Hi David,
I run marathons and do 'butt' (leg work) every other day. I found that in order to get the butt you want, you do have to balance your leg workout a little so that you don't overtrain one side and undertrain another. So this is what I usually do:
- start out with the leg press machine.
- move on over to the incline leg press (the one you load weights on to)
- usually after those two exercises I'm good to go for a few sets of squats. I use the regular squat rack; I hate the Smith Machine for squats.
- after this I do what really hits your butt - the multi hip machine. Not many gyms have this anymore, but you stand up on the platform, and the cam & pad move 360 degrees - meaning you can set it just high enough that you put your leg up on it, and kick back. If you do it right, you kick back in a natural motion, squeeze your butt, keep your abs tight (stand up straight too) and you'll be a hurtin unit the next day. Six sets are good to work up to.
- also a lot of people don't do these anymore, but I do: I do alternating sets on the leg curl and leg extension.
- one little known detail for a great ass: inner and outer thigh (abductor and adductor machines). Most guys for some reason won't go near the 'girls machines' but if you do these regularly you will add shape to the sides of your rear - that dimple - just give it six months of training and you'll know what I'm talking about.
The walking lunges are great also, but be careful of your knees, know your limits and start out SLOW. The other good machine is the glute/hamstring raise where you lean over into the machine and use your body weight to lift yourself up, squeezing your butt and hamstrings. Hope this helps, this should give you enough exercises to add some variety and get a good base going. I want to hear a report back by June to see how it's going!!