The Best Kettlebell Full Body Workout Routine for Beginners
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In fact, I can’t say I’ve come across anyone who was unhappy with a firmer, lifted backside.
However, while having “the butt” is indeed a major plus of working out, truly activating your glutes during your workouts is not only a faster, more efficient way to sculpt your bum, but is also essential in preventing pain and injuries.
You might be thinking, “Well, I squat during my workouts – aren’t I activating my glutes?”
The truth is, most people fail to activate their glutes correctly, if at all.
Mostly this occurs due to excessive sitting and inactivity, which lengthens and loosens the muscles along our posterior chain (your backside).
When these muscles become lax, so does our ability to maintain good posture. The hip flexors tighten, pulling our upper body and shoulders forward. In turn, this sets us up for a nasty blend of low back and neck pain, and possibly even sciatica pain due to pitched nerves around the hips and glutes.
Not only that, but a weak bum can also set us up for injuries in the gym and on the field.
You see, most of our power to perform any movement comes from the posterior chain – the muscles running all along the backside of the body.
The glutes in particular are a huge muscle group in this region. They propel us forward, help us stop, make our jumps higher, and also aid us in picking things up off the floor.
In addition, studies have even shown that strengthening weak muscles in the hip and glute region can help improve leg and knee pain in runners (1).
So what exactly is glute activation, if not just performing glute exercises?
You see, glute activation is different from just performing lower body exercises. Even though you’re doing squats and bridges, if you’re unaccustomed to “turning on” or using your glutes correctly, you’ll unconsciously place stress and tension on surrounding muscles, like those in the legs and low back.
The goal with glute activation exercises is to train the glutes to fire throughout all of your lower body exercises, so the muscles become stronger and act as a support system for your core and legs.
We can get this level of activation with one of my favorite pieces of equipment, combined with specialized exercises.
The one piece of inexpensive equipment you’ll need for these exercises is a mini band. I know, they don’t look like much, but trust me: you’ll change your mind when you feel the burn!
These unassuming bands will take your squats, bridges, and other exercises to the next level by keeping all three major muscles in your bum – the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus – firing at once.
Now that you’re pumped and ready to get a strong, tight butt, let’s get into the best glute activation exercises out there.
Perform these exercises 2 to 3 times per week by either adding them to your lower body workout routine or making them a workout on their own, i.e. active recovery.
Another popular way to use these is during a glute activation warm up as a way to get your glutes firing properly before your lower body workout.
Once you incorporate these banded glute activation exercises into your routine, you’ll notice a huge difference in the development of your butt, as well as a noticeable improvement in glute strength.
Don’t be surprised if a stronger butt makes all the difference in the efficiency and effectiveness of every workout you do from here on out.
Now that you’ve learned how get those butt muscles firing, the next step is getting leaner and more sculpted.
That’s an easy fix: download my FREE Fat Blaster Workout! A $29 value, it includes an instructional video, workout tracker, and follow-along audio.
It’s fast, fun, and convenient – and it gets you the results you want: slimmer, fitter and sexier.
Click the image below and download the workout now!
Yuri Elkaim is one of the world’s most trusted health and fitness experts. A former pro soccer player turned NYT bestselling author of The All-Day Energy Diet and The All-Day Fat Burning Diet, his clear, science-backed advice has transformed the lives of more than 500,000 men and women and he’s on a mission to help 100 million people by 2040. Read his inspiring story, “From Soccer to Bed to No Hair on My Head” that started it all.