A big question I often receive on social media is "how do I grow my glutes?"
Of course, everyone thinks I'm going to push my online training to you but the truth is, I'm not. I could care less about making more money as long as I'm spreading more knowledge. I like to leave it up to YOU to make the decision on if you want my guidance or not, but reading this is enough support for me!
Over this next month (January '23), I am going to walk you through my favorite ways to build the glutes. We are going to go over each region of the glute over the first three weeks and then talk eating to grow your glutes in the final week.
So let's get into it:
LIFT, EAT, REST, REPEAT. Simply put.
But what do I mean?
Well the first thing we need to understand is the anatomy of the glutes. It is made up of three main sections: glute medius, glute maximus, and glute minimus.
So in everyday terms: upper glute (medius), outer glute (minimus), and what we think of as THE glutes (the big part that makes up most of what we see, maximus). Now, they all serve various purposes in our daily lives and in working out.
Before we fully dive into it, remember that muscle grows through progessive overload. This could mean adding weight every set until you reach failure at a certain given rep range or adjusting to higher volume to place more stress on the muscle at a lower weight (this is very useful if you feel stuck at a certain weight and need to break through a plateau).
First, the Glute Medius A.K.A The Upper Glute
One of the first exercises that pops into my mind for the glute med is floor glute bridges. It can be done with a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, or even just bodyweight for beginners to get a grasp of the exercise. I like to implement these with either iso-holds at the top for a 2-5 count or by adding slow eccentrics (the lengthening portion of the exercise).
The next exercise that comes to mind is the rounded back 45 degree hyperextension. I like to implement these with a 2 second hold at the top to get proper contraction and really key in on the mind-muscle connection. These can be weighted using either body weight, barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells and I personally prefer to use dumbbells or barbells (if available). Superset these with glute bridges or hip thrusts or just use it as the following exercise and feel the glutes light up!!!
The final exercise that comes to mind is the cable kickback. I like to implement these into programming later in the workout as it is more of an isolation exercise so it's less taxing on the muscle. For these, make sure the core is nice and tight with a slight hip hinge to keep tension out of the low back and more into the upper glute. Keep a slight bend in the planted leg and as you go back you want to externally rotate the foot and make sure to squeeze the upper glute.
This week we hit three exercises to target the glute medius (upper glute). Next week we will focus on the glute minimus (mainly seen in the outer glute) and continue your path to building the peach of the year in 2023!
All Love,
Suave