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Mastering the Art of Growing Your Glutes

Growing Your Glutes – the Guide…

Today I’ve got a great guest article from Jim at GarageGymBuilder.com. Jim has written a great piece on glute training – it’s thorough and practical, so you can get to work on it today! It’s the ultimate guide to growing your glutes!

For the last few years there’s been more and more people focussing on glute training, so why not to it properly with this guide?!

growing your glutes, strength building strategies, thighway to hell, train movements, not muscles

So without further ado, here’s Jim’s guide to growing your glutes…

Introduction

We hardly ever see it, but that doesn’t stop us from obsessing over it. We constantly worry that it’s too flat, too fat, too droopy, too jelly-like or just too non-existent. Yes, we are living in a world that is butt crazy.

Yet with all the focus on creating the ultimate butt look, most people lose sight of the fact that the muscles that constitute your behind – the glutes – are the largest and strongest in your entire body. They are not just there to make you look hot. They are extremely functional. A strong butt is, in fact, the key to a strong body.

In this article, we focus in on how to make your glutes bigger and stronger. This is the ultimate guide to growing your glutes…

Meet Your Butt

In order to maximally train the muscles of the butt, we must first come to an understanding of what muscles are involved and how they work.

The Latin term for the butt is the gluteals. Within the gluteals group are three muscles:

  • Gluteus Maximus
  • Gluteus Minimus
  • Gluteus Medialis

These three muscles are responsible for the following actions:

  • Concentric contraction (muscle shortening)
  • Hip extension
  • Lateral hip rotation
  • Hip abduction (moving leg away from venter of body)
  • Posterior tilting of the pelvis

The Glutes and Body Alignment

As well as being your body’ power base, the glutes are the key to your body’s entire alignment. When you glutes are weak you are bound to have all sorts of mechanical movements problems. Weak glutes often result in pain in the knees. Moreover, people with weak glutes will invariably perform such exercises as squats, causing them to round their back with resultant lower back pain.

Your glutes, however, don’t work in isolation. They are a part of what is known as your posterior chain. The posterior chain starts at the ankle and runs up through the calves, into the hamstrings, through the gluteus maximus and medius, then into the erector spinae muscles of the lower back, the latissimus dorsi and the trapezius.

These Glutes Are Made For Walking

The glute muscles thrive on movement. Repetitive everyday activities such as walking, sitting and standing, picking things off the floor and climbing the stairs, all directly involve the glutes. They are also pivotal to nearly all athletic movements.

Throwing, striking, jumping, running and cutting are all glute dependent. In addition to high speed and power sports, the glutes are primary to success in Power and Olympic lifting. Acceleration of the barbell is very much reliant on the actions of your butt muscles.

The Body Weight Butt Workout

Many people fail to properly activate their glutes. By learning to fire your glutes, you’ll be able to recruit them as your power source when you’re doing other movement patterns, such as squatting, lifting, throwing and running.

Glute Activation Circuit

Do 15 reps on each movement, going from one to the next without any rest. Once you’ve done all 4 moves, rest for 60 seconds and then repeat.

Exercise Name:

Glute Bridge

Muscles Involved Primary: Glutes Secondary: Hamstrings

Execution method

(1) Lie face up on the floor with your arms at your sides and knees bent. Plant your heels strongly on the ground.

(2) Press from your heels to push your hips high up into the air. Keep your shoulder blades down on the floor. Exhale as you come up, contracting your glutes as you do so.

(3) Lower to the floor and repeat.

Exercise Name:

Lean Back

Muscles Involved Primary: Glutes Secondary: Quadriceps

Execution method:

(1) Sit on a mat or some padding. Sit up on your knees. Position your hands by your sides.

(2) Keeping your calves parallel, lean back as far as comfortable, while you feel you can control the motion.

(3) Squeeze back upwards, engaging from the quads and glutes.

Exercise Name:

Split Squat

Muscles Involved Primary: Glutes Secondary: Hamstrings

Execution method:

(1) Assume a staggered standing squat position with one leg forward and a little bit to the side. Focus all of your weight on the front leg.

(2) Keeping your back arched, squat down bringing your hands to come down over the front leg. Don’t let the front knee go over the toe.

(3) Squeeze straight up and out of the squat.

Exercise Name:

Toe Hold Sumo Squat

Muscles Involved Primary: Hamstrings Secondary: Glutes

Execution method:

(1)  Stand with your feet about six inches wider than normal and then drop down into a parallel squat.

(2) Maintain a neutral spine as a grab your toes

(3)  Come up out of the squat while contracting your glutes to straighten out your arms – repeat.

 Body Weight Circuit

The following Circuit will allow you to focus on your glutes, while also working every other major body part. In addition, the circuit is aerobic, meaning that you will churn through the calories as you’re doing it.

Perform each exercises for 30 seconds, then move directly to the next one. Don’t rest until you’ve done all 8 exercises. Then give yourself exactly two minutes before you do the whole thing again. Work up to 4 circuits for a totally ass-kicking experience.

