Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs

Citation preview

GROW YOUR GLUTES WITHOUT

GROWING YOUR LEGS

12-WEEK PROGRAM BRET CONTRERAS, PhD with GLEN CORDOZA

© 2019 Bret Contreras and Glen Cordoza All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from Bret Contreras. This book is for educational purposes. The authors of this book and program are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for any adverse effects arising directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided in this book. If not practiced safely and with caution, working out can be dangerous to you and others. It is important to consult with a professional fitness instructor before beginning training. It is also important to consult with a physician prior to training due to the intense and strenuous nature of the techniques outlined in this book.

Table of Contents

*Click or press the title of the chapters to jump directly to the page number

INTRODUCTION

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HOW TO GROW YOUR GLUTES WITHOUT GROWING YOUR LEGS

6

PROGRAM FAQ

8

12-WEEK PROGRAM

15

WEEK 1-4 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3

16 16 17 18

WEEK 5-8 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3

19 19 20 21

WEEK 9-12 DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3

22 22 23 24

EXERCISE APPENDIX

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Introduction When it comes to training for aesthetics, most people have certain areas of their body that they would like to improve. Some just want a flat stomach or have specific weight loss goals, while others only care about putting on muscle, either all over their body or in a specific area. In most cases, it’s a combination of goals that pertain to body composition and sculpting a certain look, which is the essence of bodybuilding. You’re trying to change your appearance by lifting weights. Since I’m the “Glute Guy” it should come as no surprise that people who seek my advice and want customized programs are looking to improve the aesthetics of their backsides. That is, they want to use resistance training to sculpt shapelier, higher-performing glutes. For the majority, I generally recommend following a well-rounded full body program with a glute training emphasis, such as the ones I included in my book Glute Lab: The Art and Science of Physique Training. These programs emphasize glute dominant movements such as hip thrusts, glute bridges, kickbacks, and abduction exercises, but also include quad and ham dominant exercises such as squat and deadlift variations. Although these programs are great for people who want a well-rounded plan with an emphasis on glute training, they’re not for everyone and doesn’t cater to specific goals. For instance, I work with a lot of people who just want bigger glutes. More specifically, I work with a lot of women and get a lot of messages from people who want to grow their glutes without growing their legs. These people typically fall into one of two categories. The first is people who are lean or happy with their body composition, but just want a little bit more gluteal prominence, meaning they want their glutes to protrude from their legs and they don’t want to put on any additional mass on their legs that might affect their glute to leg muscle ratio. This makes sense because the bigger your quads and hamstrings are in relation to your glutes, the smaller your glutes might look, even if you have big, strong glutes. It’s important to point out that this viewpoint is subjective to individual preferences, and anatomy and genetics have a lot to do with it. However, people that fall into this category might benefit from following a glutes-only plan, such as the 12-week Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program provided in the following pages. The second is people who believe they have overdeveloped quads, adductors, and hamstrings in relation to their glutes. This could stem from always squatting and deadlifting and not programming enough glute dominant exercises (CrossFitters typically fall into this category) or years of playing quad dominant field sports such as basketball and soccer. It could also be due to genetics. You can have great genetics for one muscle and poor genetics for another. For example, some people have great quad building genetics, but have a hard time building muscle in their glutes. For these people, the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program is a great training plan because it introduces a variety of glute-specific exercises while omitting the exercises that typically put mass on the legs. Now, if you fall into one of these two categories, you might be thinking that this program is perfect for you. While the program might suit your goals, it’s important to discuss body composition (proportion of fat to muscle) because a lot of women I work with wrongly assume they have overdeveloped legs when in reality they simply store more fat in their lower body. And they fail to realize that changing body composition requires more than just lifting weights. To reach an aesthetic goal—whether you want to lose fat and grow muscle or maintain your current weight and grow a certain muscle—you have to factor in nutrition as well as weight training.

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Just as people have an easier time building muscle in certain areas, some people store fat in certain areas due to their genetics (think of that stubborn belly fat or inner/outer leg fat). So, if you’re someone who is going for a slender look, then you need to take your body composition into consideration. In other words, you may not need a glutesonly program or need to avoid exercises that work your legs. Sure, you might benefit from following the program, but you might also get the desired look you’re going for by following a well-rounded program that includes squats and deadlifts. Let’s use the physique competitors I work with as an example. These women all squat, and yet their legs aren’t too big. Granted, they are not obsessed with hitting squat PR’s every week and they prioritize glute-dominant exercises. The point is they’re not afraid of squats and they don’t avoid exercises that build their leg muscles. What’s more, they are lean, meaning they are not carrying excessive fat in their legs. The women who seek a glutes-only program will typically say things like, “I’m quad dominant and my legs are too big, so I don’t want to perform any leg exercises.” To be clear, I believe everyone should develop a healthy mindset around their body and I never tell anyone how they should look. But if someone comes to me wanting to look a certain way, I listen to what they want and try to help them get there. So, when someone tells me they are quad dominant and their legs are too big, I have to take a step back and assess the situation because in some cases the glutes-only program is not the best plan. For example, if a client has excess bodyfat in their legs, then squats and other lower body exercises are not to blame. In fact, if they just lost a few pounds of bodyfat, they might actually like the way their legs look with all the muscle still there. In this scenario, they don’t need to avoid lower body exercises, they need to reduce their calories and keep training their entire body. To put this in less delicate terms, don’t assume you are quad dominant or that you have overdeveloped legs if you have excess bodyfat. Realize that fat not only surrounds your muscles, but also is stored inside your muscles. If your goal is to get leaner legs and a larger butt, then you need to perform exercises that will sculpt your body the way you want it to look, and equally important adhere to healthy nutrition and lifestyle strategies: consume around 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass per day, eat at a caloric deficit, eat primarily whole, minimally processed foods, lose weight gradually, prioritize sleep, manage stress, and increase daily activity and step count (To learn more about these strategies, I recommend reading Chapter 11 in Glute Lab). It’s also important to remember that muscle gives your body shape. If you’re carrying fat around your thighs, then you still might want to maintain that muscular shape by performing quad and ham dominant exercises. You can still prioritize your glutes, but you also don’t want to avoid exercises that work your legs, especially hip thrusts and squats. Now that’s not to say the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs plan is not for you. There are indeed plenty of people who are lean and have overly muscular legs in relation to their glutes

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according to their taste and some people just want bigger glutes, for which the program I offer is great. I also want to point out that the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program is not just for people interested in aesthetics. Though the vast majority of people who will follow this program fall into that category, there are some people who will benefit from taking a break from quad and hamstring dominant exercises. For instance, if you are constantly plagued with exercise related pain—your knees hurt every time you lunge, your hips ache every time you squat, or your back is stiff for several days following every deadlift session—then the glute-only plan is a great option. Now, before you blame these problems on improper form, which is certainly a factor, realize that nagging pain could also stem from years and years of training without giving your joints a proper break. As anyone who has experienced exercise related pain can attest, it takes your training down a couple notches. You have to warm up for 30 minutes just to work out. Even worse, you decrease your level of activity throughout the day because you’re in pain, which makes it harder to reach your body composition goals. In short, you can’t work out as hard, you’re not as motivated to train, and you end up gaining weight because you are not as active. How most people deal with this issue goes against all logic and intelligent programming. Instead of taking a break from the exercises that exacerbate the problem, they push through it and the pain cycle continues. Even though the solution is obvious—remove the problematic exercises from the program—nobody wants to do that. As a lifter, I hate taking breaks because I feel lazy, and I worry that I will lose strength. So, I know exactly where people are coming from and why this happens. The solution is to not train through the pain or avoid training altogether, but to train around the pain by performing exercises that are well-tolerated. And this is exactly what the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program includes. When you follow the glutes-only program, you remove the most common exercises that cause issues, which allows you to fully heal and recover. You also build your glutes and end up using them more with certain movements, which helps safeguard your body from future issues. You may even improve your form because you rely more on your glutes and hips, instead of your back and knees. What’s more, when you reintroduce squats, deadlifts, and other previously problematic exercises, you may realize that your body can tolerate them better. This improves confidence and reignites the motivation to work hard in the gym. It’s true that pain and damage aren’t well-correlated in the literature, but I’ve had numerous lifters try this plan and they all end up swearing by it. They’d never given glutes their full attention in training and it paid dividends in the subsequent months as they no longer experienced pain or injured themselves as often. Or maybe their nervous systems were so overly sensitive to pain signals that they just needed to do something different, which highlights another benefit of the glutes-only plan—novelty. Most people never perform all of the exercise variations contained in the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program. With each workout, you get exposed to unique variations that you’ve probably never done before that you may actually love. This always happens when I am injured and forced to train around my pain. I’m compelled to perform variations that I might otherwise never do and end up realizing that I not only enjoy them, but also need to do them more often. Remember, the essence of lifelong lifting is learning which exercises are the most productive for your body and goals. And to find that out, you have to experiment with different exercises and programs.

