the Ilium and hip socket meaning a likely hood of hip dips.
Fat distribution is mainly around the love handles, further emphasising the square shape.
Got Square Glutes? Then check out this post on how to turn your square glutes into a rounder, peachier bum.
The A Shape Bum
Characterised by narrow ilium bones, long femoral necks, and large greater trochanters.
Fat distribution tends to sit on the outer thighs and hips so they appear to widen at the base.
Largely similar to the heart shaped bum
The V Shape Bum
Characterised by wide ilium
bones, short femoral necks, and small greater trochanters.
Common in women with lower oestrogen levels, particularly older women.
Your fat gets to store in your upper glute and midsection.
Commonly linked with the ‘saggy’ bum look due to a lack of muscular volume in the lower glutes.
One last factor to consider is the degree of your sacral slope and the distance between your sacrum and femurs
Sacral Slope
Someone with a more horizontal sacrum and a greater horizontal distance from the sacrum to the femurs will have larger and rounder looking glutes.
Someone who has a more vertical sacrum and a shorter horizontal distance from the sacrum to the femurs will appear to have flatter and smaller glutes regardless of muscle size.
Image copyright Bret Contreras
Remember all bums are beautiful.
These are generalisations to classify shapes on a large scale.
Your bum may not fit any of these categories well, and thats totally fine.
There are an infinite range of shapes and sizes that are totally unique to you.
What this post was intended to do is to help you identify roughly where you lie on the scale, why you may have the shape you do so you can stop tearing your self up about not having a bum like someone else and then you can go forward to learn what exercises may suite your anatomy best in terms of growing you glutes.
Remember, you can change the shape and appearance of your glutes by adding muscle and by adjusting your body fat levels up or down depending on your goal.
No doubt you found yourself on my blog for one reason - YOU WANT A BETTER BUM RIGHT?
Then before you go why not get in touch and see exactly how I can help you get the glutes of your dreams.
I can guarantee the results if you do the work.
Go ahead and book a call to chat with me on Zoom and see how Online Coaching will work for you.
Hi, I’m Aaron Schiavone, owner of Mind Muscle Personal Training. Over the past 6+ years I have helped women increase their self confidence, improve their relationship with food, improve their health, become stronger, fitter and happier.