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Gluteus
to the Maximus
Powerful Tips, Tricks and Techniques For
Building Larger, Firmer, Rounder Glutes
By
Nick Nilsson
Do your thighs get more work than your glutes
when you're doing glute exercises? This
information is going to change the way you train
your glutes forever!
It's a common problem that many people run into
when they're trying to build and work the glutes:
the thighs take over the exercises and the
glutes get left out in the cold!
One of the major reasons this happens is that
some of the most effective glute-building
exercises are also among the most effective
thigh-building exercises, e.g. squats, lunges,
leg press, etc.
And, quite often, a person who has smaller
glutes and whose goal is to build their glutes
already has muscle attachments and leverage
issues that favor thigh development over glute
development. This can set them back right from
the start.
If this sounds like you, read on, because the
information you get today is going to change the
way you approach your glute training forever!
Let me put it this way...if your glutes already
have a hard time getting involved in exercises,
performing more exercises won't solve the
problem! You've got to properly target your
training to make sure the glutes get worked more
than the thighs or you simply WILL NOT be able
to maximize your glute development.
Today, you're going to learn a number of
training techniques that can help build those
large, round firm glutes you've been looking
for! They will help you to overcome any physical
and anatomical limitations your glutes may have.
[Please note: there will be a link to photo
demonstrations of several of these exercises,
positions and techniques below.]
Techniques:
1. Consciously squeeze your glutes HARD while
doing your exercises
Are you sitting in a chair? Clench your glutes
as hard as you can. Feel the squeeze? This is
what you need to strive for while doing glute
exercises.
When you do a lunge, squeeze the glute hard
while you're pushing up. This will help to
activate the glute muscle. It's all about
getting your mind into the muscle and forcing it
to contract rather than just going through the
motions of an exercise. By concentrating on
squeezing the glutes hard during your sets (of
whatever exercise you're doing), you'll be
activating the muscle fibers of the glutes and
increasing the amount of work they do.
If you don't believe this technique can work,
try this: go for a walk up and down some hills
squeezing your glutes hard as you push yourself
forward with each step you take. The following
day, sitting down will take on a whole new
challenge!
2. Push with your heels
The transmission of force and tension from your
foot through your leg and glute can be altered
by where you put the tension on your foot. If
you push with the balls of your feet (the
forefoot area), more tension will be placed on
the frontal thigh (the quadriceps). If you focus
on pushing more with your heels, more tension
will go through the back of the thighs and to
your glutes.
By pushing with your heels, you can take FULL
advantage of this force/tension relationship.
For example, when you're doing lunges, try to
raise the toes of your front foot off the
ground. This removes tension from the front and
focuses more on the heel. This will, in turn,
send more tension to the glutes, making them
work harder.
There are several practical techniques you can
use to really force the heel push. For example,
on lunges, do them with your heel on the edge of
a stair or Step platform. Place ONLY your heel
on the surface and do the lunge from there (be
careful of your balance on this, however, as
your base of support is decreased with this
technique).
If you're doing the leg press, you can focus on
the glutes by placing your heels on the top edge
of the foot plate (the rest of your feet surface
will be off the top and not pushing on
anything). When doing squats, simply raise your
toes up in your shoes to achieve a similar
effect.
To view these techniques in action, please click
this link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&l=208
3. Visualize "sitting back" when
you're doing your glute exercises
This idea is similar to the concept of pushing
with your heels above. When you "sit
back," more tension will be sent through
the back of the thighs and the glutes. If you
lean forward (the opposite of the "sitting
back"), you will tend to throw more tension
on the quadriceps (the front of the thighs).
We can use both the squat and the lunge as
examples of this. When doing the lunge, don't
let your torso angle forward while you're
performing the movement. This will throw more
tension on the quads. Visualize yourself
"sitting back" into the movement. Your
body won't let you lean back far enough to fall
over but this "lean-back" will put
more tension on the glutes immediately. This is
something you can try at home right now and feel
the difference right away.
If, when you're doing squats, you don't normally
feel the glutes working very strongly, you could
very well be leaning too far forward as you
squat. This throws more tension onto the quads
and lower back. This problem is often caused by
a lack of flexibility in the calves. To fix
this, stretch the calves for at least 5 minutes
before doing any squat exercise. You will soon
find you're able to sit back more and maintain a
better body position (more upright torso). This
will turn the squat into a great glute-builder
for you!