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How to Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs Growing your glutes without growing your legs requires a special strategy. The fact is, most great glute exercises also highly activate the leg muscles. Put simply, it’s hard to work your glutes without working your legs. The hip thrust, for example, works the quads, hams, and adductors a ton, which is why it’s not a central feature of the program. As I explain in Glute Lab and outlined in an old blogpost titled “Growing Glutes without Growing the Legs,” muscle grows from low reps (1 to 5), medium reps (6 to 12), high reps (13 to 20), and even really high reps (21-50). As long as the sets are carried out close to muscle failure and the effort for the session is sufficiently high, you can essentially choose your ideal rep scheme and still build muscle. So, avoiding a particular rep range or avoiding heavy weights is not the solution. This requires two different strategies: 1. Avoid exercises that highly activate and stress your quads, hamstrings, and adductors 2. Perform exercises that highly activate and stress your glutes If you want your leg muscles to stop growing or to shrink, you need to reduce or eliminate movements that highly activate your quads and hamstrings. This means no squat variations, no single-leg squat variations like lunges, Bulgarian split squats, step-ups, skater squats, and pistols, and no quad-dominant movements like leg presses, hack squats, and leg extensions, because these lead to high levels of quad stretch and/or activation. It also means no vertically loaded hip hinging variations like deadlifts, stiff-leg deadlifts, and good mornings and no knee flexion movements like leg curls, Nordic ham curls, and glute ham raises because these lead to high levels of hamstring stretch and/or activation. You also want to avoid barbell hip thrusts. Though they won’t build your legs as much as squats and lunges, I still want you avoiding them, simply because you can perform barbell glute bridges, which involve the same movement pattern with less quadricep activity. Finally, no single joint adductor exercises like the seated hip adduction machine (not to be confused with the seated abduction machine) should be performed. Although this takes a lot of exercises off the table, there is still a lot you can do: Low-Load Glute Activation Work: There are lots of drills that you can and should do to shuttle the focus toward your glutes and away from your quads and hamstrings. A sample glute activation sequence might look like this: knee-banded standing hip hinge abduction, knee-banded quadruped hip extension, and knee-banded glute bridge (3 sets of 10 reps for each movement). These are done before the workout begins just to prime the glutes for the upcoming work to be done. Hip External Rotation Movements: Cuff/dip belt hip rotations are the best, but you need to learn how to use your glutes during these movements by rotating your hips with your rear glute while keeping your torso rigid instead of rotating your torso with your obliques (see page tk for a more detailed description).

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Hip Abduction Movements: Focus on extra-range side-lying abduction, banded standing hip abduction, banded seated hip abduction, banded walk variations, and cable and seated hip abductor machine variations. Glute Bridges and Feet-Elevated Glute Bridges: Glute bridge variations reduce much of the quad activity that the barbell hip thrust produces. You can do just bodyweight, use a dumbbell or light pre-loaded barbell as resistance, go wider or narrower, put double duty on the glutes by wearing a resistance band around the knees, elevate your feet, or perform the movement with one or two legs at a time. The barbell glute bridge will be your money exercise—the exercise you want to keep getting stronger at over time. Strength creates curves, and without it, your glutes won’t grow. The

goal is to get very strong at this exercise over time in all rep ranges. American Deadlifts: These are a better option than RDLs due to the increased glute activation. To avoid an increased hamstring stretch, you should decrease the range of motion (that is, don’t go too low). Pull-Throughs, Back Extensions, Reverse Hypers, and Kettlebell Swings: The key is to make sure you’re feeling your glutes do the work and not just the hammies and erectors. Frog Pumps: Two-thirds of people tend to like frog pumps. If you’re part of that majority, flare your knees out, place your heels together, and pump away. If you’re among the one-third who don’t like frog pumps, skip them. As you will see, the 12-week program contains most of these exercises. Once you complete the program, you can experiment and create your own program using the above exercise options as a general guide.

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Program FAQ Anytime I write a program for a client, I typically get the same questions. In the following pages, I provide the answers to these frequently asked questions, which also serve as guidelines for getting the most out of the program. It’s important to note that most of the questions and answers are covered in Glute Lab and Booty by Bret. However, the answers are specific to the Grow Your Glutes without Growing Your Legs program. So, even if you are a Booty by Bret member or you’ve read the book, I still recommend you browse through the questions and answers.

SHOULD I FOLLOW THE PROGRAM EXACTLY AS WRITTEN? Yes. The programs are broken into three four-week cycles and should be followed in a sequential manner. To get the most from the program, increase the load or reps on some of the main exercises for each workout as you progress through each four-week cycle. These exercises tend to be the bigger movements that work more of your glutes. For example, you can perform more reps with the same load or use heavier loads for the same number of reps. However, don’t try to set PRs on every exercise, every week. Toward the ends of the workouts, focus more on the mind-muscle connection and strive for quality over quantity.

I JUST WANT TO TAKE A SHORT BREAK. IS IT OKAY TO ONLY PERFORM ONE 4-WEEK CYCLE? No. Building muscle is hard, whereas maintaining muscle is easy. If you’re advanced and have built up your legs substantially and you want them to shrink in terms of muscle mass, it’s going to take a few months in order to see results. I should clarify. Let’s say you stopped lifting altogether for 3 months. Your legs would atrophy markedly, but so would your glutes. This program will keep your glutes full and possibly even build them up while your legs shrink. But the legs won’t shrink as much as they would from not training altogether since most glute exercises do in fact involve some level of leg muscle activation. This is why I recommend doing the whole 12-week cycle.

HOW DO I DETERMINE HOW MUCH TO LIFT (LOAD)? Use a load that allows you to hit the prescribed rep scheme, but also pushes you close or to muscle failure. For example, if the program calls for 15 reps of barbell glute bridges, then use a load that you can do for 15 reps. You should struggle to get to rep 15 or come just shy of hitting 15. Of course, this will take some experimentation. So, determine a baseline with your first set, and then increase the load based on how many reps you have in reserve.

