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Glutes Super Feature (Part 6)

November 24, 2009

Click here for part 5 (from part 5 you can get to part 1-4)

Squat, Lunge, and Stiff Leg Dead lift form for the glutes- I would assume anyone who is reading this has a general idea how to do a squat, lunge and stiff leg dead lift. However, if you are using these exercises to target your glutes them your form should change slightly to accommodate the glutes.

Squatting for the glutes- Squatting for the glutes is pretty much the same as regular squatting with one major change, range of motion. Squatting is the best exercise for overall leg development hands down. The depth that you squat at though determines what parts of your legs will develop more or less. Most people squat to parallel or just below parallel while this is great for thigh and hamstrings not the best range of motion for the old glutes. The top portion of a squat from standing down to just above parallel places the most stress on the quads, from just above parallel to about half way down to the floor places the most stress on the hamstrings, and finally from half way down to the floor all the way down places the most emphasis on the old glutes. To effectively hit the glutes, you want to do more of an Olympic type squat in terms of depth. This is where the squats vary in how they are executed though. Unlike an Olympic type squat where your feet are a little closer together, you want to take a wider than shoulder width stance and squat down all the way butt to the floor. For most people do to flexibility issues its more like placing your butt on your calves.

Regular Squat �
� Depth for a Glute Squat

From this position you only want to squat back up to parallel and then all the way back down. Essentially what you will be doing is half squats from the bottom up. You also really really want to concentrate on squeezing the glutes throughout this movement. These are tough and do to the fact that your glutes and hams never loose tension on them; you won’t be able to use your normal squat weight. By squatting this way you turn a traditional squat into a glute and ham squat.

Lunges for the glutes-Lunges are a great exercise for the glutes…if done correctly. The problem is most people do not lunge effectively enough to really hammer the glutes. People will do some lunges and feel it in their glutes and think they are really working their glutes. There is a difference between feeling something in your glutes and hammering your glutes!!! Lunging is a unilateral movement and any type of unilateral movement like lunging, single leg squatting, or any type of single leg movement that requires balance you will feel in your glutes because they help control unilateral leg balance. A tradition lunge hits the quads, hamstrings, and glutes to a degree. To emphasize the glutes more when lunging, you want to lengthen your stride and lower your depth. The shorter a stride is in the lunge position the more it hits the quads, the longer the stride the more it shifts to the hamstrings and glutes. Depth is another issue with the traditional lunge. The deeper you go down with a single leg the more the glute has to activate for balance. With walking lunges your depth is only going to be so deep this is why it actually is not the best exercise for hammering the glutes. Yes they work the glutes but do not hammer the glutes. A better option would be long stride lunges off of a box, for better depth.

Long Stride Box Lunges

A second better alternative would be the single leg Bulgarian Squat.

Dumbbell Bulgarian Squats

Stiff Leg Dead lifts for the glutes- Stiff legs are another exercise that is an okay glute shaper when performed for the glutes. The stiff leg is a traditional hamstring killer with some glutes thrown in. To change this into a more glute activated exercise you do a couple of small things. The main thing you want to do is turn the Stiff Leg Dead into more of a traditional Romainian Dead with a twist. The first thing you want to learn to do when you bend over is try and keep the bar as close to your body as possible almost like rolling it down your legs. This is the part that makes the movement more like a Romainian than a Stiff Leg, because Stiff Legs are usually a little further away from the body. The next thing you do is place a couple of small plates under the front of your toes. By placing a couple of plates under the front of your toes you force the glutes to work more when you bend over by placing the weight over your heels. With the toes raised, you only have to move down slightly past the knees to achieve a great stretch. You can do these with barbells dumbbells or the smith machine.

Coming up some advanced exercises for the Glutes!!!

