Whilst guys are getting shredded or toned to show off our chests, arms and abs for the ‘summer,’ ladies are mostly concerned with their midsection, legs and their butts.
Hence today’s topic deals with the ‘rear’.
Are you worried there’s more flab than fab back there? Is your trunk just a poor version of what it used to be?
If your gluteus maximus, medius and minimus together known as the ‘glutes’ are not sculpted and lifted the way you want them to be, you’re in luck, I have just the thing for you.
Below are some of the best ‘glutes’ exercises around, guaranteed to sculpt and turn you into a ‘rear beauty’.
Use these wisely, and always find conjunction with healthy nutrition and a diet to suit your goals.
High step ups
You’ve probably seen this exercise done in many group fitness classes.
- Grab a dumbbell – start light to get the technique, then increase by 5 lbs as needed.
- Use a step, or alternatively, you can use a bench, your own stairs at home, or whatever stable surface you can safely stand on.
- Holding the dumbbells at your sides, you lift one leg up and place that foot on the step. Use the heel of that foot to push yourself up until you’re standing straight up, with your other leg off the floor in midair and slightly behind you.
- Go back down (slowly, of course) and repeat for several repetitions. Switch legs and repeat for the same number of repetitions. Gradually progress to a higher platform, preferably one that is just slightly higher than knee height.To increase the challenge, progress to step downs.
Sumo front squats
Doing squats is a tried and true method of building ‘glutes’. It works for both men and women, and has limitless variations to suit your needs. It can also easily be adapted so that you can perform the squat to accommodate your body structure!
- Stand with your feet wider apart than your shoulder width. Keep your head and chest straight when you go down, bending your knees and squatting with your hips back.
- Raise up back to starting position, initiating at the hips and completing the extension at the top of the movement.
The key to this exercise is actively keeping your knees in line with your middle toe – this will not only burn your glutes but also tone up your adductor muscles.
Dumbbell deadlifts
There are two versions of this exercise; straight-leg and bent-knee. Either way, you need a pair of dumbbells. You can go slightly heavier with these than what you’d use with high step-ups.
Straight-leg:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms down and slightly in front of you, around your thighs.
- Bend at the hips until your body is parallel with the floor, keeping the spine neutral. Remember to keep the dumbbells close to you. Raise up and repeat.
Bent-knee:
- With the bent-knee version, you start with the dumbbells on the floor. Squat to grab them, then lift, using your ‘glutes’ to push your body upward until you are standing straight.
- Lower down again and repeat.
Reverse lunges
Lunges, like squats, have several variations to them. The reverse lunge is one of the easier ones that still places a lot of stress on the ‘glutes’.
- Take a dumbbell hold it like a goblet against your chest. Take a long step behind you with your left leg and bend your right knee, until it is at a 90-degree angle.
- Stop just above the floor with your knee, then push off your front heel to return to the starting position and really activate the ‘glutes’.
These are four great exercises to help build, tone, and sculpt your butt. Remember that results take time, and that you’ll have to gradually add more resistance to create a stimulus for growth and shape.
Stay tuned, friends.
If you need help on building muscle or losing fat, shoot me an email: emmersoncampbell@gmail.com