DO I NEED TO FOLLOW THE SET AND REP SCHEMES EXACTLY AS WRITTEN? The short answer is no. You won’t always nail the prescribed rep schemes exactly as written. So think of them as recommendations to calculate your working weight and then try to get close. For example, let’s say a workout calls for 3 sets of 8 reps. There are four protocols you can implement to carry out your sets. The first protocol is to do the same loading on each set (I refer to this as straight sets), which gives you two options. Option one is to start out with a working weight that you can do for only 8

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reps. In this situation, you go to muscle failure on all of your sets. So you will hit 8 reps to muscle failure on your first set, and then you may get only 5 reps, and then 4 reps on your second and third sets. With this option, you will never have a nice, neat set and rep scheme because the load is the same, and you can’t get as many reps with the second and third set due to fatigue. Option two is to pick a working weight that you can do for 10 to 12 reps. In this situation, your first two sets are easier, and only your last set is to muscle failure. In this case you may indeed end up getting 3 sets of 8 reps. The second protocol is to adjust your working weight so that every set is to failure. These are known as descending sets because you have to reduce the load with every set. For instance, say the program calls for 3 sets of 8 reps of back squats, and you want to push every set to muscle failure. If your max 8 rep back squat is 155 pounds, then that is your load for your first set. In order to get 8 reps with your second and third set, however, you have to lower the load. So your second set might be 145 pounds and your third set might be 135 pounds. The third protocol is to increase the load with each set, which is the opposite of descending sets and hence is referred to ascending sets. Keeping with the same example, if the program calls for 3 sets of 8 back squats and your max 8 rep back squat is 155 pounds, then you might perform 135 pounds on your first set, 145 pounds on your second set, and 155 pounds on your third set. In this situation, only your third set is to failure. When it comes to choosing the protocol, this depends on the exercise, how you are feeling that day, and where you are at in your training cycle. If you want to push yourself in your workout, choose the same weight and go to failure on every set. If you’re feeling beat up or you’re purposely taking it easy, then perhaps you only push your third set to failure. The point is this: if the program calls for 3 sets of 8, that doesn’t mean you have to do exactly that. As long as you’re going to failure on at least one of your sets then you are following the program recommendations and getting enough stimulus to improve strength and grow muscle.

SET AND REP LOADING OPTIONS AND EXAMPLES Straight sets (all sets to failure)

155x8, 155x5, 155x4

Straight sets (last set to failure)

140x8, 140x8, 140x8

Descending sets (all sets to failure)

155x8, 145x8, 135x8

Ascending sets (last set to failure)

135x8, 145x8, 155x8

IF I CAN PERFORM 15 REPS WHEN THE SET CALLS FOR 12, DO I PUSH THE SET TO FAILURE AND KEEP THE WEIGHT THE SAME, OR STOP AT THE PRESCRIBED REP AND INCREASE THE LOAD? Let’s say you’re doing barbell glute bridges during Day 1 of the first 4-week cycle, which calls for 4 sets of 12 reps. Say you pick 165 pounds and you get to 12 reps and you realize you could do a few more reps. In this case, you may want to stick with 165-pounds for all the sets because the sets will get harder as you accumulate some fatigue. But say you get to 12 reps and you know you could have gotten another 5 to 8 reps. In this case, up the load to 175 pounds. If that’s too easy, up the load to 185 pounds for the next set. Eventually you’ll hit your settling point and arrive at the proper load that allows you to hit the right number of reps. Week 1 of every 4-week cycle is dedicated to mastering proper form and figuring out the right loads to use the following week. Regardless, you can always stray a little bit and get a few more reps when possible. The main thing is to go up over time and utlize progressive overload.

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SHOULD I PUSH EVERY SET OF EVERY EXERCISE TO MUSCLE FAILURE? Absolutely not. I recommend following the Rule of Thirds: about a third of your sets should be taken to failure, about a third of your sets should be 1 to 2 reps shy of failure, and the remaining third should be nowhere close to failure. It’s important to mention that going to failure is a skill. Most people don’t even come close to reaching true muscular failure, which is why these same people fail to see good results.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I PROGRESS EACH WEEK? When it comes to increasing load or reps, try to bump things up gradually over time—5 more pounds here, another rep there. If you’re doing 3 sets of an exercise, consider your 3-set total or your 3-set volume load. Here’s an example for barbell glute bridges for the month for someone who is relatively new to the exercise (say the program calls for 4 sets of 12 reps) – here’s how they might progress throughout the month using ascending loads:

WEEK

SET 1

SET 2

SET 3

SET 4

1

135lbs x 12

155lbs x 12

165lbs x 12

175lbs x 9

2

145lbs x 12

165lbs x 12

175lbs x 10

185lbs x 7

3

145lbs x 12

165lbs x 12

175lbs x 12

185lbs x 10

4

155lbs x 12

165lbs x 12

175lbs x 12

185lbs x 12

WHAT IF I CAN DO MORE REPS ON MY LAST SET? SHOULD I STICK TO THE PROGRAM OR REP OUT TO FAILURE? Use your best judgment here. What matters most is consistent progress. If you push yourself too hard and you’re wiped out throughout the rest of the week, then you’ll have taken one step forward and two steps back. But if you can recover fine and keep progressing then it’s all good.

THE WORKOUTS ARE TOO EASY. AM I TOO ADVANCED FOR THEM? If you think the workouts are too easy, chances are you are not pushing any of your sets to true failure. In other words, you’re not using sufficient effort, which is the level of exertion you apply to each set. If 10 reps of a particular exercise is too easy, you need to increase the load or increase the reps. However, you do not need to increase the sets, add additional exercises, or combine workouts. When you’re conditioned to performing five or more sets of an exercise, anything less feels like a step in the wrong direction. I get it; I’ve been there before. But when you push your sets

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close or to muscle failure, you don’t need to perform as much volume. In fact, doing less volume and putting more effort is just as effective at building strength and muscle, with the added benefit of reducing training time and overall volume. Remember, it takes time to learn how to push yourself to failure, because you don’t know what going to failure feels like until you’ve done it for several weeks or even months. Once you develop the skill and the conditioning, you will realize that doing less and pushing yourself harder actually yields better results.

I WANT MORE VOLUME FOR MY GLUTES. CAN I COMBINE OR ADD ADDITIONAL WORKOUTS, OR ADD A GLUTE BURNOUT AT THE END OF THE WORKOUT? I structured the program with sufficient volume. If you feel like the program doesn’t provide you with enough volume for your glutes—as I already discussed—you’re probably not pushing your sets hard enough. If you’re the type of person that recovers quickly and can handle more volume than the average person, increase your effort by pushing more of your sets to muscle failure. For this program, I don’t want you performing glute burnouts at the end of the workout. If you feel the need, you can do some additional glute work on off days, such as some bodyweight and band work or a few hard sets of barbell glute bridges (see page 14). The key is to not overdo it. Ten minutes is good. In other words, don’t do a full workout or it will compromise the following days training session, which prevents you from gaining strength and progressively overloading the muscle. Remember, more is not always better.

BUT I’M USED TO DOING MUCH MORE VOLUME. HOW WILL I MAKE PROGRESS? This is a question I frequently get with my full body programs and I’m sure a lot of you will wonder the same thing when following the glutes-only program. As you will see, I program five to six glute-specific exercises for each workout, which is quite a bit of volume for one muscle group. Believe me, if you follow the program as written and you put in sufficient effort, you will make progress. It’s also important to remember that the point of the program is to avoid exercises that work your legs. Most of you will have to fight the temptation to perform extra work that might interfere with your goals or subsequent workouts.

I WANT TO CONTINUE TO TRAIN MY UPPER BODY. HOW SHOULD I GO ABOUT THAT? You can either train upper body on the same days as your glute workouts, or train them on separate days. To provide an example, you could do a full body workout consisting of paired supersets as follows:

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A1. Barbell Glute Bridge A2. Incline Press B1. Bent Leg to Spread Eagle Reverse Hyper B2. Supinated Lat Pulldown C1. Band Hip Hinge Abduction C2. Lateral Raise D1. Cable Cuff Hip External Rotation D2. Prone Rear Delt Raise E1. Bodyweight 45-Degree Hyperextension E2. Front Raise Or, you could just do one of the following upper body exercises in between glute workouts: Incline Press or Military Press Supinated Lat Pulldown or One Arm DB Row Lateral Raise or Cable Lateral Raise Prone Rear Delt Raise or Reverse Pec Deck Front Raise or Cable Front Raise

CAN I SUPERSET THE WORKOUT OR PERFORM IT AS A CIRCUIT? The short answer is, no. Performing an exercise and then immediately moving into the next exercise (this is a superset) can speed up the workout without interfering with performance only if they are noncompeting exercises. For example, squats and bench presses are okay to superset, or hip thrusts and rows. However, this is a glutes-only program, so just perform each exercise in sequence. The only exception is if you are super-setting upper body exercises as outlined in the previous question. It’s also important not to perform one exercise after another with minimal rest (this is a circuit). To effectively build your glutes and have productive sets, you need to rest between sets.

