It’s the most powerful muscle in your body, and highly sought after for most millennials or Kim K fans, so I include butt workouts almost every week for my clients. The truth is, every muscle in our body is connected. So the butt muscle, gluteus Maximus professionally, can directly affect our lower back and hamstrings in the back of our legs. If you have followed me for awhile, you know I talk a lot about working muscles as they should be, through their full range of motion with resistance. This promotes healthy muscle tissue growth in the working muscles, and releases tension in other muscles. Goodbye, lower back aches and pains!
Try 2 rounds of each superset for a good 40 minute workout.
Cable Glute Kickback: Set the cable machine up so the pulley is low. Use the ankle attachment if the gym has it, or the handle attachment works, too. Start bent over with knee in cocked position and handle on the middle of your foot. Stabilize with your standing leg and kick your working leg back straight. Since your body started bent over, it becomes like a capital “T” as you kick the leg back straight. This movement really targets your hamstring and booty.
Cable One Leg Straight Leg Deadlift: keep the cable set up the same. Balance on one leg and grip the handle with that same side hand. In this case, the standing leg is the working leg. Bend your torso forward and let your right arm and right leg extend into a straight line. Squeeze the butt and hamstring of your standing leg to pull your body up. The back leg should not touch the ground. The pulley shouldn’t bottom out, so make sure you are standing back far enough.
Squats: stand with feet hip width apart. Squat down like you are sitting in a chair behind you. Butt should go out, but pelvis should remain tucked. Chest should be up. Achieve this by keeping your abs engaged. Squeeze your hips upward in a fast motion.
Knee Up to Kickback: in this workout, this exercise serves as a dynamic stretch between squat sets to keep those hip muscles firing and ready to go. Take a step back from the bar and only use it for balance. Bring knee up towards bar then kick it back high as you Lena slightly forward. It’s okay to do this movement fast.
Weighted Bench Split Lunge: with plates in hand (or start with none and graduate to weights), rest back foot on bench. Your front foot should be far out in front of the bench so when you Lunge down, your knee does not go past your toes. Bend your back knee first as you come down into a Lunge. Talk about balance work!
Bench Jumpovers: use that same bench and find your balance. Jump back and forth on either side of the bench, keeping one foot on the bench at all times. This one is for your heart rate and getting some power into those legs.
TRX Pistol Squat: Set the trx straps up to mid-range. Hold the straps in each hand and balance on one leg. Bend that leg into a squat as your other leg extends into a straight line. Be sure to keep your abs tight! With the trx straps, you can go as low as you want.
Kettlebell Sumo Squat: take those feet out wideeeeee. Then point your toes out, since your knees will naturally follow the direction of your toes. Hold the kettlebell with both hands between the legs. Squat down, but this time really open up your hips. This one is a great finisher because it really hits those small inner thigh muscles!
Amber Launstein 