Glutes On Fire-Videos and Workout!

I have some videos of my leg workout to share with you all today. Lately, I have been combining a mixture of heavy lower body lifting with yoga and higher intensity/shorter duration cardio (sprints, bodyweight plyo work and stairmill)

Before I begin any lower body workout I always make sure I warm up properly and go through some mobility and flexibility drills.

• When you are doing squatting exercises, always be sure to push through your heels and make sure that your knees stay in line with your toes!
• Always remember to breath, inhale and exhale throughout the entire movement!

Always check in with yourself during the exercise to see if the weight you are using is too heavy or too light. Form should always be first in your mind.  Too many times, I see (mostly men) performing exercises where they need to drop the weight by about 100 lbs to perform it correctly and get the most bang for their buck. Check in–if you think you could be working harder, add some weight on your next set. If you feel that other muscles are firing and NOT your glutes this could mean that the weight you have chosen is a bit too heavy, so back off on the next set. 

 

By simply incorporating strength training into your routine (squats, deadlifts, glute bridges, lunge variations) coupled with plyometrics and SPRINTS, this will transform your lower body into a set of sculpted, sexy and strong set of gams! Not to mention, the legs incorporate the largest muscles in the human body thus creating a huge calorie burn! 

Barbell Deadlifts

 With this set of barbell deadlifts I had a bit of a wider stance and my toes were slightly pointed out at 45 degree angles. I keep my hands  between my legs and hold the bar with a mixed grip, in which one palm is facing toward your body while the other faces away from your body. (I LOVE the mixed grip for improving grip strength!)  When I come up from the floor, I keep driving my hips forward and straighten the knees and back to stand straight with the barbell in hands hand.

As you can see, when I come up to standing, I am ‘snapping’ the hips forward and squeezing the glutes as hard as possible. Tightness in your body will lead to increased stability and allow you to pull heavier weights, therefore you want to ensure that all of the muscles of the back, legs and glutes are TIGHT. Stay focused and in your zone.

I love deadlifts and find them to be an extremely effective and beneficial exercise in my workout program. I also love trap bar deadlifts and find that this style can be a great progression for those just starting out. You can read all about trap bar deadlifts in the post I linked up above!

The wider ‘SUMO’ stance deadlifts but a greater emphasis on the glutes, thighs and hamstrings, not the back.

Single leg deadlifts

I perform single leg deadlifts in different variations. I switch between holding a barbell, holding 2 kettlebells or 1 kettlebell (when I hold 1 kettlebell, I sometimes hold it in the opposite hand to make it ‘off set’ which really fires the core)

I begin with my feet close together,  holding kettlebell in my left hand with an overhand grip, letting my arm hang straight down. I make sure to keep my head up and a tight arch in the small of my back. As you can see, when I begin to bend my left knee, I hinge directly from the hips to lower my torso toward the floor, using the weight as a counterbalance as your left leg comes up in a straight line behind you.  I keep my abs super contracted and squeeze  my left glute and hamstring as I pull my torso back to vertical. Repeat for the desired reps before switching legs

The single leg deadlift is also a great exercise for balance and proprioception. I prefer doing this exercise with my socks so I can really firing up the lower body muscles and feel a much better connection to the ground.

When performing this exercise, the lumbar spine should be in the same position as with a conventional deadlift. Your aim should not be how fast can you get the hands to the ground- but it should be, how far back can I get my hips with a proper hinge and is the weight in my heel of the standing (supporting leg)

The leg that is not on the ground is not simply hanging there,  contrary to what some people think. That back  lifted leg needs to stay engaged and active, ensuring that you are firing the glutes while simultaneously trying to reach it toward the wall behind you. I always will give the cue ‘point your toes toward your belly button’ to ensure that the toes are flexed and facing the ground.

When executed properly, the single leg deadlift (SLDL) is one of my favorite unillateral glute exercises. It helps to build, sculpt and tighten up the entire posterior chain.

Kettlebell Swings

 One of my favorite conditioning exercises! After getting my HKC Kettlebell Certification, I learned SO much more than I already thought I knew about this exercise and the benefits of kettlebell training

 The Kettlebell swing takes practice in order to perform it properly,  you have to be 100% focused with every single muscle in your body in tune with the movement. As much as people think that most of the movement comes from the upper body, as you can see in the video, the kettlebell swing is an amazing glute and hamstring exercise rather than an upper body dominant exercise.

After doing a set of sumo deadlifts, I love to superset those with a set of kettlebell swings to really hit the hamstrings and glutes as well as work on development of the hip hinge which is the most fundamental part of learning any lower body movement.  The power transfer from the kettlebell swings into other ‘big rock’ exercises is so valuable that once you learn the proper way to swing, you will never take this exercise out of your routine!

How I set Up

• To begin the movement of the swing, I squat down (pushing my  hips back) until the kettlebell is well clear of my groin. I start by swinging the bell back between my legs (Keep in mind this is the only time you use your arms to push the weight across, to begin the momentum–After this the arms should not move the weight during the swing)
• At this point in the swing, my forearms push up against my groin and the kettlebell extending out behind me. When coming back up, I will simultaneously squat up and thrust the pelvis forward with force! Squeeze those glute and keep your core engaged. You also want to tighten up your belly as if you are doing a crunch with your abs at the top of the movement.

 GLUTES ON FIRE WORKOUT

 ENJOY!