HOW LONG SHOULD I REST BETWEEN SETS? When performing the barbell glute bridges or other exercises that you are pushing closer to failure, my general recommendation is 2 to 3 minutes. For the other exercises in the program, you can rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Recovery time, like most things exercise related, depend on the individual. Some people need longer to recover while others don’t. What’s more, you don’t need to be super strict with rest times; research has shown that going by feel leads to the best results. If you listen to your body, you’ll know when you’re recovered and ready for the next set.

WHAT TEMPO SHOULD I UTILIZE? Tempo refers to the cadence you use when lifting. In general, you want an explosive concentric contraction with a one-second glute squeeze in the top position (think the top of a glute bridge or the end of a kickback) and a controlled eccentric contraction. The only time I want you to pay attention to tempo is when I spell it out for you and tell you what to do, such as during pause reps or eccentric accentuated reps.

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HOW SHOULD I WARM-UP AND COOL DOWN? The workouts in this program don’t include the big lifts, such as squats, deadlifts, or barbell hip thrusts, which require more extensive warm-ups. This is not to say you should avoid warming up and prepping your body for the workout. I recommend doing some dynamic stretching and possibly performing a couple warm-up sets to get your body prepped for the exercise session. In short, tailor your warm-up to the exercise, workout, and how you are feeling. If you’re feeling stiff and cold, you might need a longer warm up with some different exercises to get your body primed. On other days, you might come in ready to go and you can do some light dynamic stretching and get to work. With regards to a cool down, it is not necessary. Your body will cold down just fine after you finish the exercise session. However, if you like stretching or walking, then go ahead and do it. Here is a sample warm-up that should suit you well for this program:

BIRD DOG: 10 REPS EACH SIDE

KNEE-BANDED QUADRUPED HIP EXTENSION: 10 REPS EACH SIDE

LATERAL BAND WALK: 10 STEPS EACH DIRECTION

FIRE HYDRANT: 10 REPS EACH SIDE

IS IT OKAY IF I DO SOME ADDITIONAL PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES ON THE SIDE? I support and encourage you to do the things you enjoy. If you love jogging, hiking, yoga, or sports, then you should continue to participate in those activities. However, you also have to consider the goal. If you want to grow your glutes without growing your legs, then you have to consider whether doing anything extra will negatively impact your training. For example, say you love running, but it increases your appetite and beats you up (jogging actually interferes with muscular adaptations, but not cycling or walking). If your goal is to lose fat while also adding size to your glutes, then running is not the best activity because it will cause you to eat more calories than you burn and compromise your glute training sessions. Instead, consider increasing your activity by going for walks or getting outside and going for a light hike. Just make sure you lift before you do cardio. This ensures the best stimulus possible, meaning you’re able to maximize tension on the muscles.

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WHAT CAN I DO ON NON-TRAINING DAYS TO FEEL PRODUCTIVE? Listen to your body and don’t do anything that might disrupt your glute training sessions or move you further away from your physique goals. For example, you can go for a walk, hike, a light swim, yoga, or anything you enjoy that doesn’t interfere with your next training session. If you don’t like cardio and are active in your daily life, don’t feel compelled to do much of it at all. Your heart will be healthy from all the walking and physical activity. I don’t want you doing any additional lifting (unless you do upper body days as previously mentioned) on off days. There is one exception: you can perform additional barbell glute bridge sets, but only if you feel you have superior recovery. You can do these flat from the ground or with your feet elevated onto a 2 to 4-inch block. You could do 3 sets of 8 to 20 reps but that’s it. Obviously, it’s mentally challenging to go to the gym and just do 3 sets, but I don’t want you overdoing it so please follow directions. In short, there are two exceptions when it comes to working your glutes on off days: barbell glute bridges, or a 10-minute bodyweight and band workout.

HOW MUCH CARDIO SHOULD I DO? Cardio falls into the “additional physical activities” category, meaning you can and should do it on two conditions: you enjoy doing it, and it doesn’t interfere with your training sessions. My recommendation is to not go crazy on the cardio. Do “relaxing” cardio where you’re not striving for records and pushing it too hard. Stick with exercises like walking and cycling, which don’t interfere with muscle growth or beat you up as bad as jogging or running. If you loathe doing cardio, don’t do it. Instead shoot for a daily step count, such as 10,000 steps per day.

ON WHICH DAYS SHOULD I SCHEDULE MY WORKOUTS? CAN I PROGRAM THESE WORKOUTS ON CONSECUTIVE DAYS? Ideally, you want to break up your glutes-only workouts by taking a day off in between training sessions. The glutes-only program includes three workout sessions per week, so make sure you’re not training three straight days in a row. For example, you can schedule your workouts, so you train on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. What’s nice about training glutes three times per week is if you go overboard and are super sore, you can take two days off and still get right back on track the following week.

WHAT IF I ONLY TRAIN TWO DAYS OR PREFER TO TRAIN FOUR DAYS A WEEK? HOW DO I KNOW WHICH WORKOUTS TO CHOOSE AND WHICH WORKOUTS TO OMIT? If you’re only able to perform two workouts per week, then just combine Day 1 with the first half of Day 2 and combine Day 3 with the second half of Day 2. If you’re hell-bent on training four days per week, then add in an extra barbell glute bridge workout as previously mentioned and maybe add in some upper body exercises.

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WHAT IF I MISS A WORKOUT OR A WEEK? First, don’t sweat it! It happens. If you miss a workout or a week of training, you can just start the program where you left off. If you get injured, you’re sick, or you really fall off the wagon and miss a few weeks of training, you might consider easing back into the program by starting from the beginning of the 4-week cycle you’re on.

I DON’T FEEL A CERTAIN EXERCISE WORKING (OR CAUSES PAIN). SHOULD I SUBSTITUTE SOMETHING ELSE OR KEEP AT IT? Never perform an exercise that is not well-tolerated just because it is in the program. If a particular exercise doesn’t feel right or you don’t feel it working, replace it with one that does; ideally, one with a similar movement pattern. For example, let’s say that 45-degree hypers irritate the back of your knees. If this is the case, you may want to substitute these for American deadlifts.

I FEEL FATIGUED AND REALLY SORE. SHOULD I TAKE THE DAY OFF, MODIFY THE WORKOUT, OR JUST PUSH THROUGH IT? If you follow the program in sequence and the guidelines provided (e.g., you take one day off in between workouts and you follow the Rule of Thirds for load and effort) then you shouldn’t get excessively sore or too beat up. However, some people recover slower than others and you have to plan around the unexpected—say, you do something you’re not used to and it leaves you fatigued, perhaps you get injured, or maybe you slept or ate like crap the night before your workout. It’s up to you to determine what you can and can’t do. When in doubt, take the day off. Almost every time I’ve been injured in training, my body was trying to tell me something, but I was too stubborn to listen. Learn from my mistakes by paying close attention to the signals your body is sending you.

12-Week Program In the following pages, I provide three 4-week cycles consisting of three training days. For every cycle—Week 1-4, Week 5-8, and Week 9-12—there are three training session: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Complete each workout every week for the entire month. So, you will perform all three workouts in one week, and then repeat the series three times for a total of 4-weeks. Once you complete each workout four times, move onto the next training cycle (week 5-8, or 9-12) by performing each workout in that particular cycle for the next four weeks.

*Click or press on the images to jump directly to the step-by-step exercise descriptions in the Exercise Appendix.

