Scrunch butt leggings... People either love them or hate them. Nonetheless, with searches increasing yearly for "scrunch leggings", and tips going viral on social media platforms with advice on how make sure your glutes pop no matter what leggings you wear, it's clear that we all want to highlight our glute gains more than ever.
The scrunch legging serves a purpose, and serve indeed. The scrunch detail is designed purely to accentuate your glutes, and we’re not shying away from that with our designs. Hitting back squat and hip thrust PBs weekly with confidence is a worthy cause for showing off your assets, and butt scrunch leggings certainly know how to make your glutes pop.
But it’s not just a one-size-fits-all; you can find butt scrunches that are subtle or standout. In this article, we’ll explain what exactly scrunch butt leggings are, what underwear to wear with them, and the differences between our bum scrunch designs including the soon-to-be released Lift Seamless 2.0.
What Are Scrunch Butt Leggings?
Butt scrunch leggings are leggings that typically use an elastic detail between the cheeks to create a ‘scrunch’ effect that "helps define the natural curve of your glutes", says Laura Browne, Senior Womenswear Designer at Gymshark.
They can range from really obvious bum scrunches to discreet ones that subtly highlight your glutes without being too stand-out. If you’ve been around for a while, you'll know about our Whitney Leggings - featuring a flattering, low-key scrunch you may never have guessed was there.
Types Of Scrunch Leggings
There are two different types of butt scrunch we feature in our leggings:
Visible - This type of scrunch is constructed by stitching a seam into the elastic on the bum of the leggings to cause a scrunching effect. This is the more obvious style of butt scrunch legging which is great if you want that extra definition, or like the trendy ruched bum look.
Hidden - A subtle butt scrunch built-in to the inside of the leggings so that from the outside you can't even tell it's there. This subtle scrunching works its magic from the inside, and leggings with this style of scrunch are perfect for those who want a more low-key lift.
Looking for the perfect fit? Our leggings guide breaks down everything you need to know—waistbands, fabrics, thickness, and leg lengths—so you can find leggings that fit just right.
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Our Best Scrunch Butt Leggings
We’ve got a good idea of what you like in your leggings, and at this point, scrunch butt leggings are our forte. Whether you’re after a minimal or pronounced bum scrunch design, we're confident you'll find your perfect pair below:
Gymshark x Bratz Leggings
Interval Leggings
Lift Seamless Leggings
Our Lift Seamless Leggings are the leggings for enhancing your glutes. Rather than a traditional ruched-scrunch that can often sit on top of your glutes, these leggings feature a long elastic scrunch detail that provides proper glute separation for a fully lifted look. With a soft-touch feel and high compression that feels "just right" (not too tight), Lift Seamless offers a squat proof*, supportive and sculpting fit, with details that gently lift and shape (like a wide rib knit waistband), making them perfect for heavy leg days.
Depending on your glute shape or height, we know that a scrunch seam and under glute contouring can sometimes sit too high: with the scrunch landing on the lower back, and the contour not necessarily sitting where our Designers imagined. If that’s the case, we'd like to introduce you to Lift Seamless 2.0: designed for those who want glute separation and lift, but might not have got on with other butt-scrunch leggings.
*We'd recommend wearing nude underwear with lighter shades of Lift Seamless as they can become sheer due to their colourways.
Differences Between Lift Seamless 1.0 and 2.0:
"Following feedback from our community, we've really re-thought the textures of Lift Seamless 2.0: where they sit, and how they contour the glutes", says Isla Gilbertson, Design Manager at Gymshark.
We caught up with Isla more to understand the key differences between the two leggings:
Contouring Placement
"Lift Seamless 2.0 has lower-placed under-glute shaping, fixing fit issues where contouring (for some), may have sat too high across the glutes, despite repositioning the fabric. We've also added extra contouring to the quads and back of the thighs for additional compression, to highlight your muscles even further."
Waistband Style
"Lift Seamless 2.0 has a brand new waistband! It still sits flat to your waist, but we've curved the seams to the front, and fully re-shaped the back, creating a deep v-seam to help accentuate the shape of your glutes even further."
Scrunch Thickness
"We've created a thinner, more refined scrunch for Lift Seamless 2.0, enhancing glute separation and lift even more. Because of the deep v-seam waistband to the back of the legging, the scrunch now sits slightly lower too."
Waist Height
"Lift Seamless 2.0 will be available in a mid-rise waistband, sitting just below the belly button, unlike Lift Seamless 1.0 that offers more coverage with a high-waist."
When To Choose Lift Seamless 2.0:
Butt Scrunches Previously Haven't Worked For You: Ever had a pair of leggings where the scrunch sat too high, or sat on top of your glutes, rather than in between? Try Lift Seamless 2.0...
If You Want A Mid-Rise Legging: Enough said. It's the trend of the season.
Adapt Animal x Whitney Leggings
If you never shy away from bright colors and bold patterns, you can be sure that the striking design of the Adapt Animal x Whitney Leggings will have you feeling your best during your next workout. They feature subtle-animal based print designs with a stand-out bum scrunch that sits perfectly between the glutes.
