Building strong glutes or a butt is more than looking good in a tight-fitting pair of jeans or in short shorts. :) I know the men are going to be sad to hear that, BUT (pun intended) the glutes play such a vital role in everyday activities and they can be dramatically underdeveloped. These are the keys to building glutes!
Why your glutes are weak
Do you have any of these body aches or symptoms?
- Low back pain
- Tight Hamstrings
- “Bad” Knees
- Inability to squat correctly
If so, you probably have underdeveloped glutes. Why aren’t your glutes strong?
This usually stems from a few different reasons:
- Sitting for long periods during the day is a major culprit of weak glutes which also will lead to weak abdominal muscles, tight low back, tight quads and hip flexors, and weak hamstrings (Lower Crossed Syndrome).
- Quad dominant exercises like front squats during workouts can also cause glute strength problems.
- Even heels on shoes will change posture and create weak glute and tight backs!
There are exercises you can do to tighten your butt and improve your hip strength.
Building better glutes
How do you build your glutes and your hips? I introduce to you The Hip Hinge!
This may not be anything new to you or it could be completely foreign, either way, listen up because you need to know how to hip hinge correctly in order to maintain healthy hip mobility!
The hip hinge is a great workout to add to your fitness routine if you want a better butt.
A Hinge is described as:
- a movable joint or mechanism on which a door, gate, or lid swings as it opens and closes, or that connects linked objects. (aka legs and torso)
So let me say this first off, A hinge is NOT a squat! Yes the hips flex, Yes the knees flex but NO the ankles do not flex!
In a hinge, you have MAXIMUM hip flexion and MINIMUM knee flexion.
In a squat, you have maximum flexion in the ankles, knees, and the hips.
How to do a perfect hip hinge exercise
You can practice the hip hinge with or without the TRX. Suspension training is a great fitness tool because it provides a total body workout. Learn about all the TRX benefits and why it’s really the best fitness equipment, whether you’re a beginner or advanced.[ttbase_spacer height=”30″]
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To perform the hip hinge:
- Start standing about 1 foot away from the wall
- With a tall spine (hiding the ribs, tucking the tail bone, ears over the shoulders) start to bend at the waist pushing your hips back toward the wall.
- Slightly flex or bend the knees keeping the weight into the mid-foot and heel.
- With the hips touching the wall and the hamstrings and glutes loaded, contract and squeeze the glutes to return to a tall standing position.
- Perform this pattern until you are able to accomplish it with ease.
You can also do a TRX hinge.
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Once you have mastered the Hip Hinge pattern you can increase the resistance of this move with banded pull throughs, deadlifts, or the Hard-style Russian Kettlebell Swing.
This CORE Strong Fitness video shows you many of those exercises in this video, after the TRX hinge prep demonstration, about :20 in.[ttbase_spacer height=”30″]
Performing these exercises in your workouts will help you build stronger glutes which will help you improve your activities of daily living! Plus who doesn’t want a better butt?!:) These exercises are great to tighten your butt! [ttbase_spacer height=”30″]
How will you improve your glute strength?
“The Body Achieves What The Mind Believes”
GO EARN IT!