3 glute exercises to grow your booty!
Disclaimer!! These are MY favourite glute exercises. There is not one exercise you can do to grow your glutes. You will need to do a range of different exercises, as well as focus on your nutrition. Some people may prefer other exercises, however, these exercises are ones that I have performed for a relatively long time and have seen work for myself. All of the exercises target the muscles in your glutes as well as other muscles, such as your quads and hamstrings. These are my top 3 glutes exercises to grow your booty.
1) Bulgarian split squats
Bulgarian split squats target your glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves. The key is to ensure your movement is slow and steady instead of rushed. When it feels like it is getting to difficult, keep pushing through as this is how you will see progress.
How to perform the exercise:
You will need a bench and dumbbells. In a standing position, take one large step forward. Place your left foot/toes on the bench and hold the dumbbells in your hands so they are next to your hips. Lunge down to the floor, then lunge back up. Perform for 8-12 reps and then repeat on the other leg.
2) Hip thrusts
Hip thrusts are a great way to grow your glutes. It mainly targets your gluteus maximus, as well as your quads and hamstrings. It is important to engage your glutes during this exercise.
HOW TO PERFORM THE EXERCISE:
For hip thrusts, you will want a bench to lean on and either a dumbbell or bar. Have your shoulder blades resting on the bench and glutes on the floor with your knees bent 90 degrees. Place the weight on your hips and hold. Slowly thrust up towards the ceiling and go back down. To fully engage your glutes, try to keep your tail bone down.
Moreover, you could also perform single leg hip thrusts. This allows you to isolate the right and left glute whilst performing the exercise. For single leg hip thrusts, you will want to use a dumbbell and place it on one leg.
3) RDL (with dumbbells)
RDL (Romanian dead lift) is my last favourite glute exercise to help grow your booty. RDL’s are a form of deadlift. In order to really activate your glutes, you will want to perform the exercise in a slow and steady motion. It is also important to be carful with this exercise as doing it incorrectly whilst lifting heavy could result in a back injury.
HOW TO PERFORM THE EXERCISE:
Stand shoulder width apart holding the dumbbells in each hand. Slowly bend your back forwards around 90 degrees, whilst keeping it straight. Bring the dumbbells in front of your legs and slowly come back to standing position. Remember to engage your hamstrings and glutes whilst coming back up. Repeat for 8-12 reps.
Conclusion
Remember to always start on a weight appropriate for yourself. You may think the heavier you go, the quicker you are to see progress, but this is not the case. I would personally recommend performing 6-10 reps for 3-4 sets before increasing the weight. If you can easily do 12 reps, then the weight may be too light. Remember, you will not see progress if you do not push yourself!