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EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

Barbell Glute Bridge

4 x 12

Bent Leg to Spread Eagle Reverse Hyper

3 x 20

Knee-Banded Standing Hip Hinge Abduction

3 x 10

Cable Cuff Hip External Rotation

3 x 10

Bodyweight 45-Degree Hyper

3 x 30

BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE

NOTES

3-sec pause with knees out for each rep

Upper back fully rounded, explosively drive your hips into the pad

BENT LEG TO SPREAD EAGLE REVERSE HYPER

KNEE-BANDED STANDING HIP HINGE ABDUCTION

CABLE CUFF HIP EXTERNAL ROTATION

BODYWEIGHT 45-DEGREE HYPER

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WEEK 1-4

DAY 1

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

NOTES

Dumbbell 45-Degree Hyper

4 x 12

Upper back fully rounded, explosively drive your hips into the pad

Cable Standing Semi-Straight Leg Kickback

3 x 12

Extra Range Side-Lying Hip Abduction

3 x 20

Bodyweight Frog Pump

3 x 50

Knee-Banded Side-Lying Clam

3 x 20

DUMBBELL 45-DEGREE HYPER

CABLE STANDING SEMI-STRAIGHT LEG KICKBACK

EXTRA RANGE SIDE-LYING HIP ABDUCTION

BODYWEIGHT FROG PUMP

KNEE-BANDED SIDE-LYING CLAM

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WEEK 1-4

DAY 2

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

NOTES

Knee-Banded Feet-Elevated Glute Bridge

4 x 20

Forcefully drive your knees out during both concentric and eccentric

Pause Bodyweight Single-Leg Hip Thrust

3 x12

1-second pause

Knee-Banded Seated Hip Abduction

3 x 30

Upright torso

RKC Plank

3 x :20

Knee-Banded Quadruped Hip Extension

3 x 20

KNEE-BANDED FEET-ELEVATED GLUTE BRIDGE

PAUSE BODYWEIGHT SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST

KNEE-BANDED SEATED HIP ABDUCTION

RKC PLANK

KNEE-BANDED QUADRUPED HIP EXTENSION

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WEEK 1-4

DAY 3

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

NOTES

Constant-Tension Knee-Banded Barbell Glute Bridge

4 x 20

Forcefully drive your knees out during both concentric and eccentric

Frog Reverse Hyper

3 x 20

Side-Lying Hip Raise

3 x 12

Knee-Banded Cha Cha

3 x 20

Standing Glute Squeeze

3 x :20 FROG REVERSE HYPER

CONSTANT-TENSTION KNEE-BANDED BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE

SIDE-LYING HIP RAISE

KNEE-BANDED CHA CHA

STANDING GLUTE SQUEEZE

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WEEK 5-8

DAY 1

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

Dumbbell Single-Leg Hip Thrust

4x8

Knee-Banded Seated Hip Abduction

3 x 30/30/30

Dumbbell Frog Pump

3 x 20

RKC Plank

3 x :20

Extra Range Side-Lying Hip Abduction

3 x 20

NOTES

Each set consists of: 30 reps leaning back, 30 reps upright, 30 reps leaning forward

DUMBELL SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST DUMBBELL FROG PUMP

KNEE-BANDED SEATED HIP ABDUCTION (LEAN BACK, UPRIGHT, LEAN FORWARD)

EXTRA RANGE SIDE-LYING HIP ABDUCTION

RKC PLANK

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WEEK 5-8

DAY 2

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

Kneeling Cable Kickback

4 x 12

Pause Dumbbell 45-Degree Hyper

3x8

Single-Leg Foot-Elevated Glute Bridge

3 x 20

Knee-Banded Supine Transverse Hip Abduction

3 x 20

B-Stance Barbell Hip Thrust

3 x 12

KNEELING CABLE KICKBACK

NOTES

3-second pause at top. Upper back fully rounded, explosively drive your hips into the pad

Use low bench ~12” if possible

PAUSE DUMBBELL 45-DEGREE HYPER

SINGLE-LEG FOOT ELEVATED GLUTE BRIDGE

B-STANCE BARBELL HIP THRUST

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KNEE-BANDED SUPINE TRANSVERSE HIP ABDUCTION

WEEK 5-8

DAY 3

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

NOTES

Rest Pause Barbell Glute Bridge

4 x 12

8 reps, 2 reps, 1 rep, 1 rep

Spread Eagle Reverse Hyper

3 x 20

Standing Cable Pull-Through

3 x 20

Knee-Banded Seated Hip Abduction with Sliders

3 x 20

Knee-Banded Dumbbell Frog Thrust

3 x 20

Keep your knees out

SPREAD EAGLE REVERSE HYPER

REST PAUSE BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE

STANDING CABLE PULL-THROUGH KNEE-BANDED SEATED HIP ABDUCTION WITH SLIDERS

KNEE-BANDED DUMBBELL FROG THRUST

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WEEK 9-12

DAY 1

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

Cable Standing Hip Abduction

4 x 10

Bent-Over Semi-Straight Cable Kickback

3 x 12

Dead Stop Single-Leg Foot-Elevated Hip Thrust

3 x 12

American Deadlift

3 x 10

Hip-Banded Kneeling Hip Thrust

3 x 12

CABLE STANDING HIP ABDUCTION

NOTES

BENT-OVER SEMI-STRAIGHT CABLE KICKBACK

DEAD STOP SINGLE-LEG FOOT-ELEVATED HT

AMERICAN DEADLIFT

HIP-BANDED KNEELING HIP THRUST

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WEEK 9-12

DAY 2

EXERCISE

SETS x REPS

NOTES

Seated Hip Abduction Machine

4 x 15/15

Dropset: Perform one set of 15, and then reduce the weight and immediatly perform another set of 15

Banded Quadruped Kickback

3 x 20

Knee-Banded Standing Hip Abduction

3 x 20

Bodyweight 45-Degree Hyper

3 x 30

Enhanced Eccentric Dumbbell Single-Leg Hip Thrust

3x8

SEATED HIP ABDUCTION MACHINE

Upper back fully rounded, explosively drive your hips inot the pad B-stance on the way up, 1 leg on the way down

BANDED QUADRUPED KICKBACK

ENHANCED ECCENTRIC DUMBBELL SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST KNEE-BANDED STANDING HIP ABDUCTION

BODYWEIGHT 45-DEGREE HYPER

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WEEK 9-12

DAY 3

Exercise Appendix The exercise descriptions are presented in alphabetical order. To make the exercises easier to reference, click or press on the images in the program to quickly navigate to the page with the full step-by-step description.

AMERICAN DEADLIFT GUIDELINES: • Anterior pelvic tilt in the bottom position and then posterior pelvic tilt in the top position, keeping your spine within your neutral zone (don’t excessively hyperextend through your lower back)

• Lower the bar just below your knees • Keep the load very light for this variation

HOW-TO: Stand with the barbell in your hands. Descend just as you would in a Romanian deadlift, making sure to sit back as much as possible and keep your shins vertical. As you descend, slide the bar along your thighs and tilt your pelvis anteriorly. Stop when the bar is just below your kneecaps. Reverse the movement and pelvic position as you rise upward, finishing the lockout by pushing your hips forward with a strong posterior pelvic tilt. Unlike the RDL, which involves a purely vertical bar path, there will be some horizontal movement caused by pushing your hips forward. People with long arms may want to widen their grip on the bar (sort of like a snatch grip) so that the bar is roughly level with the hips at lockout.

BANDED QUADRUPED KICKBACK GUIDELINES: • Keep the resistance light to ensure a smooth tempo • Squeeze your glutes and hold for a one second pause in the finish position • Keep your back fairly neutral (avoid excessive hyperextension)

HOW-TO: Get down on all fours, then hook a small band around the arch of your foot and around both of your thumbs. Pinning the band in place underneath your palms, kick your leg back at an upward angle.

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BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE GUIDELINES: • Reach full hip extension, posterior pelvic tilt, and contract your glutes maximally • Push your knees out or make sure they track over your middle toes • Push through your heels; optional: raise your toes off ground • Tuck your chin (elevate on BOSU ball) or keep your head neutral • Position the bar just above your pubic bone in the lower abdominal region • Use a pad and make sure it is centered on the bar and the bar is centered on your hips • Use small weight plates to increase range of motion

HOW-TO: To perform the barbell glute bridge, sit on the ground with your legs straight and then either roll the barbell over your legs or have a spotter place the bar over your hips. Make sure the bar pad is centered on the bar and that the bar is centered on your hips. From there, form a wide grip on the bar, spacing your hands far enough apart so that there is a slight bend in your elbows. Once you have your grip, slide your feet back and assume your glute bridge stance—feet straight or slightly turned out. Keeping the barbell positioned over your hips, drive your heels into the ground and thrust your hips into the bar. As you raise your hips, use your arms to push on the barbell to keep it in place. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension. As you lower your hips to the ground, continue pushing on the barbell with your arms to keep it centered over your hips.

