Glutes, butt, peach, ass whatever you want to call it. For a long time the whole leg day was neglected by men (still is by some people) and women were discouraged from lifting weights because they would look too manly (which is ridiculous). You'd get those gym bros that only ever seem to rotate between arms and chest days. However over time deadlifts and squats are getting into a proper weightlifting routine, but one area is seemingly getting left behind. Why is this? Well for men the glutes aren’t really seen as an important area to improve for aesthetics or performance. They much rather concentrate on growing their biceps, getting ripped abs and a chiseled chest. Or look for PB’s in the Bench, Deadlift & Squat.
Before I delve into the reasons why the above is incorrect lets talk about the role of the glutes. The glutes perform four movements:
Hip Extension
Hip Abduction
Hip External Rotation
Posterior Pelvic Tilt
To work them properly you therefore need to make sure you target all these areas with the proper glute exercises. I’ll link some good exercises in the addition sources section of the blog. Your glutes are also the biggest muscle in the human body, so if it's the largest then surely it needs some of the most attention in developing it.
So why are glutes so important, well your glutes are responsible for a lot of sports based activities. When you’re sprinting the glutes are actually more important than you quads, meaning glute training is critical in football and athletics. Studies found that combat sport needed good glutes to create more power when punching & kicking.
I mentioned about people wanting to develop their bench, deadlift & squat. Well two of these exercises require strong glutes to maximise your potential. Think about it, when you see powerlifters they’ve not got a flat bum. The squat primarily trains the quads but the glutes are still active as hip extension is happening. It's the same for deadlifts as well therefore training your glutes will transfer over to improvements in both these lifts. Don't think it's just lower body that will benefit from good glutes. They work to stabilize your pelvis and core meaning it’s easier to perform upper body exercises like the overhead press.
Something which I’m always a big advocate of is protecting our health in the long run, reoccurring injuries have been the bane of my life. Therefore I want to make sure I take as many precautions as I can with my training at the moment. Good glutes will make sure your hips are properly aligned when doing the squat to stop your knees from caving in. They also protect your lower back from rounding when performing the deadlift. Large amounts of our day is spend sitting on our backside, where the glutes are inactive. This means for the large majority of the population will have weak glutes. This then transfers over to your posture as it helps build the foundation, from the bottom up (pun intended).
Final point, I’ve talked about the physical benefits of working the glutes but at the start I mentioned how men will priorities the abs, arms and chest to appeal more. Now of course this is personal preference but the glutes are one of the top area people find most attractive (I’ve had many sources confirm they look for this don’t worry). Think about it from an aesthetics point of view a well developed set of glutes improve overall appearance giving a more muscular view.
That’s today's blog post wrapped up, hope you enjoyed it and stop skipping out on your glute training guys.
Thanks
Cameron
Additional Sources
Jeff Nipard - 5 Reasons Why EVERYONE Should Want Huge Glutes (Men & Women)(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgsGtqJwqRc)
James Smith - How to Hip Thrust and improve ability in Bedroom 🍑👉🏼👌🏼
Jeff Nipard - How To Build An Amazing Butt | Advanced Glute Training Science Explained
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