Over the next few weeks, I am going to be covering two of the most noticeable hallmarks of a fit body…
Abs and Glutes!
We are starting off with GLUTES… quite possibly THE trademark of a fit body because a great set of glutes require both TRAINING and NUTRITION and a consistent dedication to a long-term goal (more on the TIME that it takes to develop a great set of glutes later on…).
I’m not going to dig too deep into the anatomy of the glutes since I am pretty sure you are reading this blog post to gather the HOW. Right?
This blog post focuses on the physical appearance of great glutes but EVERYONE should take their glute training seriously… strong glutes are necessary for carrying you through life! The stronger your glutes get, the better they protect against low back, hamstring, knee, and groin injuries.
What I will be covering in this blog post series on glutes…
Week 1:
☀️ The 2 Steps to creating great glutes and the difference between building muscle and decreasing body fat.
☀️ TRAINING:
- Which type of training is the BEST for building glutes.
- Which type of training is BEST for getting those muscles to SHOW (shedding body fat).
Week 2:
Which type of training is WORST for building glutes and why.
Week 3:
How NUTRITION plays a role…
- Over dieting: depletes… can’t build
- Over-processed: chemicals/toxins build up
- Over-eating: how much is too much though?
Week 4:
☀️ How long it takes to change glutes.
☀️ Choosing a “role model” for your vision board.
First, let’s break it down to the basics…
Just like every other muscle group in your body, the appearance of your glutes is dependent upon 2 things:
1.) The muscle mass present.
2.) The amount of body fat covering the present muscle mass in order for you to see the developed muscle mass below.
One way to think about it (I love analogies) is like a mountain range (muscles) and snow (body fat) covering that mountain range… as the “snow” (representing body fat) decreases, you can see the peaks and valleys of the mountain range, much better.
Step 1.) BUILD muscle mass – have enough muscle mass to create that rounded look.
Step 2.) Lean out – Decrease body fat levels enough to see the rounded muscles.
TYPES OF TRAINING:
Since we need to accomplish two goals here, we have a couple different styles of training to implement.
Let me jump off here for just a sec… if you are a skinny-mini and have trouble gaining or maintaining weight, it is best if you focus MOST of your energy on BUILDING (through lifting… not cardio).
If you are like most women, have a difficult time leaning out, and store most of your fat in your lower body, you will want to split your time between building (which is another way of saying SHAPE your glutes) and conditioning (HIIT). The great news here… your body has a tendency to add muscle much easier than someone who has trouble gaining weight.
Remember Step #1? Have enough muscle mass to create that rounded look. This is where you will want to have a plan that includes a wide variety of exercises including:
- Barbell glute bridge
- Reverse lunges
- Cable kick backs
- Deep-wide squats
- Barbell hip thrusts
- Stiff legged dead lift standing on a platform
- Box squat
- High step-ups
- Walking lunges
- Curtsy lunges
You will also want to include a variety of rep ranges low (4-6 reps), medium (8-12 reps), and high reps (15-25 reps).
My recommendation for training glutes is to either train them intensely one or two days per week or to incorporate them as a part of a 3-day per week total body training plan which is how I have set up my 12 Week SKFitLife Online Fitness Challenge and Monthly Membership Programs.
Step #2: Reduce body fat enough in order to be able to see those rounded glutes.The second component to great glutes is sometimes referred to as conditioning. Others also use terms such as toning. Whether you say “conditioning” or “toning”, or any other term referring to “leaning out”, the ultimate goal here is to DECREASE BODY FAT so the curves of your muscles can be seen.
The best training technique to accomplish Step 2 of “Lean Out” is by incorporating high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your training routine.
HIIT torches body fat without eating away at your hard-earned muscle AND even helps in developing even more rounded muscles through the explosive moves.
Hit the HIIT a couple times per week but make sure you are listening to your body! This style of training is NO JOKE. Just getting started? NO PROBLEM! You can scale it down… start where you are and work your way up!
Following so far? Check out the next blog post where I will cover: Which type of training is WORST for building glutes and why.
