Hello!

Second thread now and I feel like I am being annoying so sorry everyone!

Does anybody have any advice as to what exercises I can do (preferably at home) to make my butt (feel silly using that word!) more pert? (silly using this word too!)

I read somewhere that alphabet kickback help separate the butt from the hams - only problem is I don't know what alphabet kickbacks are. I used to use the Figure Athlete site and search on the articles there if I ever had a query but looks as if this site doesn't exist anymore! a lot's changed since I visited this site in 2009!

Anyway I would appreciate anybody's advice!

Ta

[quote]buddaboy wrote:



Thank you very much! this seems simple enough to incorporate into my routine! cheers!

Squats, Lunges and Stiff legs. Yes I swear by them and you can do them with dumbbells or without weight to firm up.

I have been loving these, but lately my erector spinaes get super tight and start to spasm. ANyone know a solution or cause of this?? thanks

Basically both exercises kai covers in here.

this article by bret contreras(enough said) has it all. Even includes videos on the right hand side.

http://www.T-Nation.com/..._the_glute_myth

Probably the hip thrust. Ofcourse you have to becoming eating enough calories to add muscle to your butt so it means you have to gain weight.

deadlifts, I am sure you can either buy weights or find something around the house to use..

body weight squats, or if you are like me use your child for resistance

kickbacks are excellent, as well as hip thrusters!

Heavy kettlebell swings made my butt way bigger (hams too).

I second the hip thrust and to a lesser extent the glute bridge. It really shines once you get comfortable with a bar on your hips but you can make it happen. Never before experienced quite a pump in the glute muscles until I did a 10x10 following my other BB moves. If using bodyweight you may want to start with a single leg. Try a mechanical dropset: Single leg hip thrust---> Dual leg hip thrust ---> Single leg glute bridge ----> Dual leg glute bridge.

P.S. The difference between the two is simply where your back lies, elevated or not. Thrusts have increased range of motion, hit the glutes better but is far more uncomfortable when you load it with a bar. Bridges provide shorter range of motion, but better leverage so you can load more weight with less hurt on the hips because at the top some of the weight is supported by the hands. However the greater bend to the knee seems to hit the upper hamstring really well. Both are personal favorites

@mamaherrera video tape yourself doing the movement. I would put money on guessing that your pelvis is rocking forward (anterior pelvic tilt) (google it for reference) causing your low back to be in a shortened flexed position which in turn lengthens your ham strings and makes your low back so tight/irritated that finding your glutes/hams is near impossible.

Basically you need to shift your pelvis to a posterior tilt on the way down in the movement with your knee of the foot on the floor bent for hamstring glute contraction and maintain that position all the way to the top and then reset that before the next rep. Two other cues would be Make sure that your stomach has a concave vacuum effect from the top to the bottom all the way back to the top. Picture an old man showing off for a younger lady at the beach when they suck their stomachs in.

Also make sure that the knee of the foot on the floor stays bowed out beyond the foot and hips slightly to ensure that your glute is turned on throughout the entire movement. Don't exaggerate this to the point to where your knee is out of alignment with your foot and your hip but just make sure that it's rotated outward a little bit. Otherwise you will definitely lose your balance and lose the entire point of the exercise because you will have the wrong muscles contracted. Hope this helps.