Best Butt Exercises

One leg at a time!

People always ask me which exercises are best for building the butt. What I tell them is that some of the best exercises for the backside are exercises that are:

               1) 1-leg dominate(most of the weight

                   is on one leg... ex. lunge)

               2) Require balance(balancing forces

                   the body to activate all segments of the gluteal muscles)

               3) Must be able to push with the

                   heel of the foot

                   (pushing through the heel as opposed to the toe is the

                   best way to activate the gluteal muscles)

Best Exercises:  Lunges (especially 'lunge jumps')

                         Step-ups

                         Bulgarian Split Squats

(If you've never done these types of exercises before start out with 2

sets of 12 repetitions with light weights)

Left Leg Forward

Alternate legs as you jump

Right Leg Forward

Lunge Jumps

The deceleration from landing coupled with the quick acceleration upward places great stress on the gluteal muscles

Bulgarian Split Squats

The further your front leg is out, the greater effect this exercise has on the glutes (1)

Try not to let your knee travel too far over your toe in your front leg (2)

The further down you lunge the greater the effect on the glutes

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2

The higher the bench the more the glutes are affected (1)

Don't bounce when your foot touches the ground. Pause for a moment to make sure you are not 'cheating' (bouncing) ... and then use only your leg muscles to perform perform the next repetition (2)

This negative*/lowering motion of this exercise is the most effective portion of the exercise. Lower yourself slowly and under control to the ground. many women make the mistake of 'dropping' down to the ground, thus bypassing the most important/result producing aspect of this exercise.

    The negative (lowering) portion of any exercise is the most important because muscles are stronger during this phase of any exercise. Focusing on the negative phase will produce greater results. Therefore, you should never let gravity control the exercise (ex. letting a dumbbell 'drop' back down to the starting position, such as many people do in a bicep curl). The weight should always be lowered slowly back to the starting position.

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2

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These are just three of the best exercises for targeting the glutes Next month I will show you three more glute-specific exercises

Step Ups

Figure Competition Coach/Personal Training

Advanced Fat Loss For Women

Buffalo N.Y.

  HardBodyFigure.com