TOP GLUTE EXERCISES TO DO AT HOME TO STRENGTHEN THE BOOTY FOR A PAIN FREE BODY

I am a huge fan of at home routines. It’s a great way to keep the body moving when time is limited. While few have home gyms staked with equipment, a simple routine using resistance bands can be very effective to strengthen the body, get your heart rate up and improve your overall health. As you progress your lifts, you may want to transition to heavier weights, but banded work is the perfect way to start out and is also the recommended tool to work through pain and injury in the lower back, knee and hips as a result of weak, inactive or overactive glutes.

Here are my favorite banded glute exercises to support a healthy and mobile body:

Glute Bridges with a Mini Band

By far my favorite exercise to work the glutes in the shortened position in hip extension. Controlling the hips as they move into flexion and extension while keep tension on the band will have those glutes on fire and will ensure you are maintaining the contraction the entire time.

Resistance or Mini Band Squats

This is a great banded exercise to work the glutes in the lengthened position. If you have access to a band with handles or a cross-fit style pull up band you can add some resistance to the exercise as you drive out from the end range. If you have a mini band you can add resistance at the end range (bottom of the squat) by slightly opening up the hips and abducting.

Mini Band Kick Backs

It is important to incorporate unilateral movements into a well-rounded program in order to work through any imbalances. A kick back is a fantastic unilateral exercise to load the glutes in the shortened position and work on strengthen the hips in extension.

Banded Dead Lift

The deadlift is one of the top exercises to train the glutes in the lengthened position. While a challenging exercise to execute at home with limited equipment, there are a couple of ways you can perform the motion using bands. Using a cross fit style pull up band, folded, step on the band and hold the top portion between your feet. This variation will load the glutes as you move out of the end range.

Lying Side Kick Ups

The glutes have several major muscles and when programming a solid glute routine, one should select exercises that target all of them. The lying side kick ups is a great movement to target and load the glute medius and minimus (the upper portion of the glutes).

Seated Abductions

The glutes are responsible for hip extension as well as abduction, a movement that will externally rotate the femur. This is important to note, as the femur works in tandem with the knee, hip and ankle and if our glutes are strong, theoretically we have better control over how our femur moves and ultimately keep the hips, knees and ankles stable as we perform daily activities. Abduction exercises, such as a seated mini band abduction, is one of my favorite at-home exercises to ensure the glutes are strong when rotating the hips. The glute medius and minimus, as well as the piriformis are the dominate muscles controlling this motion. You can load the glutes in this plane by placing a mini band around the quads and pressing laterally to add resistance. You can also perform this in hip extension (in a glute bride), which will target the glute medius, minimus and maximus all at the same time.

The post Top Glute Exercises to Do at Home For a Pain Free Body first appeared on Leigh Taylor Method and is written by Leigh Taylor

Prioritize increasing mechanical tension and progressive overload

To grow the glutes we must continuously increase mechanical tension though playing with load/weight and training volume (number of repetitions per set, lift and/or program and sets per lift/program). By implementing a progressive overload program you will gradually be increasing and tracking the weight used, sets and repetitions completed during your lifts, guaranteeing enough tension on the muscles to grow the booty.

Work towards failure and chase the burn

Metabolic stress is another key component to glute growth. We obtain this by working to failure and set those buns on fire! This means we need to chase that burn and push to a point where our muscles will no longer allow us to successfully perform the exercise (or close to that point). The burn typically means a buildup of lactic acid which along with an anabolic signaling stimulates the muscle to growth.

Eat to grow

Our body needs energy to build. We get our energy through food. Ideally, to see our desired results, we are eating in a surplus with a diet rich in quality proteins to restore, carbs for quick energy and fats for stored energy.

Rest

Muscles need time to repair after we’ve worked them. The best way to give them this time is by resting the muscles worked. Ideally you are giving the glutes a min of 48 hrs to rest before hitting them again.

Be consistent

To build takes time, patience and a methodical approach. Plan to work your glutes 2-3 days per week with training programs that are around 8-10 weeks long. You will modify the program thereafter to account for the increase in strength and endurance.

The post The Glute Guide and The Big 5 : Five Important Steps to Build That Tush first appeared on Leigh Taylor Method and is written by Leigh Taylor