The late Vince Gironda, a legend in bodybuilding circles,
had some eccentric opinions. It's said that his gym in
Studio City, California was devoid of free weight squat
racks because he believed squatting exercises only created
"turnip thighs" and a big butt. Well, what on earth is
wrong with thighs that are big near the top (as long as
it's muscular size) and a booty that has a protruding
contour? These are muscles as deserving of respect and
attention as any other. And in the case of the gluteus
maximus; it possesses the potential to carry more power and
size than any other muscle in the body.
Sometimes it appeared that Mr. Gironda's assertion was that
only men shouldn't build their butts. This seems like a
sexist opinion. Given that surveys of women have repeatedly
revealed that they look at the male posterior as much as
vice versa, it'd be natural to assume that inspiring a
woman to improve her rear contour might be best
accomplished by her male counterpart improving his. Yet I
think most women are aware of their derrières and want to
make them more appealing. For this reason, the motivation
through inspiration might need to go in the other
direction. Regardless, building a better butt is best done
with the same process (whether you're male or female),
despite what some would have you believe with their
recommendations.
The number one body shaping principle to keep in mind for
improving your butt is to realize that "shaping" or
"firming" the area actually requires some muscle building.
Adopting the widespread notion that you can noticeably
change your glutes without adding some muscle to them will
likely lead to unsatisfying results and disillusionment.
Muscles don't really improve in shape or become harder
without adding new muscle tissue. If you lose three pounds
of fat from this region and don't simultaneously gain three
pounds of muscle, you'll have a net loss in glute size and
it's unlikely that you'll have a nicer butt. This seems
especially likely given the fact that muscle weighs more
than fat, thereby resulting in less visual mass created by
three pounds of muscle than three pounds of fat. Of course,
the muscle will likely be more visually appealing than even
a third of that fat, but that's venturing in to subjective
opinion.
What we want are some objectively reliable methods for
steadily building the glutes. The two most effective
exercises I know of for accomplishing this are deep squats
and stiff-legged dead-lifts. These two movements will build
size and shape in your glutes faster and more impressively
than doing endless lunges across a gym floor. Yet the
performance of lunges is ubiquitous among women while squat
racks and stiff-legged dead-lift platforms often appear
abandoned by the same. Actually, they seem abandoned by men
also. This could be due to the fact that working the glutes
within a lower body workout can be an arduous endeavor.
One incredibly effective machine for performing
glute-bulging, deep squats while easily maintaining safety
is the squat machine by BodyMaster. It has a forty-five
degree angled platform to stand on while supporting the
weight with arched shoulder pads. When facing inward
(toward the weight) on this machine, you can perform what
people refer to as a "power squat". With your feet placed
as far back on the platform as they safely can be and
shoulder width apart, squat downward until your butt
touches the back of your heels. This will require that you
stick your butt outward as you descend to the deepest part
of the squat in order that you don't strain your lower
back. It's this hip-protruding posture from the deepest
squatting position to the halfway point on your way back up
where the gluteus muscles get their best workout.
Stiff-legged dead-lifts might seem counter-intuitive.
Society tells us to bend at the knees when we pick up
something heavy. But that instruction assumes that our only
alternative is to lift from the lower back – which is NOT
where you should lift from while doing this exercise.
Bodybuilders know that there is also the option of lifting
primarily from the hamstring and glute muscles when picking
something up without the use of the quadriceps. Moreover,
if you keep your mind focused on your gluteus muscles while
lifting the weight, you'll be performing an exercise that
is second-to-none for building a strong and incredibly
shapely butt.
When performing stiff-legged dead-lifts, it's best be on a
platform specifically designed for the exercise. This
platform provides a rack for the weight bar at about hip
level. It's also narrower than the width of the bar so as
to allow the plates on the bar to drop lower than the
platform you're standing on when you're at the bottom of
the movement. Make sure you keep your feet just slightly
wider than shoulder width (for better glute involvement),
and bend very slightly at the knees. Holding the bar with
your hands at shoulder width, lower the weight by bending
at the hips until the bar touches the top of your feet near
your lower shins. Then, keeping the back stiff and slightly
arched, bring your body back up to nearly upright while
pulling from your glute muscles. Be sure to keep the bar up
against your body throughout the movement to help prevent
using your back.
NEVER attempt these exercises if you have a back injury and
always consult your physician before beginning a routine
involving these exercises or any other training regimen for
that matter.
That said, here is the best four-exercise routine I'd
recommend for building the butt:
1. Deep Squats (BodyMaster machine): (4-7 sets of 6 reps)
2. Stiff-legged dead-lifts: (4-7 sets of 6 reps)
3. Leg curls (4-7 sets of 6 reps)
4. Lunges (4 sets of 6 reps)
Yes, I recommend lunges too. However, I suggest doing them
at the end of the routine when the glutes have been
pre-exhausted by the previous exercises. Also, I recommend
that you do them one leg at a time rather than alternating
between legs by walking them across the gym floor.
Perform this routine no more than once per week and less
often as you progress in development. These exercises, in
this sequence, are the surest way I know of for creating an
eye-catching… uh… derrière.
----------------------------------------------------
Scott Abbett is the author of HardBody Success: 28
Principles to Create Your Ultimate Body and Shape Your Mind
for Incredible Success. He is a certified fitness trainer
and a Master Practitioner and Trainer of NLP. To see his
personal transformation, visit http://
http://www.hardbodysuccess.com
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