Buttology#1

Here are some important reasons to focus on working on your glute muscle group:

• provides stability for your hips and knee joints during movement

• provide rotational control of the leg during movement

• helps keep the knees in proper place when squatting

• strong glutes help you when running (help propel you forward)

One-Leg Deadlift

Balancing on one leg, keeping your back straight and shoulder blades pulled back, keeping weight in your heel, reach for the ground (you can have weights in your hand). Press through your heel to stand back up.

Lunge with Glute Kickback

Lunge forward with your left leg, keeping weight on your left heel. Bend right knee to ground (don’t touch).

Stand up on your left leg and squeeze your glute keeping your leg straight, kicking backward. Repeat movement by walking forward with your right leg into a lunge.

Squat with Leg Abduction

Keeping weight on your heels, sit back with your hips and make sure your knees track over your toes (I’m squatting super wide to allow for my belly!)

Standing straight upward pressing through your heels, extend your right leg to the side squeezing your glutes. Repeat movement squatting down and then extending leg on your left side.

Side Plank with Leg Abduction

Either on your knee or stacking feet (to make it harder!), make sure your keep your elbow under your shoulder and raise your hips off the ground, keeping your core tight.

Making sure you keep your hips up as much as you can, lift your top leg off your lower leg squeezing your glutes.

Hip Extension/1-Leg Hip Extension

For either movement (the hip extension or 1-leg hip extension) start with your back and feet flat on the ground. For hip extension, keep both feet on the ground. For the 1-leg hip extension, extend 1 leg up in the air.

For the hip extension, press through both heels equally and extend and lift your hips off the ground. Remember to squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.

For the 1-leg variation, having your leg extended in the air, press through the heel on the ground and extend and lift your hips in the air, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement.

Clamshells

Lying on your side, bend your knees. For the first part of the movement, tap your heels together.

For the 2nd part of the movement, tap your knees together.

Quadruped Hamstring/Glute Press

Start on all fours. Make sure your hands are under your shoulders and your knees are under your hips.

Flex your foot, so you’re pressing your heel to the sky. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement. Add weight to this by wearing ankle weights or placing a weight behind your knee.