BENT LEG TO SPREAD EAGLE REVERSE HYPER GUIDELINES: • Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement • Keep your back fairly neutral (avoid excessive lumbar hyperextension) • Grip handles of the reverse hyper or sides of bench • Keep your legs bent in the bottom position and straighten as you extend and spread your legs • Use additional padding when performing the movement on a bench

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HOW-TO: Set up on a bench with your lower abdomen aligned over the edge of the bench or reverse hyper. Grip the outsides of the bench or the handles of the reverse hyper, allow your legs to hang off the end with your knees bent at roughly a 90-degree angle. Extend and raise your legs while spreading them outward and squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension. Flex or bend your legs on the way down to return to the start position.

BENT-OVER SEMI-STRAIGHT LEG CABLE KICKBACK GUIDELINES: • Grip something stable • Keep your spine fairly neutral • Set the cable to the lowest setting and use an ankle strap or kickback strap • Squeeze your glutes at full hip extension

HOW-TO: Set the cable column so it lines up with your instep. (This is the lowest setting on most cable column machines.) If the cable column doesn’t drop low enough for you, stand on a step. Hook the strap around your Achilles tendon. With your strapped foot lifted off the ground, slightly bent, and positioned just in front of your body, lean forward slightly and hold onto something stable to maintain balance. Kick your leg straight back, squeezing your glutes as you extend your leg and reach full hip extension.

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BODYWEIGHT 45-DEGREE HYPER GUIDELINES: • Round your back and tuck your chin to make it more glute dominant • Squeeze your glutes maximally as you reach full hip extension • Turn your feet out to make the movement more glute dominant • Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands behind your head to make the movement more challenging

HOW-TO: To set up, adjust the pad as high up on your thighs as it can be without interfering with hip flexion. Turn your feet out roughly 45-degrees, round your back, fold your arms over your chest, and tuck your chin. Drive your hips forcefully into the pad and squeeze your glutes. Keep your back rounded and hold the contraction for a slight pause as you reach full hip extension. The distance between your ribcage and pelvis should not change throughout the set.

BODYWEIGHT FROG PUMP GUIDELINES: • Tuck your chin (elevate on a BOSU ball) or keep your head neutral

• Arms flush with the ground or bent with clenched fists • Press heels together and push through the outer edges of your feet

HOW-TO: Lie on your back and position your heels together. Position your heels close to your butt and allow your hips to abduct. You don’t want your feet too far from your body or too close, and you don’t want your knees touching the ground or straight up in the air. Keep your knees and feet in the same position, drive through the outsides of your heels, and raise your hips. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension.

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B-STANCE BARBELL HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Keep your head forward and tuck your chin • Align the bottoms of your shoulder blades with the edge of the bench • Move from your sternum down and think about keeping your ribs down • Position the bar just above your pubic bone in the lower abdominal region • Use a pad and make sure it is centered on the bar and the bar is centered on your hips

HOW-TO: Position the bottoms of your shoulder blades along the front of a secured bench, roll the barbell over your hips, and assume a narrow hip thrust stance. Next, straighten one leg, placing your heel just in front of your other foot and keeping the toes of the extended leg in the air. The key is to use your extended leg only for balance and stability. Your rear foot (the one that is closer to your body) should produce around 70 percent of the force, while your extended leg produces about 30 percent of the force when you extend your hips. To execute the movement, drive through the heel of the foot that is closer to your body and raise your hips into the barbell. Realize that your extended leg is there only to provide balance and stability. In other words, don’t actively push your extended leg into the floor as you extend your hips.

CABLE CUFF HIP EXTERNAL ROTATION GUIDELINES: • Maintain balance by gripping something stable • You can use a light band or a cable column with a cuff or dip belt • Keep the load light until you get the hang of it

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HOW-TO: To get set up, wrap the cuff, belt, or band below your knee and brace onto a box or the arm of the cable column. Raise your knee to hip level, bring your knee across your centerline, and then horizontally abduct raised leg while externally rotating your grounded leg. As you do this, rotate your torso in the same direction as your raised leg, keeping your torso aligned with your elevated thigh.

CABLE STANDING HIP ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Grip the center column for balance and stability • Keep the resistance light so you don’t struggle to fully abduct your leg

HOW-TO: Set the cable to the lowest setting, wrap the strap around your ankle, and turn your body so your hips face away from the center column. Grip the center column or support arms of the cable machine with your near arm to maintain balance and place your opposite hand on your hip. Allow your strapped ankle to cross in front of your grounded leg and internally rotate your foot (alternatively, it can go behind the leg, too). Keeping your foot turned toward your body, abduct your leg until you reach your end range of motion.

CABLE STANDING SEMI-STRAIGHT KICKBACK GUIDELINES: • Grip something stable, like the center beam of the cable column or the arms of the cable column • Set the cable to the lowest setting and use an ankle or kickback strap • Keep your spine fairly neutral

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HOW-TO: Set the cable column so that it lines up with your instep and hook the strap around your Achillies tendon. With your strapped foot lifted slightly off the ground and positioned just in front of your body, grip something stable to maintain balance, and then kick your leg straight back, maintaining a slight bend in your knee. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension.

CONSTANT-TENSION KNEE-BANDED BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE GUIDELINES: • Reach full hip extension, posterior pelvic tilt, and contract your glutes maximally • Push your knees out or make sure they track over your middle toes • Push through your heels; optional: raise your toes off ground • Tuck your chin (elevate on BOSU ball) or keep your head neutral • Use small weight plates to increase range of motion under tension • Keep constant tension throughout the set; don’t pause in the top or bottom position

HOW-TO: To perform the constant-tension barbell glute bridge, position a Glute Loop above your knees, sit on the ground with your legs straight, and then either roll the barbell over your legs or have a spotter place the bar over your hips. Make sure the bar pad is centered on the bar and that the bar is centered on your hips. From there, form a wide grip on the bar, spacing your hands far enough apart that there is a slight bend in your elbows. Once you have your grip, slide your feet back and assume your glute bridge stance—feet straight or slightly turned out. Keeping the barbell positioned over your hips, drive your heels into the ground and thrust your hips into the bar. As you raise your hips, use your arms to stabilize on the barbell to keep it in place and drive your knees outward into the band. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension but don’t pause; instead keep constant tension throughout the entire set by performing smooth, uninterrupted reps.

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DEAD STOP SINGLE-LEG FOOT-ELEVATED HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Optimal bench height is 12-16 inches, depending on height/anatomy • Align the bottoms of your shoulder blades with the front of the bench • Drive your hips high and look up slightly; don’t move from the sternum down like other hip thrust variations

• Pause in the bottom and top position

HOW-TO: Set up in front of the Glute Bench or place a plyometric box in front of you. The front edge of the box should be where your feet would normally rest on the ground. You can place the arches of your feet on the edge of the bench, or both heels on top of the bench with your toes raised. Your hips and knees should be roughly 90 degrees. Position your feet together along your center line, then lift one leg by pulling your knee toward your chest. You can keep your leg bent or straighten it—whichever you prefer. To execute the movement, drive your elbows into the bench, push through the center of your foot or heel, and elevate your hips. Squeeze your glute as you reach the top position and pause for one second. Lower into the bottom position with control, pausing for one second in the start position.

