Ever look in a magazine or at a billboard and see a stellar set of glutes and hamstrings, wishing for a moment you could make yours look that good and then quickly dismissing the model's derriere as airbrushed anyway? Well, I'm here to tell you, it isn't all trick photography.
The glutes of models and competitors you admire are a product of hard work, determination and consistency. There are four key ingredients required to sculpt the glutes you've always wanted: diet, resistance training, cardio and most importantly, consistency. Please consult your doctor before beginning any exercise or diet program. This article is dedicated to the training aspect of sculpting the ultimate glutes.
» Walking Lunges
Tips: Walking lunges and lots of them! (You can eventually add weight as you become stronger). Hold a dumbbell in each hand and pull your shoulders back. Lift your chest up and look straight ahead. Position your right leg forward in a long stride. Your foot should be far enough in front of you so that when you bend your right knee, your thigh and lower leg form a right angle.
Slowly bend your knees, lowering your hips so your rear knee just clears the floor. Pause briefly in this position, then slowly straighten your legs and raise your body back up to a standing position. Complete a full set, then switch legs and repeat, or alternate legs for each rep. Make sure your knee does NOT travel past your toes in the down position!
Butt Blaster Machine
I love using these at the end of my workouts to really burn my glutes out.
» Wide Squats!
Tips: Works more of the inner thighs. Place a barbell on your upper back. Use a comfortable hand grip. Keep your head up and your back straight with your feet about 30 inches apart. Point your toes and knees a little outwards. Squat until your upper thighs are parallel to the floor. Slowly return to the starting position.
» Single Leg Squats
Tips: Use a 12 to 18 inch box or bench for this exercise. The higher the box, the more difficult the exercise.
Place a barbell behing your head at the base of your neck. Grasp the barbell with both hands with a wider than shoulder width grip. Stand approximately 2 to 3 feet from the box and turn so that the box is directly behind you. Reach one foot back and place your toe on the box. Keep your opposite foot flat on the floor and point your toes forward.
Stand up straight. Keep your back tight and your chest out throughout the entire exercise. Keep your head and neck in line with your torso so that you are looking forward. Your shoulders should be directly over your front foot. Keeping your front foot flat on the floor, sit your hips back (like you are going to sit in a chair), bend your knee (of your front leg), and lean forward slightly at the waist. Lower yourself in a controlled fashion until your thigh (of your front leg) is parallel to the ground. If you have difficulty lowering yourself down this far, lower yourself until the knee of your front leg is bent 90 degrees.
At this point, your knee should be directly over your toe, your hips should be sitting back, and your chest should be directly over the middle of your thigh. Now, leading with your head and chest, raise yourself by pushing your hips slightly forward and up toward the ceiling, and straightening your leg. Return to the starting position. At this point, your shoulders should be directly over front foot.
» Step Ups
Tips: Place a barbell on your shoulders like you would if you were doing Barbell Squats. Step up onto a flat bench with your left leg. Then step up with your right leg so you are now standing on the bench. Step down with your left leg, then your right leg. Repeat, starting with your right leg this time. Be careful not to fall! Use lighter weights. Can also be done with two dumbbells in your hands instead of a barbell.
Deadlifts
Tips: To really kick it up, do these single leg! Put a barbell in front of you on the ground. Standing on a box if needed, grab the dumbbell with a little wider than shoulder width grip. Bend the knees slightly. The position should be shins vertical, hips back and back straight.
Keeping your back completely straight at all times, use your hips to lift the bar. The movement should not be fast but steady and under control. The arms should remain straight. Once you are standing completely straight up, lower the bar by pushing the hips back, only slightly bending the knees, unlike when squatting.
Take a deep breath at the start of the movement and keep your chest up. Hold your breath as you lower and exhale as you complete the movement. Start with light weights to get used to it and be careful!
Lying Hamstring Curls
Tips: Lie face down on a leg-curl machine and hook your heels under the roller pad. Your legs should be stretched out straight so that the pads rest on the back of your ankles. Grasp the handles under the bench for support. Remaining flat on the bench, curl your legs up until your hamstrings are fully contracted.
Release and lower the weight slowly back to the starting position. Concentrate on using a full range of motion and do not SWING the weight up. You can point your toes to intensify the burn in your hamstrings.
Leg Press
Tips: Sitting on a leg press machine, position your feet together against the crosspiece about should-width apart and toes pointed slightly outward. Grasp the handle grips or sides of the seat. Bend your knees and lower the weight as far as possible without changing the position of your hips.
Do not lower the weight so far that your hips start to curl up off the seat! Then slowly push the weight back up using your heels, not your toes. Do not lock your knees at the top, but rather take the weight to just before lock. Then being to lower the weight again SLOWLY. You can change your foot positions to vary the angle on the muscle.
Try it with feet high on the foot pad (you can also add a medicine ball between your knees to add increased adductor involvement).
Glute Kickbacks
Tips: While on the floor on all fours, extend one leg and with the foot cocked to a point that places it in line with the head. Then raise it to a 45-degree angle with the foot elevated above the head. The key to maximum results is to concentrate on contracting the glutes throughout the full range of motion.
***You can add a few of these exercises in during your regular leg workouts. I try to work on these, three at a time, twice per week. Once I get to a satisfactory point, once per week for maintenance. I try to do 3-4 sets of 20 repetitions.
Your glutes and hamstrings are a very large group of muscles and are directly tied into each other. One doesn't usually work without relying on the other. So I naturally train them together. It is so critical to really employ a mind to muscle connection when working the glutes. You need to squeeze HARD at each peak contraction. Your glutes go deep and you need to reach those far removed fibers to really see results.
Don't rely on momentum to get you through an exercise. It's better to lighten the weight first so you'll get more out of the exercise because the only one you'll be cheating is you. Don't be afraid to increase your weights each week.
You want to use a weight heavy enough to make you struggle through those last few reps of each set. You'll just be adding insurance that your glutes are getting a seriously awesome workout. It takes many years of heavy, hard training to build hulking muscles.
Cardio is another key component to sculpting shapely glutes. It is true that you can't choose a specific area on your body and work the fat off just that spot. Muscular definition will come with overall body fat loss. This can be achieved with the help of cardio. |