Exercise #1: Skipping – 60 seconds

Exercise #2: Belt Kick Squats

Muscles Involved: Lower abdominals

Execution method:

(1) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hands on hips.

(2) Squat down to a parallel position, being sure to keep your knees tracking over your toes.

(3) As you come out of the squat, kick your right leg high into the air. One the next rep, kick with your left leg.

Exercise #3: Push Ups

Position yourself on the floor with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width. Push through the chest to raise to a fully extended arm position. Look straight ahead rather than down. Now steadily lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle. Keep your glutes contracted throughout

Exercise #4: Mountain Climbers

Lie face down on the floor resting on your forearms and with your legs out straight. Now, starting with your right leg, bring your knee up to your elbow and then kick it back to the start position. Alternate legs in a quick, rhythmic motion. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your glutes contracted.

Exercise #5: Bulgarian Split Squat

Muscles Involved Primary: Glutes / Thigh Secondary: Core

Execution method:

(1) Stand about a meter in front of bench. Reach one foot back to rest on the bench.

(2) Place your hands on your hips, then lower down to bring  the rear knee to the floor.

(3) Contract the glutes and push through the quads to come back up.

Exercise #6: Glute Bridge

(1)   Sit straight legged on an exercise mat

(2) Lie back, bringing your feet to the floor, bending your knees and drawing them up to your glutes

(3) Push through your heels, raising your hips off the floor so that a straight line runs from your upper back through your knee.

(4) Return to beginning position.

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 15 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3. Progressively increase the resistance.

Exercise #7: Burpees with Deep Knee Squat

Muscles Involved Primary: Lower abdominals Secondary: Thighs

Execution method:

(1)    Get into a full squat position with your palms on the ground in front of you.

(2)    Thrust your legs back into a push-up position. Perform a push up.

(3)    Jump back to the starting position and jump high into the air.

Exercise #8: Skipping – 60 seconds

Glute Gym Exercises

Your glutes are muscles and, just like any other muscles, they respond best to resistance training. Training with weights will allow you to shape, mold, sculpt and perfect your butt. Having built a foundation on body weight moves, you’re now ready to work those buns into submission.

We’re about to show you 5 key glute focused moves. Even though it’s butt-centric, you’ll be working the entire lower body with these routines. Do this routine twice per week, ideally with a three gap between sessions to allow for total recovery.

THE WORKOUT

Goblet Full Squat

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and your toes pointing slightly outwards
  2. Hold a dumbbell by one end at chest level. Keep your back arched and look up
  3. Drop down into a full, deep squat. Make sure that your trunk is kept upright. In the bottom position your hips should be below your knees
  4. Push up through the heels as you come out of the squat.

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 15 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3. Progressively increase the resistance.

Barbell Romanian Deadlift

  1.   Hold onto to a barbell with a symmetrical, palms down grip and the bar at arm’s length. You should have a shoulder width stance.
  2.   Sit back and bend over at the hips. Your core should be stable and you should feel the stretch in your hamstrings
  3.   Return back to the start position, squeezing your glutes tightly in the top position

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 10 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3. Progressively increase the resistance.

Kettlebell Swings

  1.   Stand in front of a kettlebell. Bend at the hips to grab hold of the kettlebell. Keep your chest up and feel the stretch through your upper back (lats) and hamstrings
  2.   Forcefully push the kettlebell back between your legs, then contract your hips and reverse the motion to push it forwards. The push should come from the glutes.
  3.   Keep your arms straight throughout the movement. They should not do the lifting – this should happen as a result of momentum
  4.   Keep your back arched and chest up as you complete the required number of reps

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 15 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3. Progressively increase the resistance.

Bodyweight Hip Thrusts

  1.   Sit with your back up against a bench and you feet on the floor
  2.   Lift your shoulders onto the bench by pushing through the heels. This will have the effect of raising your hips and working your glutes. Squeeze them tight during the movement
  3.   In the top position, your thighs should be at 90 degrees to the floor.

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 15 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3.

Barbell Glute Bridge

  1.   Sit straight legged on an exercise mat with a loaded barbell resting on your pelvis
  2.   Lie back, bringing your feet to the floor, bending your knees and drawing them up to your glutes
  3.   Take hold of the bar to balance it
  4.   Push through your heels, raising your hips off the floor so that a straight line runs from your upper back through your knees
  5.   Return to beginning position

Sets & Reps: Perform one set of 15 reps for the first 2 workouts, working up to three sets by the end of Week 3. Progressively increase the resistance.

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned everything you’ll ever need to build a butt to be proud of. The key to success, of course, is consistency. By sticking with a butt centric workout twice per week, you’ll be steadily advancing on a rear end to envy.

So, get out there and kick butt – your own! Growing your glutes will be easier than ever with this guide!

By the way, if you subscribe to the Hoyles Fitness mailing list you’ll receive a free eBook containing 101 Health and Fitness Tips, plus offers and news exclusive to Hoyles Fitness subscribers. Click the image below to download…
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HoylesFitness

Owner of www.hoylesfitness.com. Personal Trainer, Father and fitness copy writer. Working hard making the world fitter and healthier!

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