The Booty Builder Workout

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
Back/Chest

ACTIVATION

Complete 1-2 rounds of the following activation circuit. Complete all 4 moves on one side before completing them on the other side.

CIRCUIT:
10 reps each way each side Quadruped Hip Circles
15 reps each side Fire Hydrants
10 reps each side Forearm Donkey Kicks
20 reps Quadruped Straight Leg Pulses

WORKOUT

Complete 5 rounds of the first exercise, resting about 60-90 seconds between rounds. Then rest 1-2 minutes and move on to the circuit. Complete 3-5 rounds of the circuit, resting as needed. Then rest 1-2 minutes and complete the burnout.

EXERCISE:
8-12 reps Barbell Hip Thruster

CIRCUIT:
10-15 reps per side Side Plank Clams
8-12 reps per side Side to Curtsy Lunge
10-15 reps per side Low to High Wood Choppers **

BURNOUT:
Complete 8 rounds, working 20 seconds, resting 10 seconds in between.
20 seconds Band Pull Thrus
10 seconds Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hamstring
Hips/Glutes
Back/Chest

NOTES:

Focus on really challenging yourself with weight on the Hip Thrusters, even if that means slightly lower reps or even longer rest between rounds. On the circuit, you will still want to challenge yourself with weight; however, you should rest less between rounds and move from one exercise to the next.

On the burnout, move quickly and focus on your glutes engaging. Don’t rest during the 20 seconds of work. Instead have a lighter band ready in case you need to regress so that you can keep moving.

**If you don’t feel your glutes working during the Woodchopper, try the Band Hip Rotations.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Quadruped Hip Circles:

hip-circles

To do Quadruped Hip Circles, start on your hands and knees and place your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips. Keeping your knees bent to about 90 degrees, lift one knee up off the ground and drive your your foot back before you circle and bring your knee up toward the ceiling, forward toward your elbow and then back down and around. To circle the knee around, try to make big circles with your hip. Make circles both going clockwise and then counterclockwise (forward and then backward). Keep your arms straight as you circle and try not to lean away. Really focus on circling from the hip to make your circles bigger. Do not straighten your leg out as you circle.
Fire Hydrants:

fire-hydrants

To do Bent-Knee Fire Hydrants, start on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. Keeping your arms straight and your feet flexed, raise your right leg out to the side with the knee bent to 90 degrees. As you raise your leg out to the side, you want to keep your ankle in line with your knee and not let your foot get above your knee or your knee go up above your foot. You want to try to raise your lower leg parallel to the ground when you lift your leg out to the side. You should feel the outside of your hip and glute working to lift the leg to the side. Don’t simply lean away to get your leg up higher. Keep your core tight and lift from the hip using your glute. Hold at the top then lower back down. Make sure to hold for 1-2 seconds. Do not rush through the lift or simply swing the leg up. Make sure you do not bend your arms to get your leg up higher. Squeeze your butt and make sure you feel it activate. Range of motion isn’t important as long as you feel your glute working. You may even feel this in the leg you are kneeling on because your glute is working to stabilize. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Forearm Donkey Kicks:

forearm-donkey-kick

To do the Forearm Donkey Kick, start on your forearms and knees with your elbows under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Flex your feet. Then, with your right knee bent and foot flexed, drive your right foot up and back toward the ceiling. Keep your core braced and squeeze your glutes as you kick your heel up and back. Do not let your right knee flare out as you lift. Make sure to really drive your heel up toward the ceiling. Extend your hip as you kick back. Don’t simply swing the leg back and up or hyperextend your low back to kick up higher. You want to squeeze your glute and feel your hip extending. You may want to kick out a little bit if you are struggling to feel your glute engage, which means your knee won’t be bent perfectly to 90 degrees but may straighten out just a little. Hold for a second or two at the top and lower back down. You can add weight or a resistance band to this move or slow down the temp to make it more challenging. Complete all reps on one side before switching.
Quadruped Straight Leg Pulses:

straight leg pulses

To do the Quadruped Straight Leg Pulses, set up on your hands and knees with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Flex your feet and straighten one leg out behind you. Keeping your foot flexed and core braced, lift your straight leg up toward the ceiling. Squeeze your glute and lift your leg until it is about parallel to the ground. Only lift higher if you feel your glute working and not your low back. Feel your hip extending and glute squeezing to lift the leg. Do not hyperextend your low back to try to swing the leg up higher. Lower the leg down just a little and pulse it back up to full extension. Do not lower all the way back down. Stay near the top of the lift and pulse. The glute shouldn’t really relax as you lower just an inch or two down. You should feel the muscles constantly engaged and working at that end range of motion. Make sure to keep your hips square to the ground as you pulse. Also, do not bend your arms.