IMPORTANT! If you do Smith Machine squats,
specifically with the feet placed a little
forward of the bar while you sit backwards into
the bar as you do the movement, beware! This
variation of the squat places a TREMENDOUS
shearing force on your knees.
Unfortunately, the knee joint simply wasn't
designed to push backwards against resistance in
this fashion and long-term use of this squat
variation can lead to knee injury (basically,
every time you do this exercise, you're grinding
the connective tissue down a little more - not a
good situation). Don't worry, though! Squats
themselves, when done properly, are an excellent
exercise!
To view these techniques in action, please click
this link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&l=208
4. Pre-Exhaust Training
Pre-Exhaust Training is one of the single most
effective techniques for FORCING reluctant
muscles to respond to training.
The idea behind this technique is simple: first,
use an exercise that works ONLY the target
muscle. Then, immediately follow that with an
exercise that works the target muscle AND
several other muscles in addition. You
essentially exhaust the target muscle first
(with an isolation exercise that works only that
single muscle) then use an exercise that
utilizes other muscles (a compound exercise) to
help push that already pre-exhausted target
muscle harder.
The two isolation (single-muscle) exercises that
I recommend for the glutes are low pulley glute
extensions and glute push-ups. Low pulley glute
extensions are done by attaching an ankle
harness to your leg, standing facing the pulley
machine and extending your leg straight back
behind you. Glute push-ups are done by laying
flat on your back with your knees bent 90
degrees and feet flat on the floor. From this
position, push your hips up towards the ceiling,
squeezing your glutes hard. This exercise can
also be done one leg at a time (just cross the
non-working leg over the other).
Do as many reps of this exercise as it takes to
reach muscular fatigue (it could be 8, 15 or
even more, depending on the resistance and your
strength). The real muscle-building work gets
done on the second exercise.
To view these two exercises in action, please
click this link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&l=208
When you've completed your set, immediately (and
I mean IMMEDIATELY - no rest periods here) move
into the compound exercise for the glutes.
Compound exercises for the glutes include
squats, lunges, leg press, and (my personal
favorite glute-builder) the one-legged bench
step squat.
Use a fairly heavy resistance for the compound
exercise...as I mentioned above, this is where
the muscle-building work gets done. Use a
resistance that will allow you get about 8 to 12
reps per set. This is the most effective rep
range for muscle building.
Squats:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&p=http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue17.htm
Lunges:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&p=http://www.fitstep.com/Library/Exercises/Lunges.htm
One-Legged Bench Step Squats (demo video
available for this one):
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&p=http://www.fitness-ebooks.com/bench-step-exercise.htm
In my experience, the best pre-exhaust approach
is to focus on one leg at a time rather than
doing both. It may take a little longer but the
glutes get worked more thoroughly and your
results will most likely be better. For example,
do One- Legged Glute Push-Ups with your left leg
then immediately do Bench Step One-Legged Squats
on your left leg. Take a rest then do a set for
your right leg.
Conclusion:
Regularly using the four training techniques
I've described above can have a HUGE impact on
your glute-building progress. It's all about
properly targeting your training to FORCE the
glutes to take the lead in the exercise. With
these tips, you will build larger, firmer,
rounder glutes. Guaranteed!
Interested in a complete glute-building training
manual to take ALL the guesswork out of building
those larger, rounder, firmer glutes? You need
"Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger
Butt NOW!"
In it you'll find exercises, training programs,
workouts, nutrition and supplement information,
stretches, and much
more...all targeted towards one single goal:
building a bigger butt FAST!
Click this link right now to learn more!
http://hop.clickbank.net/?achievefit/betteru&l=200
Nick Nilsson is Vice-President of the online
personal training company BetterU, Inc. He has a
degree in Physical Education and Psychology and
has been inventing new training techniques for
more than 15 years. Nick is the author of a
number of bodybuilding eBooks including
"Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss,"
"The Best Exercises You've Never Heard
Of," "Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a
Bigger Butt NOW!" and "Specialization
Training," all available at (http://hop.clickbank.net?achievefit/betteru).
He can be contacted at betteru@fitstep.com.
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