Hi, am 25 m ; have started gymming since the last 5 months or so; I wanna tone up my butt and thats why I do barbell squats and lunges regularly. But lately I am feeling that although my glutes are getting gradually and desirably pronounced, they are also sagging a bit....can someone please suggest how to pull the glutes up so that they dont look to be sagging...should I increase the number of reps or add more weight? Also am having problems with adding mass on my back (like upper back and portions closer to the neck). Someone please help out, buddies. I would really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,
Aron.

split squats. walking lunges. i do 3 x 12 usually, but i mix it up a bit and do a high rep day. like 2 x 50.
as far as your upper back is concerned. start with assisted (if you need it) pull ups, then wide lat pulldowns (thumbs up, not under). dont forget upright rows and shrugs.

m

Thanks for the reply. I am trying out split squats and side lunges.

I got one more quick question - I guess as far as size is concerned my gluteal muscles are ok, but i just wanna grow a little bit more and then focus on toning - thats why i am doing heavy wt. squats for 1 day with just 2 sets of 4-5 reps, and for the rest 3 days i am going back to small wt. squats and lunges with 3 sets of 15 reps each...do you think this is the right way to go? Any suggestions and advice would be more than welcome...

Also, after a while it becomes kinda boring to do the same exercises over again...can you suggest any new squat/lunge form thats effective in toning?

thanks,
Aron.

As far as building muscle goes, you need to do 4 sets of 6 to 8 reps. I would do this twice a week. Then go ahead and mix it up with a high rep day every once in a while. lets see... there are squats, bench squats, barbell front squats, walking lunges, stationary front lunges, side lunges, bosu lunges, back lunges. split sqats and of course the "butt blaster" if your gym has one. For toning you will need to do 3 sets with higher reps, like 12 or 15. or, like i said before you can go for 2 sets of 50. When i get closer to show time ( I am a figure competitor) I go for really high rep step-ups on a high bench. I usually do 2 sets of 100 on each leg. also jump overs (you start with both feet on a bench and step down onto one side with one foot then jump over the bench, switching feet and continue. high reps with this one too... like 50 or 100.
but if you do the hypertrophy work outs (4 sets, 6-8 reps) for a couple months i guarantee you'll see a difference in size. also, make sure you are consuming enough protien to support muscle tissue growth. about 1 gram per pound of body weight.

hope this helps.

michelle