Glute Activation is a hot topic right now and with good reason – strong, active glutes not only look great, but they also help prevent pain and injury while also helping you to lift more and run faster.
But as much as everyone needs to include the Basic Glute Bridge in their workout routine, it is important to also add some variety to that basic movement to challenge your glutes and work them in different ways.
By using variations of the same basic move, we can progress the movement to challenge our body with the “same, but different.”
Here are 15 Glute Bridge Variations and some new Glute Bridge Activation Series you can include in your workouts to get your glutes activated and working (aka pumped and feeling the burn!).
Squats have become the popular glute exercise on social media, which honestly I don’t completely understand, especially with all of the far more focused glute lifts we now have out there such as hip thrusters and weight glute bridges.
And while I get that we often turn to the squat when we want to work our glutes because they are compound exercise that allows us to move heavy weights, they aren’t necessarily the best, nor only, exercise to develop strong, powerful and sexy butt cheeks.
While lifting heavy is super important, we also need those bodyweight moves that allow us to really focus on engaging and activating the correct muscles. We have to realize that there are 3 drivers of muscle growth we can utilize and that focusing on ACTIVATION of the actual muscle is also key.
So if you want strong glutes, it’s time you not only squatted, but even started doing this FUNDAMENTAL glute move – the glute bridge!
It is a muscle group that many of us want to work on for…well…aesthetic reasons. Whether we want to make it bigger or smaller, rounder or firmer, most of us want to change it.
It is also a muscle group that most of us SHOULD be giving more attention and love to because it isn’t firing as efficiently or effectively as it should be!
When our glutes are underactive, we may not be getting the full benefit of all of those squats and deadlifts and lunges we are doing!
Ever noticed your quads seem to grow but your glutes don’t change?
Or maybe you’ve noticed that you all too often only feel your lower back and hamstrings working NOT your glutes?
When our glutes aren’t firing efficiently, we recruit other muscles to carry the load. Not only does this mean we aren’t actually WORKING our glutes as well as we could be…so all of those moves we are TRYING to do to change them aren’t going to pay off, but we also increase our risk of injury because other muscles, that really can’t handle the load, take over.
That is why it is so important to get your glutes activated and firing BEFORE your lifting session, runs or rides!
Here are 10 Mini Band Moves to get your glutes activated and help you build a better, stronger!, butt. These moves will work your butt from every angle to get your glute maximus and glute medius working especially!