You can find more helpful articles like this one at Taylorednutrition.tripod.com

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Glutes SuperFeature (Part 5)

November 21, 2009

Click here for part 1

Click here for part 2

Click here for part 3

Click here for part 4

Improving the connection to your Glutes- So now that we are getting a little in touch with our backsides how do you make them better. What exercises should you be doing to improve your backside? The one thing we have learned is not all bums are created equal so the exercises we all do for our backsides should not be equal either. Most people think that they can do some squats, lunges, and stiff leg dead lifts and things will take care of themselves. While some people can make some decent progress with these exercises most people do not. The two main reasons are most people do not do them correctly for targeting the glutes and secondly they may not the best exercises depending on your glute type. In exercises like squats, lunges, and stiff leg deads the body compensates for weak under-active glutes by over-using supportive muscle groups like the hamstrings and lower back. Overtime the overworked muscles become tight and more susceptible to pain and or injury.

Getting your glutes to fire properly-
The glutes don’t fire properly when the hip flexors are overactive or tight. This can happen due to poor flexibility or prolonged sitting. When the hip flexors don’t work properly, its antagonist (mainly the gluteus maximus) becomes weak. This is known as reciprocal inhibition (when muscles on one side of a joint become tight or overactive, it shuts down the muscles on the other side of the joint). When a prime mover (such as the gluteus maximus) becomes weak, other muscles (synergists) take over the function that the prime mover should be doing. Some other injuries that occur because of inactive glutes are hamstring pulls, knee ACL tears and low back injuries.

Testing Hip Flexor and Glute Strength-
Here is a test to measure your Hip Flexor and Glute strength:

You will need one tennis ball and any flat wall that you can lean against.

Stand up against a wall with your back and butt touching it.
Take the tennis ball and place it on one of your upper thighs
Lift your leg as high as possible trapping the tennis ball between your upper thigh and lower abdominal area.
While standing straight with your back and butt on the wall, try holding the tennis ball between you thigh and abs for between 20 seconds to 1 minute.
Once you finish or the ball drops repeat with the other leg.

You should be able to hold the ball for a minimum of 20 seconds. If you drop your leg below 90* before the minimum 20 seconds your glutes are not firing properly. If you feel more of the strain in your lower back, hamstrings, hips, and or get cramps in the various places then again your glutes will need some work because these areas are overcompensating for some of the work. . The longer you hold the ball the more you should feel the glutes flex as they start to tire.

Stretches for the Glutes-
You must possess adequate hip flexor flexibility in order to open up the hips and maximally activate the glutes. Furthermore, you must be able to control your own bodyweight and learn how to contract the glutes properly before you begin adding weight. Three great stretches for the glutes are the hip flexor stretch, the single leg glute bridge and the squatting glute stretch.

The Hip Flexor Stretch-
1.      Kneel down with your back straight.
2.      Step forward with your left foot while keeping your right knee on the floor. Put your hands on top of your left thigh.
3.      Slide your back leg behind you until you feel the stretch in the front of the hip. To intensify the leg stretches, push your hip forward, straighten your body, and put your hands on your front knee. Hold for 10-12 seconds and then change sides. Do 5 to 10 reps on each side.

The Single Leg Glute Bridge-

Lie on your back with your right knee bent and your left leg extended. Rest your arms on the floor, palms up, at shoulder level with your hips about 2 inches off the floor
Raise your hips to form a straight line from your shoulders to your left foot
Hold for 2 counts, then return to start. That’s 1 rep. Do 10 to 15 reps on each side. To make it harder, cross your arms over your chest.

Squatting Glute Stretch-

Place hands up against the wall at shoulder height and shoulder width apart.
Cross one leg over, placing it on the opposite top thigh.
Begin to shift back, as if you’re sitting. Place your body weight into your glutes, letting your arms extend and reach.
Push back up to a upright position and repeat the motion.

I recommend at least 2 rounds starting with your tighter side. Repeat 1-3 sets of 5-10 reps for each side (both legs equal 1 set).

Up next…how to change your Squat, Lunge and Stiff Leg Deadlift to better suit your glutes!!! You can find more helpful articles like this one at Taylorednutrition.tripod.com

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