I really want to look better here...

"I really want to look better here..." This is the most popular saying I hear on a daily basis from clients, as they do a half-turn and point right at their booty. Every woman I know wants to either tighten their booty, lose the fat there or perk up a flat one. I can understand why, our society is obsessed with the backside. Just look at all the videos, songs, movies, comedians, etc., who discuss women with a bodacious butt.

Aesthetics is great, but there's a better reason to want a strong backside. It's because the gluteus is the strongest and most powerful muscle in the body. It's comprised of the maximus, medius and minimus and all

three work together to create one of our largest muscular areas on the body. But, the butt (hee hee) is LAZY. Oh that booty doesn't want to work at ALL and you have to MAKE it. Every time one of my clients is doing a primarily dominant glute exercise, I tell them, squeeze, contract, tighten and even feel your butt to make sure it's working! Fire it up, get it moving! Otherwise, it will just sit there and make your other muscles work harder then they should. When your glutes are strong, you experience less knee pain, back pain and calf pain because you've learned to use your glutes in every day motion.



Made of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, the butt can get stronger and look better from both high-rep and low-rep exercises. My personal favorite for glute building is the hip thruster and here are my reasons: 1) it's simple so anyone can do it, 2) doesn't hurt your lower back, 3) easy to progress/regress and 4) variations allow for high or low reps and is just as effective. Here's me doing the hip thrust, 265# for 6 reps.

If you are not doing the hip thrust regularly, like at least twice a week, then you are not doing your booty justice! You have to try this out, and incorporate it into your workout routines. I promise, you will feel and see a difference. I do it at least two, sometimes three, times a week to both build and strengthen: high-rep band hip thrusts, medium-rep barbell thrusts with isometric holds and heavy low-rep barbell thrusts. Of course, you should also perform other glute-pumping exercises, such as glute-ham raises, kickbacks, fire hydrants, deadlifts, squats, box squats, back extensions, hypers, etc.

There are tons of myths out there about glute training, and recently Bret Contreras (aka The Glute Guy) just wrote an article for Fitness Rx for Women dispelling these myths. I suggest you check it out to get the ultimate dish on building your butt. He also provides a full tutorial on the hip thrust that you don't want to miss. I love Bret's work because: a) he backs it up with scientific research, b) he has client testimonials/photos to prove it, and c) he is a fellow ASU alum (Go Devils!). If you live in AZ, you HAVE to train at his Glute Lab...he's the only reason I would move back to AZ!