DUMBBELL 45-DEGREE HYPER GUIDELINES: • Round your back and tuck your chin to make it more glute dominant • Hold the dumbbell underneath your chin and tight to your chest • Squeeze your glutes maximally as you reach full hip extension • Turn your feet out to make the movement more glute dominant

HOW-TO: Position the dumbbell underneath or just in front of the pad on the ground, then get into the machine. With your feet turned out and your back rounded, lower into the bottom position, grip the dumbbell with both hands, and pull it to the center of your chest. Keep the dumbbell vertical and position it underneath your chin. To perform the movement, drive your hips forcefully into the pad and squeeze your glutes. Keeping your back rounded, hold the contraction for a slight pause as you reach full hip extension.

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DUMBBELL FROG PUMP GUIDELINES: • Tuck your chin (elevate on a BOSU ball) or keep your head neutral • Position dumbbell over the center of your hips and grip the outsides of the weight • Press heels together and push through the outer edges of your feet

HOW-TO: Lie on your back and position your heels together. Position your heels close to your butt and allow your hips to abduct. You don’t want your feet too far from your body or too close, and you don’t want your knees touching the ground or straight up in the air. Get the dumbbell into position by centering it over your hips and gripping the outsides of the weight. To execute the movement, keep your knees and feet in the same position, drive through the outsides of your heels, and raise your hips. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension.

DUMBBELL SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Optimal bench height is 12-16 inches, depending on height/anatomy • Align the bottoms of your shoulder blades with the front of the bench • Keep your head forward and tuck your chin • Move from your sternum down and think about keeping your ribs down • You can keep your top leg bent or straight

HOW-TO: Position the bottoms of your shoulder blades along the front of a secured bench and assume your hip thrust stance. Maneuver the dumbbell handle over your hip flexor on the same side as the leg you intend to keep on the ground. Next, assume your hip thrust stance, positioning your feet together along your center line. Lift one leg by pulling your knee toward your chest. To perform the movement, drive through your heel, raise your hips until they are roughly in line with your grounded knee and shoulders, and squeeze your glute as you reach the top position.

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ENHANCED ECCENTRIC DUMBBELL SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Optimal bench height is 12-16 inches, depending on height/anatomy • Keep your head forward and tuck your chin • Move from your sternum down and think about keeping your ribs down • Perform the concentric phase using a b-stance and the eccentric phase in a single-leg stance B-STANCE (CONCENTRIC PHASE)

SINGLE-LEG (ECCENTRIC PHASE)

HOW-TO: Position the bottoms of your shoulder blades along the front of a secured bench. Maneuver the dumbbell handle over your hip flexor on the same side as your driving leg. Next, straighten one leg, placing your heel just in front of your other foot and keeping the toes of the extended leg in the air. The key is to use your extended leg only for balance and stability. Your rear foot (the one that is closer to your body) should produce around 70 percent of the force, while your extended leg produces about 30 percent of the force when you extend your hips. To execute the movement, drive through the heel of the foot that is closer to your body and raise your hips into the dumbbell. Realize that your extended leg is there only to provide balance and stability. In other words, don’t actively push your extended leg into the floor as you extend your hips. Once in the top position, lift your extended leg by pulling your knee to your chest. Lower down slowly with control. When you reach the bottom position, assume a b-stance and repeat the sequence.

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EXTRA RANGE SIDE-LYING HIP ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Rest between legs/sides • Hold the top position for a slight pause • Perform deliberate controlled reps EXTRA-RANGE SIDE-LYING HIP ABDUCTION OFF BENCH

PLANK EXTRA-RANGE SIDE-LYING HIP ABDUCTION

HOW-TO: Lie on your side with your shoulder and elbow on the bench and rest your bottom foot on a low box or Glute Bench. You can also plank on your knee and elbow if you don’t have a bench. To execute the movement, internally rotate your top leg (rotate your foot toward the ground) and lower it behind your bottom leg. Keeping that leg internally rotated, abduct your leg by raising it straight up until you run out of range of motion. Hold for a slight pause in the top position.

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FROG REVERSE HYPER GUIDELINES: • Keep your heels together and knees bent • Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension • Maintain a fairly neutral spine

HOW-TO: Set up on a bench with your lower abdomen aligned over the edge. With your torso flat against the pad, grip the outsides of the bench or handles of the reverse hyper and position the bottoms or insides of your feet together. Squeeze your glutes and raise your legs, keeping the heels of your feet together the entire time. Momentarily pause in the top position and control the descent.

HIP-BANDED KNEELING HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Brace onto something stable for stability (hold someone’s hands or grip a stable object) • Squeeze your glutes and reach full hip extension with posterior pelvic tilt • Use a pad to protect your knees and block your feet using kettlebells or dumbbells

HOW-TO: Find adequate padding for your knees, such as balance pads, ab mats, or a folded yoga mat. Position the band around your hips, just above your pubic bone. Walk forward, putting tension into the band. Kneel on the pads, then sit your hips back. You can spread your knees and position your heels together in a frog/ butterfly-like setup—many people feel it more in their glutes when they adopt this stance. With your torso forward and your back flat, drive your hips into the band using the power of your glutes to extend your hips forward. As your torso rises, use your hands to maintain balance or, if you don’t have something to grip, shift your weight forward slightly to achieve an upright position. Your upper back will round slightly as you extend your hips if you tilt your pelvis properly.

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KNEELING CABLE KICKBACK GUIDELINES: • Keep your spine fairly neutral • Squeeze your glutes at full hip extension • You can start with your leg bent, semi-straight, or straight

HOW-TO: Place a bench in front of the cable column, position the cable to the lowest setting, and—depending on the strap you are using—hook it either around your Achilles tendon or the heel/arch of your foot. If your leg is bent, kick it straight back as you extend your knee. If your leg is straight, slowly swing it back until you reach full hip extension. (You might feel your hamstrings working more with this variation.) With both variations, squeeze your glute as you reach full hip extension.

KNEE-BANDED CHA CHA GUIDELINES: • Grip onto something stable such as a plyometric box, pole, or squat rack uprights • Rest between legs/sides • Sink your hips back and focus on keeping the majority of your weight on one leg

HOW-TO: Place a resistance band above your knees and position your feet together underneath your hips. Next, hinge forward, sit your hips back and hold onto something stable. Shift the majority of your weight onto one leg, drive your non-loaded leg back at a 45-degree angle toward the outside of your body.

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KNEE-BANDED FROG THRUST GUIDELINES: • Keep your head forward and tuck your chin • Align the bottoms of your shoulder blades with the edge of the bench • Position dumbbell over the center of your hips and grip the outsides of the weight • Press heels together and push through the outer edges of your feet

HOW-TO: Place a Glute Loop above your knees and position the bottoms of your shoulder blades along the front of a stable bench. Place your heels close to your butt and allow your hips to abduct. You don’t want your feet too far from your body or too close, and you don’t want your knees touching the ground or straight up in the air. Get the dumbbell into position by centering it over your hips and gripping the outsides of the weight. To execute the movement, keep your knees and feet in the same position, drive through the outsides of your heels, and raise your hips. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension.

KNEE-BANDED FEET-ELEVATED GLUTE BRIDGE GUIDELINES: • Reach full hip extension, posterior pelvic tilt, and contract your glutes maximally • Push through your heels; optional: raise your toes • Position your arms flush with the ground or bent with clenched fists • Drive your knees out as hard as possible against the band

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above your knees. Lie on your back in front of a Glute Bench or plyometric box so that your knees are positioned around 90 degrees. You can place the arches of your feet on the edge of the bench, or both heels on top of the bench with your toes raised. Driving through your heels or the centers of your feet, elevate your hips until you reach full hip extension. Squeeze your glutes for one second in the top position.

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KNEE-BANDED QUADRUPED HIP EXTENSION GUIDELINES: • Keep your knee bent • Keep your back fairly neutral • If you’re using a small band, position it above your knee • If you’re using a long or more elastic band, trap it under the knee of your loaded leg

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above your knees and get into the quadruped position. Keeping your knee bent or slightly bent, kick your leg back. You can flare your knee outward a little bit or keep it straight—whichever feels best. Squeeze your glutes as you reach full hip extension.