Barbell Hip Thrusters:

hip-thruster-glute-exercise

To do the Barbell Hip Thruster, set up a bench and make sure it won’t move as you bridge up onto it. Take a barbell and put some padding around it so that it won’t dig into your hips as you perform the move. Place your upper back on the bench and sit your butt on the ground with your legs out straight. Place the barbell over your hips and then bend your knees and plant your feet firmly on the ground and close to your butt. Then drive up through your heels and your upper back on the bench, to lift your glutes and the barbell up toward the ceiling. Squeeze your glutes and press your hips up as high as possible, driving the barbell up and off the ground. Hold a second or two at the top and then lower back down and repeat. Do not hyperextend your back at the top. Keep your belly button pulled in toward your spine and really squeeze your glutes at the top. You can even use the pelvic tilt to keep your abs engaged and prevent your low back from taking over. Make sure you are driving straight up through your heels. Do not push yourself backward over the bench. You may find that as you bridge up you want to “push” the barbell down toward your thighs to help you drive up and squeeze your glutes. Lower back down toward the ground and repeat. You do not fully need to touch the weight down, but you do want to complete a full range of motion. Make sure to sit back forward as you lower down so that you don’t hyperextend your low back by simply lowering your butt. Then repeat, driving your hips back up. Do not rush the movement. While you can add weight to make the movement harder, you may also want to slow down the tempo.

Side Plank Clams:

To do the Side Plank Clam, set up on your side propped up on your forearm with your elbow underneath your shoulder. Bend your knees so that your feet and lower legs are behind you. You can place your top hand on your hip or reach it up toward the ceiling, but don’t touch it down to the ground or use it to help you balance or press up. Propped up on your elbow with your knees stacked, lift your bottom hip up off the ground, driving through your knee and forearm. As you bridge your hips up, lift your top leg up and toward the ceiling, keeping the knee bent. Open up your legs, lifting your top knee toward the ceiling using your glute. Make sure to squeeze your glutes forward as you lift. As you lower the leg back down, lower your hip back down to the ground. Repeat, bridging up as you raise your top knee up toward the ceiling. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Also keep your elbow under your shoulder and do not get too spread out. Really focus on bridging and lifting with your glute and obliques. You can also make this move more challenging by completely lifting the top leg and even the foot if you would like.

Side to Curtsy Lunge:

side-to-curtsy-lunge

To do the Side to Curtsy Lunge, start with one side, say your left side. Lunging with your left foot, step the left foot out toward “9″ on the clock. As you lunge out to the side, bend your left knee as you keep your right leg straight and sit your butt back. Don’t be afraid to hinge forward slightly, hinging at the hips. Really push your butt back and bend that left knee as you keep both toes pointing straight ahead. Keep your left heel down as you sink into the lunge. Keep your chest up even if you slightly lean forward to push your butt back. Then drive back up to standing, pushing off your left foot to come back center. Do not bend your right leg to come back center. Really push off that outside leg and drive off your heel. If you need to, touch your foot down center as you stand tall to help you balance before moving into the Curtsy Lunge. If you don’t need to tap your foot down, move right into the Curtsy Lunge. Lunge back into a Curtsy Lunge with your left foot, stepping your left foot back behind your right leg. You will reach your left foot back to about “5″ on the clock as you bend your front and back knee as if you are almost going to half kneel on the ground. Make sure you step far enough back (do not keep your left foot too close to your right) so that you can bend both knees and sink down into a deep lunge. Keep your right heel down on the ground and your chest up. Make sure you feel the outside of the front glute really loading as you sink down. Then drive through your front heel to come back up to standing center. Squeeze your glutes at the top and move right back into a Side Lunge on the left side. Complete all reps on one side before switching. Add weight to make the move more challenging. Beginners may not go as low and may use only bodyweight.

Low to High Wood Choppers:

woodchopper-exercise

To do Low to High Woodchopper, anchor a band down low and grab the handle of the band in both hands. Step away from the anchor point so that there is tension in the band even when your hands are back toward the anchor point. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your side to the anchor point. Pivot your feet and bend your knees to reach the handle down outside the knee closest to the anchor point. Your arms should be straight and your chest should be up and there should be tension on the band. Do not round your back to reach lower. Bend your knees and bring the hands outside your knee. Then bring your arms and the band up and across your body as you stand up and pivot toward the opposite shoulder. You should end up reaching the other way with your arms reaching up and out at about shoulder height. Do not reach too high up as you reach across. You do not want to shrug your shoulders or bring the band across your face or neck. Pivot back to the starting position and bend your knees as you control the band back down and across. Move in a slow and controlled fashion back down. Do not let the band pull you. Complete all reps to one side before switching.

Pull Thrus:

band-pull-through

To do Resistance Band Pull Throughs, anchor the band around a pole, furniture or in a doorway. Step over the band and reach down between your legs to grab the handles. Walk away from the anchor point with your back to it, holding the handles between your legs. Then hinge over, keeping your knees soft. Push your butt back toward the anchor point as you lean forward and reach your hands with the bands back between your legs. Then squeeze your glutes and push your hips forward to come back up to standing. Keep your arms relaxed and straight down, holding the handles between your legs. Stand up nice and tall, fully extending your hips and squeezing your glutes. Don’t hyperextend your low back as you extend your hips and squeeze your glutes or lean back too much at the top. Almost tuck your hips up forward as you squeeze and contract your glutes. Then hinge back over, pushing your butt back toward the anchor point. Keep your core tight so that you don’t feel this move in your low back. Also, do not pull the bands with your arms. Your glutes should do all the work. And make sure to keep your back flat. Do not round over as you hinge over and stand up tall at the top of the move. To make the move harder, use a heavier band or walk further from the anchor point.