Increasing the size of your thighs and rear end can be achieved with resistance training. Using free weights helps increase hypertrophy, or muscle growth, in your legs and glutes since your muscles work to stabilize the weight throughout an entire range of motion. Having larger, muscular legs can increase strength and improve performance in anaerobic activities like sprinting, which require short, intense bursts of activity.
Anatomy
Your butt, or gluteus maximus muscles, contains two muscle heads, the lower and upper fibers. The glutes are recruited when you extend your hips or turn your pelvis or thigh outward. Your thighs consist of the quadriceps, hamstrings and hip adductors. The quadriceps muscles span the front of your thighs and contain four heads. These muscles are activated when you flex your hip or extend your knee. The hamstring muscles run along the back of your thigh and consist of four separate muscle heads. Rotating your knee inward or outward or flexing the knee recruits the hamstrings muscles. The hip adductors are found along the inner thigh, consisting of three heads. The muscles are involved while flexing, rotating or extending the hips.
Barbell Squats
Barbell squats work the hamstrings, glutes and quadriceps muscles. The exercise also hits the calves and lower back. Step up to a racked barbell, positioning the bar along your shoulders, below the neck. Grasp the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width and push with your legs, lifting the bar off the rack. Take one step back and adopt a shoulder-width stance. Keeping your back straight and head up, slowly bend at the knees. Move down until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor. Extend your knees, pushing the floor with your heels until your body is fully extended. Do four sets of 10 repetitions to develop muscle mass in your thighs and rear end. Rest for one minute between sets.
Barbell Lunges
Doing barbell lunges can add mass to your glutes, quadriceps and hamstrings muscles. Step under a bar on a squat rack, grasping the bar with a grip slightly wider than shoulder width. Push down through the legs, lifting the bar. Take one step back. Step forward with your left leg, making sure your torso is upright. Avoid allowing your knee to go over your toes as this can lead to increased stress on the knee joint. Push the heel of your left foot on the floor, returning to the starting position. Perform four sets of 10 repetitions to increase muscle size in your upper legs. Rest for one minute between sets.
Tips
Before starting a weightlifting regimen to increase muscle mass in your thighs and glutes consult a physician. Perform each movement with a spotter to reduce the risk of injury and maintain proper exercise form.
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