I have an inverted body shape. My shoulders are wider than my hips, and I carry all of my weight above my waist, usually in my arms, back, and stomach. When I do any exercise outside of cardio, I like focusing on toning the upper body and growing the lower body. This means I do less weight and more reps on the top, and more weight with fewer reps on the bottom. When using the resistance bands, that translates too
More resistance + fewer reps on the bottom.
Less resistance + more reps on the top.
Here are some of the lower body exercises that I have been doing lately to strengthen my gluteus minimus and medius (upper and side booty bb) cause I got plenty on the bottom and nothing on the sides **eye roll.
FIRST, I wanna activate my glutes. So here's what I do:
Deep Bodyweight Squats ( 1 X 20 )
I grab onto the wall and plant my feet a little wider than my hips. I begin with 20 slow reps of this move. I keep my feet flat the entire time and focus on warming up my hip flexors, which are the tightest right here during this warm-up.
Walking High Knees (1 X 20 )
This is exactly as it sounds. Take a step, lift a knee to your chest, and use your hands to pull the knee closer. This stretches a glute while activating the standing leg glute. Focus on the squeeze of the standing leg glute. You want that squeeze to really fire up that muscle bb.
Reserve Lunges
The pinnacle of butt moves. I do this during a warm-up cuuuuuz I am usually so tired by the end of a lower-body workout I can't even do this one in the proper form, so I get it out of the way at the beginning.
Banded Kickbacks ( 2 X 10 / leg )
grab the lightest resistance band you got and throw it around your mid-thigh. Lean your upper body forward, I grab onto the arm of my couch. Plant a foot and lift the other leg back, like a donkey kick. Switch to the other leg when you are done. Make sure you can feel SOMETHING. If I really wanna get my glutes activated I will do this move with my medium resistance band cause it's harder.
Lateral Banded Walk (10 steps each direction)
Shimmy the resistance band down until right under your knees. Bend into a little chair pose and step sideways. You will be able to feel something if you are doing this right. The point of this pose is not how fast you can go, so slow down until you can feel something and get the move right.
OKAY, your butt should be feeling something about now, so let's get into the workout.
Deadlifts ( 1 X 10 )
For this move have your legs hip-width apart, and bend at the waist. You should feel it in your hamstrings as you lean down, and in your butt, as you come up and squeeze. If you wanna use a resistance band, wrap it around your feet, and then bend down and grab it with your hands. You want it to look like a triangle, not a square.
Sumo Squats ( 4 sets total, 2 medium weight, 2 heavyweights)
Hips wider than your hips. Much wider. You are targeting that upper and side booty baby. Really focus on feeling the move, more than the reps. If you can't do them all, totally okay. Proper form always beats reps. Grab a resistance band and put it around your feet. Probably the lightest one so it can stretch properly. Grab it with your hands once it is around your feet. Do 1 set of 10 reps with the light band, then take a break, switch the band to a medium one. Do the same move again, taking a break in between, until failure or until you do them all.
Banded Hipthrusts: (1 X 15 ) + adduction at the top
If your butt is not on fire BY THIS POINT (or any point earlier) you are either too good for this workout or are not doing it right. Sit on the floor, in front of a chair or couch. Place your shoulder blade above the couch, and scooch your legs out a bit. You wanna be able to do a reserve tabletop move. Have the medium/heavy band around your thighs. Come up into the hip thrust and hold it there for a second. Add an abduction here, where you widen your knees. Keep your feet planted and widen your knees, keeping your butt engaged the whole time. You won't have to go far to feel this move. Come back to the reserve tabletop position and then come down.
STRETCH, EAT PROTEIN, DRINK WATER.
You just, literally, worked your butt off. You need to stretch it out. Your butt muscle is also one of the strongest and one of the biggest in your body, so a proper stretch is between 10 - 15 minutes, not 5. Stretching is to your benefit. It releases lactic acid in your muscles, which is a reason why they hurt the day after a workout.
Protein is the key to rebuilding that muscle you just tore apart during your workout. You remember in your workout, on the 10 or 11th rep when you were gritting your teeth and counting down the reps until you were done with your set? Yeah, that was your muscle straining, and protein is what is going to help it regenerate and grow. So eat it, drink it, consume it. Protein is accessible even if you are vegan too!
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