Booty

The health benefits that go hand in hand with having strong glutes and some foundational exercises to aid in building that strength.

Let’s talk booty.

Asses have gotten a lot of hype in the last few years and I’d like to say as a collective we are absolutely thrilled about it…

Your glutes are the strongest and most powerful muscle group in your body. The glutes are a group of three muscles; your gluteus maximus (the biggest), gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus.

Your glutes help stabilize the pelvis and movement in the hip joint. Strong glutes mean that your lower back doesn’t have to bear the full force of your day to day motion, and considering 80 % of Americans suffer from low back pain, this is in everyone’s best interest.

The posterior chain, as often referenced by fitness trainers, refers to the structures at the back of your legs and spine. The main muscles are your calves, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, latissimus dorsi (the broadest muscles in your back), and the erector spinae muscles. These muscles are especially important in powerful movements that allow you to take up space such as running and jumping. It is certain that a focus on strengthening these muscles will decrease your chances of injury even just from day to day life.

Some exercises to help strengthen these muscles:

Weighted Squats

Hold your dumbbells at your shoulders, you can always opt to use one dumbbell, bring your feet slightly wider than hip width distance.

Drive your hips back bending at your knees and ankles as you reach a squat position with your chin and your chest lifted. Drive through your heels as you extend your legs and come back to a standing position with your glutes and hamstrings engaged.

Curtsy Lunges

Stand with your feet hip width apart in parallel. Draw a semicircle with your foot that is stepping back until it crosses behind your supporting foot.

Lunge down deeply hovering your back knee off the floor. Drive through your front heel, slowly return to standing position and repeat on the other side.

Deadlifts

Start standing with your feet parallel in hip width position. Draw your shoulder blades together, start to hinge from your hips and let your dumbbells trace down along your thighs.

Stop about halfway down and drive through your glutes and hamstrings to stand as your straighten your legs.

Glute Bridges

*optional single leg glute bridges as a more advanced option

Plant your feet parallel hip width apart and drive through your heels as you squeeze your glutes and activate your hamstrings.