Some of your biggest muscles can be found in your legs. Doing exercises that target your legs, especially your thighs and glutes, has a number of benefits, including improved athletic performance and lowered risk of heart disease and diabetes. Having a more sculpted and lifted butt is also one goal many people report having when going to the gym. We asked sports performance and fitness specialist Denise Cervantes and fitness trainer Samantha Parker how to use glute isolation exercises to grow your booty and get a stronger lower body.
“The glutes are the foundational movers for standing and sitting out of a chair. They help keep you upright while walking and are very big muscles that help with all basic moves. For athletes, glutes help with jumping and being explosive, powerful, and strong in many sports.” Cervantes says. Parker shared with us her four favorite exercises she recommends to her clients.
Bridging: Lay on your back feet flat on floor, hip distance apart. Push through heels, lifting with glutes and hold for 30 seconds. Return to floor repeat.
Clams: Lay on your side, with bottoms of feet and butt against a wall. knees stacked, keeping insides of feet together, lift top leg up and hold for 30 secs. Repeat 4 times then switch sides.
Leg Lifts: Laying on your side with your body making a V (butt towards the back of the mat, head and feet at the corners) stack legs on top of each other. Lift top leg not going past a 45 degree angle. Hold for 30 seconds. Lower. Repeat 4 times, change sides.
Fire Hydrants: On hands and knees, keeping leg at a 90 degree angle, lift leg so the inside of the leg is parallel (as much as possible) to the floor being mindful of keeping pelvis as level to the floor. (Try not to allow the hip to roll out) These can be very challenging so hold for 10 seconds. Return to start, repeat 5 times. Work your way up to hold for 30 seconds.
Additionally, there are some lifestyle changes you can make that will help you build your glute muscles, and your muscles in general. The first thing to think about is your posture and movement. “Pay attention to how you walk, and when you start to step out clench/squeeze the glute of the leg you are stepping forward with,” Parker says, “Many of us have tight hamstrings from our sedentary lives which forces us to use our quadriceps more when walking. (There is no such thing as a tight muscle). The stronger the quads are, the less our glutes are forced to activate.” Keeping good posture is also important. When sitting, make a point to draw your belly button to your spine and hold. “This will help to position the pelvis that supports our low back, and engage the abdominals and muscles in the back that support the spine. In the beginning you may get fatigued which is common. It just means you just need to do it more frequently.” When it comes to your diet, eating enough protein is crucial for building muscle—the recommended amount for adult females is 40-60 grams per day. All of these things can help improve your muscle mass and grow your glutes.