KNEE-BANDED SEATED HIP ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Roll onto the lateral edges of your feet • Position your torso upright

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above your knees and sit on a bench. Assume a medium to wide stance so that your knees are in slight valgus (cave inward) in the start position. Drive you knees outward into the band. Strive to reach full hip abduction range of motion with each rep. You can roll onto the edges of your feet to get a little more range of motion.

KNEE-BANDED SEATED HIP ABDUCTION WITH SLIDERS GUIDELINES: • Slide your feet outward maximally using Valslides or Gliding Discs; optional: you can wear socks and slide your feet across a hard surface

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above your knees and sit on a bench. Drive you knees laterally into the band while sliding your feet outward. Strive to reach full hip abduction range of motion with each rep.

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KNEE-BANDED STANDING HIP ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Grip something stable such as a squat rack upright or brace against a wall to maintain balance • Position the Glute Loop above or below your knees • Ideally, use a L/XL Glute Loop

HOW-TO: To get set up, place a Glute Loop above or below your knees, brace against a wall or grip something stable. Shift your weight onto one foot while lifting and internally rotating your other foot. Keeping your foot turned toward your body, abduct your unweighted leg until you reach your end range of motion or the full stretch in the band.

KNEE-BANDED STANDING HIP HINGE ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Roll onto the lateral edges of your feet • Strive to reach the end of your range of motion with each rep

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above or below your knees. Assume a comfortable stance with your feet positioned roughly shoulders’ width apart. You need enough tension in the band to prevent it from sliding down your legs. Next, tilt your torso forward, sink your hips back, and bend your knees slightly while keeping your shins roughly vertical. With your back flat and your torso positioned at roughly a 45-degree angle, drive your knees outward into the band. You can also roll onto the outsides of your feet to get a little more range of motion.

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KNEE-BANDED SIDE-LYING CLAM GUIDELINES: • Rest between legs/sides • Post up on your elbow or hand • You may need to position the band up your thighs to fully abduct your legs

HOW-TO: To set up, position a Glute Loop above your knees, lie on your side, plank on to your elbow, and bend your hips and knees at roughly a 45-degree angle. Crisscross the arches of your feet and raise your top leg, keeping your bottom leg flush with the ground.

KNEE-BANDED SUPINE TRANSVERSE HIP ABDUCTION GUIDELINES: • Keep constant tension in the band so it doesn’t slide down your legs • Arms flush with the ground or bent with clenched fists • Try to keep your knees and feet aligned as you abduct your hips

HOW-TO: Position a Glute Loop above your knees, lie on your back, and flex your hips and knees at a 90-degree angles. Drive you knees out forcefully into the band, pausing at your end range or when you reach maximum tension in the band.

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PAUSE BODYWEIGHT SINGLE-LEG HIP THRUST GUIDELINES: • Optimal bench height is 12-16 inches, depending on height/anatomy • Align the bottoms of your shoulder blades with the front of the bench • Keep your head forward and tuck your chin • Move from your sternum down and think about keeping your ribs down • Pause in the bottom and top position • You can keep your leg bent or straighten it—whichever you prefer

HOW-TO: Make sure your bench is secure and won’t slide backward, position your upper back against the bench, curl your arms, dig your triceps into the bench, and make fists with your hands (or put your arms in a T position). With the bottoms of your shoulder blades lined up with the front of the bench, assume your hip thrust stance, positioning your feet together along your center line. Next, lift one leg by pulling your knee toward your chest. To perform the movement, drive through your heel, raise your hips until they are roughly in line with your grounded knee and shoulders, and squeeze your glute as you reach the top position. Pause in the top position, lower yourself with control, and pause in the bottom position. Do this— pause in the bottom and top position—for each rep.

RKC PLANK GUIDELINES: • Squeeze your glutes and posterior pelvic tilt • Round your upper back • Keep your knees soft (slight knee bend)

HOW-TO: Get into the push-up position, then drop to your elbows. With your elbows positioned underneath your shoulders, round your upper back, tuck your chin, and then squeeze your glutes. Think about pulling your belly button toward your ribcage as you contract your glutes to emphasize the posterior pelvic tilt action.

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SEATED HIP ABDUCTION MACHINE GUIDELINES: • You can perform seated hip abductions by leaning back, remaining upright (this can be done seated or hovering in a squat), or leaning forward

• While all torso angles work both the upper and the lower glutes, leaning back emphasizes the upper glutes, while leaning forward brings the lower glutes more into play

• Abduct your legs to your end range of motion with each rep

HOW-TO: Get set up in the machine and pick a load that you can do for 15 reps to failure. After you complete your first set of 15, immediately lower the weight by moving the pin one or two notches up the weight stack, and then perform another 15 reps.

SIDE-LYING HIP RAISE GUIDELINES: • Side plank on your elbow or hand • Reach full hip extension and abduction with every rep • Rest between legs/sides

HOW-TO: Begin in the side-lying position on your elbow with your hips and knees bent. Pushing through your grounded knee, raise your body upward. Abduct both hips at the same time while driving the hips forward. Aim to achieve maximum hip separation at the top of the movement. As you descend, sink back into your bottom hip.

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SINGLE-LEG FOOT-ELEVATED GLUTE BRIDGE GUIDELINES: • Keep your ribs down • Arms flush with the ground or bent with clenched fists • Push through your heel • Reach full hip extension and contract your glute maximally

HOW-TO: Lie on your back in front of a plyometric box or Glute Bench. You can either place the centers of your feet on the edge of the box or place both heels on top of the box with your toes pointed toward the ceiling. Slide backward or forward so that your knee angle is slightly greater than 90 degrees. With your feet together and positioned on your center line, elevate one leg. Note: You can keep your leg bent or straighten it. Choose the option that gives you better mechanics and glute activation. Next, drive through your heel or the center of your foot and raise your hips until you reach full hip extension.

SPREAD EAGLE REVERSE HYPER GUIDELINES: • Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement • Keep your back fairly neutral (avoid excessive lumbar hyperextension) • Grip handles of the reverse hyper or sides of bench • Use additional padding when performing the movement on a bench • Keep your legs together in the bottom position; spread your legs apart in the top position

HOW-TO: Set up on a bench with your lower abdomen aligned over the edge of the bench or reverse hyper. Grip the outsides of the bench or the handles of the reverse hyper, allow your legs to hang. Simultaneously raise and spread your legs. Squeeze your glutes and abduct your hips as you reach full hip extension.

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STANDING CABLE PULL-THROUGH GUIDELINES: • Focus on the mind-muscle connection • Reach full hip extension with posterior pelvic tilt • Squeeze your glutes at full hip extension

HOW-TO: Form your grip on the triceps rope so that your thumbs are forward and your palms are facing each other. Take slack out of the cable by walking forward and assume your stance—most people position their feet at about shoulder width. Next, sit your hips back and allow your torso to tilt forward. Try to keep your back flat and your shins vertical. From here, drive your hips forward into your forearms, squeezing your glutes as you extend your hips. Don’t try to pull on the rope with your arms; instead, use the power of your glutes to push your hips forward. To maximize glute tension, it’s helpful to keep your chin tucked or head down and posterior pelvic tilt as you stand upright, just as you do at the top of a back extension or hip thrust.

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STANDING GLUTE SQUEEZE GUIDELINES: • Keep your feet straight or slightly turned out • Keep your ribs down and chin tucked • Squeeze your glutes maximally with posterior pelvic tilt • Experiment with narrow and wide stance and foot flare to determine which stance allows you to achieve the highest level of glute activation

HOW-TO: Position your feet at about your shoulders’ width. You can position your feet straight or turn them slightly outward. Bend your elbows, clinch your fists, and then squeeze your glutes maximally. You should feel your hips extend and your pelvis tilt underneath your body.

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES To join my Booty by Bret program, visit bootybybret.com For online training, personalized programming, and other products and services, visit bretcontreras.store For my range of glute training products, including the Glute Loop, Glute Bench, T-Bell, Hip Thruster, Thruster Bar, and Thruster Plates, visit bcstrength.com To purchase Glute Lab: The Art and Science of Strength and Physique Training, visit amazon.com