Booty Building 101: Glorious Glutes & Where to Find Them

Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, the newsletter that isn’t always on time, but always delivers! Today’s special afternoon edition is brought to you by scheduling a PM publishing time instead of AM! How fun.

Today is Hump Dayyyyy!

That means we’re hitting you with our guide to building the absolute Maximus Gluteus you could ever imagine.

The guide got a little wordy so we nixed Whoop Wednesday this week. But rest assured, we’ll be back soon with that sexy sexy data we know you’ve been waiting for.

Let’s dive in!

Wednesday Wellness:
Glorious Glutes

Today, we're delving into a topic near and dear to all of our hearts. A trend that has taken the fitness industry by storm. And that is building a pair of absolutely candied yams. A backside that makes heads turn and necks strain.

An ass that follows YOU on Instagram.

So let’s cut to the chase and break down the how-to’s and secrets behind achieving the bountiful booty of your dreams!

The Golden Rule: Progressive Overload is KING 👑

Before we dive into reps, sets, and the intricacies of the various movements, let’s lay down the law: Progressive Overload is not just key; it’s the ironclad, indisputable, all-conquering KING of booty building.

The basic idea? Do more over time. Lift heavier, increase your reps, or create more tension in your muscles. Keep challenging your glutes to do more than they're used to.

Remember, rep ranges and exercises are like ice cream flavors – you’ve got options. None of them are required. It all works baby. What matters most is ensuring that with time, you are lifting heavier, pushing harder, and making those glutes work for their real estate.

Why?

Because your body doesn’t want all that extra junk in your trunk. It’s expensive and takes resources from “more important” bodily functions. That’s because our bodies haven’t had time to adjust to this new reality. Where it truly is all about that bass. No treble.

So if you want to grow those glutes, you have to show your body 2 things:

1. That you NEED this extra muscle. Your body is only adding muscle in order to recover from tough workouts to avoid having to spend resources recovering from that kind of muscle damage again.

2. There’s plenty of food to go around. Your body isn’t going to add costly muscle if it thinks we’re going to run out of food anytime soon.

Our system was programmed for a million years in a state of constant stress. We have lived in abundance for less than 100 years. You have to prove to your prehistoric brain that calories are plentiful and it can afford to spend some of these precious resources on a palatial peach.

Warm It Up:

Don’t walk into the gym and start squatting the equivalent of a baby elephant. Warm-up to prepare your muscles and joints. When talking about growing the muscle, priming that mind-muscle connection is paramount.

Our preferred warmup is movement specific. Try this before your next workout:

3 Rounds 

• 1:00 Bike

• 10 Single-Leg Glute Bridges/side

• 10 Kneeling 1 arm DB Presses

• 10 Dead Bugs

Start easy, and ramp up the effort as you go. You should be warmed up, maybe with a light sweat to get started. Now you’re ready to go!

(You can, and should, alter the movements depending on what exercises your workout calls for that day.)

The Royal Triad:

The glutes are like the royalty of your posterior, and these three exercises are their knights in shining armor:

1. Squats: 

   The classic. It’s a staple for a reason. But that doesn’t mean it’s required. Depending on your unique anatomy and mobility, you might benefit from more or less squats. But don’t worry, if barbell squats don’t work for you, there are plenty of variations:

   1. Split Squats

   2. Bulgarian Split Squats

   3. Lunges

   4. Step Ups

2. Deadlifts: 

   We’ve talked about these before. And just like squats, you don’t have to do the traditional version. If you’re new to this movement, start slow. And don’t feel like you have to do them if you’re uncomfortable. Many people get better results from the variations:

   1. Sumo

   2. RDL

   3. Single Leg DL
      

3. Hip Thrusts: 

   You know them. We love them. The true rockstar of the glute world. Hip Thrusts are the best for 3 reasons:

   1. More Muscle Activation

   2. Less Muscle Damage (You can do them more often)

   3. Great Mind Muscle Connection

Accessory Work:

Don’t underestimate the power of accessory exercises. Your program should be built around the big compound lifts, but you won’t achieve that Kardashian-y Chassis without the extra accessory work.

Bodyweight, cables, & bands are all fantastic tools to get the most out of your goals. This brings us to the most important part of all of this. You need to do damage to the muscles in order for them to grow, but not so much that you can’t recover from it.

Rest and Recover:

Your muscles grow outside the gym. Sleep, nutritious food, and allowing enough rest days are as crucial as the iron you’re pumping.

This is where it gets a little more complicated. There is no one size fits all answer here. You’re in Baskin Robbins baby there’s 64 flavors here and no wrong answers.

The two most important things to think about:

1. You want to hit the glutes multiple times a week.

2. You want between 15 & 20 total sets of work for that muscle group each week.

If you’re using heavy weights you might only be lifting in the 4-10lb rep range. When you’re using body weight/bands you might get 20-50 reps. The guiding principle here is simple: get close to failure each time.

The Bottom Line:

Get it? Bottom...line? (woof we’ve really fallen on hard times) Anyway, remember: the route to glute glory is paved with progressive overload. Reps are your friends, but progression is your BFF.

As long as you remember these 5 Principles:

1. Eat enough food. The best program in the world won’t do a damn thing for you if you aren’t eating enough food.

2. Progressive Overload is King. If you’re not doing more, you’re not going to see more.

3. Rest like a champion. The goal is for the muscle to grow and it only grows when you’re resting.

4. Mind Muscle Connection. You know those stickers on semis? “If you can’t see me, I can’t see you”? It’s the same here. If you’re not feeling it in the glutes, it’s probably not working.

5. The Golden Number: 20 sets of work for the glutes per week. Don’t go crazy and don’t be lazy. Be like our girl Goldilocks.