Butt-focused programs are super popular for both women and men. While the programs targeted towards women are often more focused on aesthetics, the programs targeted towards men are often about performance.
But regardless of which butt program you do or glute goal you have, there is one giant mistake we see happening across the board when doing exercises to strengthen, build, firm up, and activate the glutes.
Unfortunately, not only is this mistake costing many exercisers in terms of the results they are getting, it is also setting them up for a higher risk for injury with their workouts.
So what is this huge mistake that is being made with many glute-focused programs and exercises?
Not completely and totally focusing 100% on squeezing the glutes.
Here’s the thing–where you put your mind when you workout has a huge impact on the results you get from the workout. It also has a big influence on how your body feels and functions after the workout.
Here are some signs that you are not focused enough on squeezing your butt muscles during your glute workouts:
- You feel generally fatigued throughout your body after your workout instead of a high level of fatigue only in your glutes
- Your joints–such as your knees, hips, and spine–are feeling achy after your workouts
- Your muscles are feeling sore for more than 24 hours after your workout
- You feel less connected to your glutes after your workout
- Your hips feel less mobile after your workout
So what can you do about it?
Here are three steps you can take to make sure you stay 100% focused on your glutes:
- Use Less Motion, Or No Motion
Do exercises that keep you more in your mid-range of hip motion–not moving all the way up, down, in, or out–until you feel like you can make and maintain a really strong mind-muscle connection to your glutes during each exercise.
When you move into more of the extremes of motion, it can be more difficult to feel your glutes squeeze and working. So stay more in the middle of your range until you feel really component making and maintaining the glute squeeze.
- Change The Weight
Doing light bands or only body weight exercises can make it more difficult to really feel your glutes squeezing. Adding in more weight or making the exercise more challenging can help you feel these muscles more.
But beware! Adding in too much extra challenge can actually have the opposite effect.
So be honest with yourself with this one–are you working at a weight that is actually near your max, or are you going way lighter than what your body can do?
If you are more on the lighter or even moderate side, feel free to take things up a notch. But, if you feel like you are already pushing yourself at your maximum from the very first rep, you will likely need to lighten up.
- Move Slower
The faster you move, the more difficult it will be to make and maintain a mind-muscle connection, especially if you are lifting heavier weights. So, aim to slow things down–like way, way down–to no only keep the mind-muscle connection strong but also keep the exercise very localized to your glutes.
Implementing these three tips with any glute exercise you do not only can help you feel the exercise more in your glutes, it can also help you get better glute-results.
Each of these steps is something that we teach you to implement within the “Butt, Gut, and Guns” program in the Exercise For Life Membership.
You can get access to this entire program–as well as everything else within the membership–for free for 30 days when you click here to sign up.
If you are wanting to build the strength and function of your glutes, you need to make sure you are avoiding the #1 mistake that keeps many people from the results they want. Following the three steps outlined above will help you do that consistently, and that is exactly what we help you do within the “Butt, Gut, and Guns” program in the Exercise For Life Membership.
Start Your Free Trial Of The Exercise For Life Membership Today!
In strength and health,
Julie & Charlie
