Are you struggling to improve the shape of your bum? No matter how many squats you do, how many reps you perform on the leg press you just can’t seem to achieve the shape and firmness you’d like? This was such a common problem I encountered when a female client would start with me, they all wanted to improve the shape of their Glutes. Since they started their training with me they have lifted and shaped their bums more than they could have ever imagined. As you can see…..
So how did they manage to achieve building such impressive Glutes?
They followed these 5 tips that I’m about to share with you.
1) They Didn’t Focus on Squats
Squats are a great exercise, particularly for reshaping your thighs but the glutes? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong squats are an awesome exercise and should be part of your plan, they do work the glutes but not as much as you might think. When squeezing your glutes what way do your hips travel? Forwards right? When performing a squat you are pushing the weight upwards, not forwards, meaning that your glutes don’t have to fully contract to push the weight and hips forward. The two best exercises to focus on are the Barbell Hip Thrust and Barbell Glute Bridges. These two exercises alone will lift your glutes more than ever before.
2) They Didn’t Shy Away From Lifting Heavy
If you want to build an impressive pair of glutes you’re going to need to lift heavy. Many women shy away from lifting heavy as they fear it will make them look “bulky” or “mannish”, this couldn’t be further from the truth. I ensure every one of my clients lift heavy weights (with good form) most sessions. You’re stronger than you think you are, your muscles can lift heavier than you think they can, to change your body shape you need to lift to your full capabilities.
3) They Trained Their Glutes More Than Once Per Week
To lift your bum as much as possible you must train it more than once per week. Women can recover more quickly than guys so take advantage of this by training your glutes more frequently. Volume and frequency are important when it comes to improving a body part, I recommend training your glutes 3 times per week to see an awesome change whilst receiving plenty of recovery.
4) They Were Prescribed A Variety of Exercises
Variety is key when it comes to developing any muscle and the glutes are no exception. Like I stated earlier a lot of people believe squats and deadlifts alone are effective enough to grow their glutes but these exercises don’t cover all of the glutes mechanics. Our glutes aren’t only responsible for squatting up and down or driving the hips back and forward in a hip thrust motion. They’re also responsible for lifting your legs out to the side with a cable abduction or extending your hips through a back extension. You need to train your bum from every angle possible to develop the glutes as best as you can.
5) They Shocked Their Glutes with Different Rep Ranges
Okay, you can’t exactly “shock" your muscles but you do need to vary your rep ranges. I use to struggle with developing my legs on a whole but once I started performing 25-30 reps in some exercises, damn did they grow. Starting with low reps and a heavy weight at the start of the session and then finishing up with high volume and supersets is a great way to ensure you lift your bum. Performing high reps drives blood into the glutes which cause swelling of the cells in the muscle, this helps towards greater development.
*Bonus Tip
When performing exercises to target your glutes ensure you are contracting the muscle and not just going through the motions of the exercise. It’s very easy to just go through the motions and moving the weight from point A to B. To firm up and shape your bum you must concentrate on contracting and squeezing the glutes. If you struggle to contract your glutes in exercises try spending time away from the gym just squeezing your bum as hard as you can, releasing it and then squeezing again to help you build a better connection and contraction.
And there you have it, my top 5 tips for lifting your bum.
If you’d like to receive amazing results just like my clients above then here are some ways in which I can help you.
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