I thought I'd do a post on the all important glutes! My favorite body part to work is glutes/legs, I train legs twice a week, and focus a lot on glutes. Here are a few of my favorite exercises and tips to building a bigger behind.
1) SQUATS
Yup, we all know this one too well. I love squats, I really do..is that wrong?
When you squat, form is everything. Here's my tips on really targeting those glutes!
- Depth, squat depth is everything, if you're not going deep enough you're not activating glutes, more quads. Big quads are good, but to really hit glutes you need to be going parallel and below. That's why before I squat, I usually do some bodyweight squats to stretch out my muscles, so I'm a little more flexible when I eventually squat.
- Think about what you're doing..can you really feel the burn? Don't rush through every set, think to yourself yay I did squats and move on. You should be able to feel it. SQUEEZE the muscle as you contract it, really focus on hitting that muscle every time you squat.
- Weight, Of course it's important to get form right before you go adding lots of weights. But, I frequently get asked why a person is not seeing progress when they're using minimal weights/performing bodyweight squats for high reps. You need to put your muscles under stress, tension and complete contraction = growth.
- Push through the heels, now.. you may not really think about this. But try it! when you squat, think about pushing through your heels, feel the burn? Yup. Doing it right.
- Superset with an isolation movement! This is called pre-exhaust training..and well, It's exhausting. Between sets why not add an isolation movement? target that huge muscle from another angle! maybe try a single leg exercise? such as Bulgarian split squats/lunges or something a little smaller like using the hip abductor machine (in reverse) or donkey kicks using the smiths machine.
- Don't lean too far forward when you squat, this is also more incorporating the quads rather than the glutes. This can also be solved by doing a little stretching before you start. It's effectively, sitting back a little when you squat, not going over on the knees, and maintaining a more upright posture.
2) DEADLIFTS
What I like to call squats main accomplice in fighting a flat ass. Like batman and robin they fight crime. ha ha ha. (I amuse myself)
- Make sure your spine is in the neutral position, your chest is facing forward and you're shoulders not rounded. Form is everything with the deadlift. I've had bad experiences with the deadlift. We have a love hate relationship, but at the end of they day, I need the deadlift in my life.
- SQUEEEEEZE through the glutes. Activate them muscles, it makes a difference.
- Try variations, The sumo deadlift for instance is great! I find it a lot less pressure on my lower back. You could also try performing the deadlift on a platform, so you're elevated slightly off the floor and the barbell is below you, creating a larger range of motion, pretty awesome variation.
3) LEG PRESS
- The leg press is often performed incorrectly, you'll see plenty of people going real heavy on it but half assing the movement. (ass pun there btw) Form over weights! if it's too heavy for you to do the movement properly then lift a little lighter, get the complete contraction in. Your knees should be bent at a 90 degree angle, and you should reallllly feel the burn. They kill me.
- Try variations. having your feet at the upper part of the platform focuses more on the glutes and hamstrings. Feet lower down activates the quads more. Sometimes I like to do variations as pretty much a superset. A wider stance will activate the glutes, a more narrow stance the legs.
- Single leg leg press! I believe in variation..as you can tell. Single leg press hits different muscles, hitting different areas of the glutes is key in my opinion to a fully rounded behind.
4) ISOLATION EXERCISES
E.G - Hip thrusts, Glute bridges, Donkey kicks on the smiths machine, Hip abductor machine performed in reverse.
- Big compound movements should be your primary exercise, but isolation movements are also a key ingredient in an amazing behind. Add these into your workout and you'll really see a real difference. With these kinds of exercises I usually go for very slow contraction and tightly squeezing the glutes.
5) LUNGES
- Lunges are important as they target a different area (the gluteus medius) Now, to get a fully rounded babe-a-licious butt we want to be targeting all the different muscles. So when people say, which are better...squats or lunges? I'd say they target different areas and both are necessary in achieving the perfect butt.
- Keep your entire foot on the floor during the lunge, don't rest mainly on the balls of your feet, the exercise should be balanced and controlled. Make sure your knees are pointed straight ahead, and don't go over on our knee, it should be at a 90 degree angle.
- Try deficit to activate the glutes! Try reverse lunges from a platform, this will activate the glutes and hamstrings. I also love walking lunges, try going for 14 strides x4. You can use dumbells or a barbell for these exercises, whichever you find more comfortable.
Other exercises I do: bulgarian split squats, step ups (squeezing through the hamstrings) Good mornings, Curtsy lunges.
Extra info..
Frequency - I hit legs twice a week, this is definitely enough in my opinion. If you're hitting legs almost everyday you're wasting your time. Your muscles need a chance to repair and grow between sessions, don't throw away your hard work by over training.
Nutrition - Just as important..if not more than you're training, Eat a balanced diet, lean proteins, good carbs, healthy fats, fruit and veg. For muscles to grow your body needs nutrients. Fuel your workouts and feed your muscles. To perform optimally and stimulate a quick recovery nutrition is key. A heavy leg day for me means more carbs, especially pre and post workout. The legs are a HUGE muscle, when we work legs we burn a lot of calories and but a large strain on our cardiovascular system. EAT.
Water - everyone be like, water this water that. But water is actually VITAL in muscle gain. Studies have proven that when your muscles are dehydrated, muscle synthesis is decreased, and muscle breakdown is increased. Your muscles NEED water to carry out vital processes. In addition to this, a dehydrated lifter is a lifter who is not going to perform at their best. So keep topping up.
Workouts - Play around with movements, see what works for you, My advice is to mainly use big compound movements as they strengthen your body as a whole, they build your core and reap so many benefits in building legs/glutes, Then add some isolation movements to really target specific areas.
Example :
-Barbell Squats (10x5)
-Leg press (legs placed top of platform) 10x4 SS with 8 kettlbell squats with pulse.
-Deadlifts (10x4)
-Donkey kicks on the smiths machine (8x4/leg)
-Walking lunges (12x4)
-Barbell reverse lunges (8x4/leg)
-Barbell hip thrusts (could be performed with a plate to take pressure off the hips) - 10x4
This was really helpful, thank you. I'm reading through like all of your posts now, you're such an inspiration. Can I ask how much time did it take you to get here from being skinny?
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