Fav Hobby Sport

STRENGTH
training

Glutes are my Fav muscle to train

But first lets prep. Here are a few "must have" tools that I love to bring in my gym bag that will set us up for 🍑perfect peach success (glute building) success and can help you too.

Resistence Bands

Resistance bands are the ideal tool for warming glutes due to their versatility and effectiveness. By incorporating resistance bands into your pre-workout routine, you effectively activate and engage the glute min, med and max muscles. Just like we prepare our food before eating it, we should always prep our working muscles before exercising them at high intensity.

Bar pad

Investing in your own bar pad and bringing it along with you the gym is a no brainer for several reasons:

Enhanced Comfort
(No heavy bars digging into your hips)
Extended Workout Sessions
(Due to extra comfort)
Injury prevention
(Cushioning provide protection to sensitive areas)
Versatility
(Bar pads are suitable for various exercises)
Gym Hygiene
It's not possible to guarantee the cleanliness of the gym and its equipment, but using your own bar pad creates a personal barrier between your skin and shared equipment, promoting better hygiene during your workout

Water Bottle and Towel

Working out can get gruesome. I don't think I could ever work out without a water bottle, shaker... something to drink out of. I mean, walking back and forth to the fountain is helpful to get your steps in, I guess. But we are here to make every minute count, people! You have to keep a bottle in your gym bag at all times. Trust me, the day you forget one is the day you'll ensure you never forget one again. Also, the gym can be a sweaty gross place. You have other peoples' sweat, your sweat and all the germs everyone spreads. Bring 2 towels. I like to use one over the backrest of any machine and the other to soak up my sweat. What is anything without a good playlist running in the background for motivation? You cant forget your music!

Here are my ULTIMATE Glute Exercises

Hip Thrust & Why I ❤️ Them!

You can do these with or without weights in your warm-up
Target emphasis leans more towards overall and upper glute
Targeting the glute max, glute med (the side of your butt) and hamstrings
The movement pattern HAMMERS your glutes!
Targets the majority of your butt muscle
Can be performed with a resistance band, dumbbell, or barbell, using the Smith machine, or even under the pad of the leg extension machine! (This is my go-to for days I'm in a time crunch, and it's actually really effective!)

Squats/Lunges

You can do these with or without weights in your warm-up or working set
Target emphasis leans more towards overall glute, lower glute and quads
But This is targeting the glute min and quads mostly
Involves several assister muscles to keep your balance - even abs!
Can be performed several ways too - with a resistance band, dumbbells, or barbell, using the Smith machine
Remember, when you use machines, you remove including your balance muscles. However, you are usually able to increase the load/weight

Hip Hinge

I do this one without added weight like she does
Great exercise to include in a superset!
This can even be done in reverse at home over a couch. If you do the reverse, instead of lefting your chest with your glutes, you are bent over the back or side of the couch, lifting your legs with your glutes
Target emphasis is on the lower glute and hamstrings for this one!
FYI: do not keep your back flat. Really. Curve your back slightly like you are hunching over a it. Feel and notice how your glutes engage!

Abduction

This is all about lateral movement!
Mostly emphasizes the upper glutes by targeting the gluteus medius. (This is the "shelf") This muscle is often neglected. make sure to show it some love in order to achieve a full round 🍑Peachy glute 😉
You can do Abduction movements with the laying leg raise to warm up
Instead of the original front step up, you can you can step on a block that is placed by your side, steping up on the block to the side
My fav, time efficient exercise to taret my glute medius is simple but effective. The abduction machine like in the video above
Tip: To target your toosh better, while doing it seated, slide forward on the seat and hinge forwrd at the hip while keeping your shoulders back and back straight.

Did you know?

Exercise 1

Thrusts

Refer to video in "ULTIMATE Glute Exercises" section
Weighted Version:
Sit with your mid-lower shoulders against the bench
Keeping head forward and legs at 90°, thrust the weight upward
Pause at top and count to two while squeezing your glutes for that 2 second count at the top
This can be preformed without weight, with a resistance band or dumbbell

Exercise 2

Squat or Lunge

Reference the video in "ULTIMATE Glute Exercises section for smith machine lunges or below for a squick "butt" effective squat variation

Standing with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, keep your shoulders back, abs tight and back straight
Hold a duumbell below your chin, lower to slightly below paralell to the ground
Focus on sighting back into the squat and not hunching forward
Driving through your heels, come back up to the top
Once standing up, repeat the movement

Exercise 3

Glute Focussed Hyper Extension or Reverse hyper extension

⬆️I re-used the video from above because it is simply the perfect video demonstration⬆️
With your feet pressed into the footpad of the back extension machine, ensure the pad is adjusted so it hits just at the hips. You should be able to hinge forward at the hips without anything in the way of your movement
Angle your feet outwards at a 45°
Instead of keeping your back straight, round over slightly and tuck your chin.
Raise your body, hinging at the hips, squeezing your bum, until you get back to starting position
When you reach starting position, your back should still be slightly rounded and chin remains tucked
Repeat!

Exercise 4

Abduction

Seated/Standing abductor machine.. if seated at the abductor machine, scoot your bum forward on the seat, hinge forward at the hips reaching for and placing your hands at the sides of the machine
If standing, stand and hold onto the machine while keeping your shoulders back and back straight
Maintain shoulders back and a neutral spine
Move the weight focussing on bringing your *knees* apart, not your legs.
Repeat