With a thicker, more compressive fabric than other collections, these leggings are great for workouts that require more coverage, like a big leg day sesh, especially since they’re enhanced with sweat-wicking tech to keep you comfy as you push to your limits. High-waisted and supportive, go the full mile and pair them with our matching sports bra for the cutest workout ‘fit.
Gymshark x Bratz Leggings
Gymshark x Bratz is our latest squat proof collection that features a butt-scrunch: designed for you to lift heavy with minimal distractions. Sleek silhouettes (with a lot of attitude) are at the heart of this collection, and the Gymshark x Bratz Leggings are no exception: featuring a comfy ruched bum scrunch for serious glute-lifting support.
With a 4-way stretch fabric that moves with you (while staying put), it's one of our slightly thicker leggings, making it perfect for colder climates, and gym sessions that will put a lot of weight through the barbell. The waistband isn't going anywhere either, with a flattering dipped design to accentuate your physique.
Interval Seamless Legging
Talk about a butt scrunch! Our Interval Seamless Leggings are the choice for those of you who like a very obvious glute exaggeration. With a ruched scrunch lined down the centre of the glutes, these leggings add something a little bit extra to a regular training legging.
They feature a high-rise fit for added comfort and support as you move, a wide waistband, and subtle contouring under the glutes for added shaping. Thick, and supportive, wear these leggings for lifting, running, pilates or whatever the day calls for.
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How to Put On A Pair of Scrunch Butt Leggings
Ensure Your Butt Scrunch And Glute Contour Sits In The Right Place...
Not every pair of leggings has a butt scrunch (or additional glute contouring). And because of that, we know not everyone will know the tricks to making sure your glute-defining leggings fit (and sit) correctly. That's why - with the upcoming launch of Lift Seamless 2.0 - we caught up with Senior Stylist, Brona Cooley to get all the juicy deets on how she preps and advises the girls to get into our butt scrunch leggings and ensure all the details sit in the right place (giving us some secret tips along the way).
Gently pull your leggings over your thighs, working evenly on both sides. You'll want to avoid grabbing only from the waistband to pull everything into place. Instead, smooth the fabric upward from the ankles - working your way slowly up the leg.
Pull the waistband up, ensuring that it sits evenly all the way around.
If your legging also has glute contouring, this is designed to create lift and shape with minimal adjustment: once the leggings are fully on, the contour panels should naturally align beneath and around the glutes.
If you find that the contouring is above or too far below your glutes, make only minor adjustments, tweaking the fabric so the contour follows the natural curve of your glutes: sitting just beneath the fullest part.
Lightly settle the centre seam/scrunch into the natural crease. Avoid forcing the butt-scrunch upward too much as this will distort the contour under the glutes, causing it to move upward and cut in too high.
Stand naturally and check that:
The contour lines are symmetrical.
The shelf contour sits just beneath the fullest part of the glutes, not above.
There are no wrinkles around the hips or thighs.
The waistband is level.
And if you don't have a pair of butt scrunch leggings, but want to see what all the fuss is about... try our little scrunch-butt hack below:
Put on your favorite high-waisted leggings or biker shorts and begin hitching the material up from around your thighs to around your waist and glutes so that you have more material at the top of the legging. You can pull the excess material with a few wiggles in between your glutes so that the material sinks in, separating and defining the glutes.
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Summer's calling and it might be time to swap out the leggings for your favorite shorts, but you can still achieve the same glute definition with our seamless shorts, so take a look at our gym short picks for your next leg day.
Questions About Scrunch Butt Leggings
Are scrunch butt leggings comfortable?
A question we hear a lot is whether butt scrunch leggings are comfortable or not. Given, the scrunch design may look uncomfortable, but our scrunch leggings have been designed with practicality in mind, and tested for comfort and functionality while exercising in our test trials. All our leggings pass the comfort check, let’s make that clear. Our butt scrunches are designed to be as non-invasive as possible, and with the high-stretch fabrics we use for our leggings, the combination creates a sculpting and comfortable fit.
What underwear to wear with butt scrunch leggings?
As far as what underwear to wear with gym leggings goes, our recco’s don’t change for leggings with a butt scrunch. Always opt for a seamless thong or brief under your leggings if you don’t want the outline of your underwear showing through. Our seamless underwear offers second-skin comfort and supports you during your toughest workouts. Wearing underwear will not minimize the effectiveness of the scrunch, but some may prefer wearing a thong with butt scrunch leggings to get the most seamless enhancement.
Do Gymshark Lift Seamless Leggings run small?
Don’t be fooled by their shrunken ‘droopy’ appearance, our Lift Seamless leggings do run true to size. They may look like they run small but this is the nature of seamless garments that are designed to stretch out and sculpt the body. We’d always recommend taking your usual size unless you prefer a less tight fit.
Our Lift, Adapt, Gains, and Flex collections have a compressive fit around the waistband so you might want to size up for comfort!
What better than a cute crop top or matching bra to wear with your leggings to show off your glutes and let the butt scrunch do the talking?...
