Overview
Your butt, correctly called your gluteus maximus but sometimes
called gluteals or glutes, is the muscle primarily responsible for
extending your legs backward. Your gluteals are the largest and
strongest muscle in your body and are very important for sports
performance and appearance. There are a variety of exercises you can
perform for your glutes.
Stiff Legged Dead Lift
To perform stiff legged dead lifts, grasp a barbell with a
shoulder-width overhand grip and stand with your feet shoulder-width
apart. Keeping your knees slightly bent, but rigid, push your hips
backward and bend forward at the hips until the barbell is below knee
level. Pause in this bottom position before pushing your hips forward
and standing up, contracting your gluteals all the while.
Hip Bridges
Lie on the ground with your legs bent and your feet close to your
butt. Pushing down through your heels, lift your hips and push them up
toward the ceiling. Contract your glutes as hard as possible before
slowly lowering back down to the floor and repeating. You can make this
exercise more challenging for your glutes by holding a weight across
your hips or performing it using one leg at a time.
High Step Ups
Stand facing a sturdy knee-high exercise step. Bending your left
leg, place your left foot on top of the step and step up. Make sure you
push down through your heels to maximize the use of your gluteals. Step
back down with the opposite leg and repeat for the desired number of
repetitions before swapping legs. You can make this exercise more
difficult by holding dumbbells.
Deep Squats
With a barbell across your shoulders, stand with your feet
hip-width apart. Keeping your torso upright and your back tight, push
your hips backward and bend your knees, lowering your butt toward the
floor. Push your hips forward and extend your knees to stand back up.
Dead Lifts From a Deficit
The greater the range of movement at your hips, the more your
gluteals are involved when dead lifting. Using a step for dead lifts
increases this range of movement. Stand with your feet hip-width apart
on a sturdy 4-inch step and bend at the waist to grasp a barbell with a
shoulder-width overhand grip. Keeping your hips lower than your
shoulders and your arms straight, stand up by simultaneously extending
your knees and hips. Push your hips back and bend your knees to return
the barbell to the floor. You can make this exercise harder by using a
wider than shoulder-width grip or a higher step. Make sure that your
back doesn’t round when performing this exercise as you may injure it.
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