Certified Trainer Frankie Alvarado Shares Fitness Tips And The Secrets To A Better Booty - Exclusive Interview
Who doesn't want a nice butt? Besides getting praise from Sir Mix-a-Lot and achieving a hot summer body, a good butt is important — strong glutes can help enhance your posture, decrease your chances of developing injuries, and make daily activities like sitting, standing, lifting heavy items, and using stairs feel easier (via Livestrong). But building a better booty can be challenging if you don't know where to start. We sat down with fitness expert and National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified trainer Frankie Alvarado to get his top fitness tips and secrets to sculpting the best possible booty.
Alvarado has gained rapid popularity on TikTok and now has over 660,000 TikTok followers. He is well known for his videos teaching women how to build a booty and has a notable clientele, including actresses like Sarah Hyland from "Modern Family," GUESS model Estrella Nouri, and fashion model Jessica Nazarenus. Alvarado shared how he motivates his clients and gave us the top five best glute exercises, workout routines you can do at home, tips for how to sculpt the ultimate booty, and more.
Booty building secrets
Can you share a bit about your background and how you got interested in fitness?
Growing up, I played sports my whole life, from 5 years old to graduating high school, so my life always revolved around fitness and trainers for improving sports performance and strength. After I graduated high school, I worked at a gym as a front desk associate and got into fitness by transforming my own physique for a goal I had set myself: to hit 5% body fat. In that journey, I learned a lot! From there, that gym (LA Fitness) asked me to be a trainer, so I took my NASM test to get certified.
You've gained a large following on TikTok and have trained famous clients like actress Sarah Hyland and model Jessica Nazarenus. What's your secret to helping your clients build a better booty?
My secret is very simple, which I preach to all of my clients: Lift three times a week, working your lower body muscles, but most importantly, isolating your glutes three times a week. Don't be afraid to eat a lot of food because that's how the booty grows, [and] keep your protein at body weight. Lastly, stay consistent and progressively overload on your weight.
How long does it take to build up your glute muscles?
As shown in my 12-week booty series, my clients are growing an inch or more every month in that 12-week timeframe. For a full transformation, I guarantee 12 weeks! It all depends on your consistency, and of course, everyone grows at a different pace.
What are three steps to building a better booty that someone can add into their routine right now?
Hit your booty three times a week (isolating your glutes), eat your calories and protein, [and] progressive overload and stay consistent.
The best workout tips
What do you think of the top five best glute exercises?
Single Leg Hip Thrusters (as well as barbell hip thrusters), Donkey Kickbacks, Glute Bridges, Glute Ham Raises, and Kneeling Thrusters.
What are the benefits of weightlifting and cardio? Do you need both in your workout routine to build a booty?
The purpose of the two have a huge difference, [and] a lot of girls today get confused on what they are actually meant for. Weightlifting is to always build muscle, to burn fat, whereas cardio is strictly to burn calories. Therefore, someone who is struggling to gain weight should not have cardio anywhere in their routine, where someone trying to lose weight should implement cardio into their routine to burn calories to help keep themselves in a caloric deficit. You do not need cardio to build a booty — I tell my clients to stay away from it, because my ideal client is looking to gain weight and build a booty.
What's your advice for people who don't have access to a gym but still want a good glute workout?
It can all be done at home the Peachgainz way with just a fabric booty band, ankle straps, and some sort of weights!
What are booty bands, and do they really work?
Yes, booty bands are very effective — they are resistance bands that do just as much work as weights can. Whether you're using weights or a band, it's all resistance. You can use these booty bands for many things. They can add additional resistance to natural movements like squats, lunges, slides, and kicks. But most importantly, they can be used to activate your glutes pre-workout and glute isolation. They are great for targeting your core and lower body.
Dieting isn't the answer
What other booty-enhancing workout products would you recommend?
I recommend having a pair of ankle straps and tube bands, which you will need for a lot of the glute isolation exercises. BFR (blood flow restriction) bands are bands [that] we use to boost muscle strength and endurance. I only recommend these after enough time and experience of weightlifting — I don't have my clients put these on until they've been training with me for a couple months or until I feel they are ready for the challenge.
If you're on a budget, what's the one workout product you should have?
If you're on a budget, your key booty essentials are a fabric booty band and a set of dumbbells.
On TikTok, you often mention that your program isn't about dieting or cutting calories — so what foods do you recommend for booty building? How does eating these foods help transform your body?
The reason I promote this so much is because my niche is helping girls gain weight by building a booty. As a girl who struggles to gain weight, you have a very fast metabolism, so in order for you to gain weight, you must be eating in a caloric surplus — which is tough. I have my clients eat everything and anything with high calories and good protein. All you need to do for your body to transform is to track your calories and protein; you're either in a caloric surplus to gain weight or a caloric deficit to lose weight.
Your booty and lower body muscles growing will transform your physique because of the amount of muscle mass being built. Therefore, a girl who struggles to have an appetite to gain weight can make her life much easier by eating high-calorie meals she enjoys and not trying to eat "super clean" because these cleaner plates carry fewer calories. I also preach it's good to have a balance of both as long as the calories and protein are being reached.
Motivation and accountability
How do you motivate your clients? What words of wisdom would you share with someone who wants a better booty but doesn't know where to start?
The one way I always motivate my clients is by reminding them that the booty is guaranteed in 12 weeks if you stay consistent. The more consistent you are, the sooner the results come — they love to hear that they can see those results faster. Knowing how simple the steps of building a booty are is really what keeps them motivated and turns into a lifestyle.
Can you tell us about your upcoming app "Peachgainz" and how it will help users achieve their fitness goals?
The Peachgainz app will have a 12-week booty program for at home and in the gym, providing you with full nutrition guidance, whether you're wanting to gain or lose weight, and 12 weeks of instructional workout videos. You will have the option to add an online coach to your program as well to help you reach your guaranteed results. We will have a community section in the app for clients to communicate with other fitness buddies [and] ask questions or share motivational tips. Lastly, there will be a subscription [that] includes full nutrition guidance, unlimited exercises for all muscle groups, community, and tracking progress. Everything you will need to build a booty will be in the app, from nutrition to workouts to online coaching.
You can follow Frankie on TikTok and visit Frankie's website for more information about the new Peachgainz app.
This interview was edited for clarity.