Hill Sprints for Bigger Glutes!

 

Hill Sprints for a Bigger Booty!!

 

I'm lucky to have such a steep hill close by.  Hill sprints are great are for your glutes, legs, heart and overall body composition.  You will definitely feel the burn in the butt shooting up those hill.  Sprints are a good idea for high intensity cardio and are perfect if you're short on time.  Remember to also have a protein shake after to build up what you tore down!

 

Unless you've got a good bit of weight to lose, I don't recommend running if you want bigger glutes.  Running eats away at your fat stores and possibly muscle over time.  Stick to sprints and uphill walking for cardio.

Back Pain and Building Booty

So I've been on a short bulking phase since the second week in February.  Everything was going fine until I hurt my lower back during deadlifts.  It happened after I went up on my weight (which necessary to gain mass) So after several more sessions with low back pain, I've decided to take a rest.  So what do I do now? (I need to build these glutes!!)

First, I have cut back on my calories, if you are trying to put on mass you need a surplus of calories ( I was taking in about 2000-2200 calories with 120-135 grams of protein)  I will prob go down to about 1500-1600 and see how my body starts to react.

Second, change the workout.  Instead of mass building and back breaking squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts.  I am going to avoid these exercises completely for the next few days.  Instead, I am going to focus on incline walks, incline sprints, and yoga.  These exercises still work the glutes, so I while I won't be putting on mass, I can work on the shape of them.  After a few days I will start back on glutes using single leg workouts (single leg squats, deadlifts, leg lifts) which tend to pull a little less on the back.  Hopefully after that I will be able to slowly incorporate weights back into my workout.

Although I'm slightly disappointed because this is holding me back from bikini season! This does give me time to hopefully loose some of the stomach fat that I have accumulated.  It's much better to rest and try to recover from  an injury instead of continuing to aggravate it until it get serious.

Tips for Getting a Bigger Butt

1.) Eat more calories. ( but not from junk, you'll just get fat)
2.) Have workouts specifically for glute training.
3.) Train glutes twice a week if possible,
4.) Allow a day or two for recovery.
5.) Use progressive overload.  (adding more weight as time goes on)
6.) SQUEEZE! I can't stress how important is to make mental connections with you glutes with every rep.
7.) Practice contracting glutes during free time.
8.) Drink protein shakes, if possible in the morning, but DEFINITELY after working out when you muscles need it the most.
9.) Push yourself to go further with glute workouts.
10.) Lose weight first, the smaller your stomach is the bigger your butt will look.
11.) Stretch! Stretch muscle fascia will aid in the growth of muscles.
12.) Avoid long distance running.
13.) Do all cardio on a incline. (sprinting, walking, etc)

My Before and After Weight Loss Pictures

Although my goals today are to gain more curves, that wasn't always a problem.  I used to weigh 167 lbs and now I am between 130-133 lbs, depending on my diet.  After losing almost 40 lbs, I had lost some of the curve appeal I actually enjoyed.  If you need to loss weight, I suggest losing the excess fat before trying to gain glute mass.  It's easier to lose weight first before attempting to shape your body with weight training.

3 weeks without lifting weights

I've spent the last three weeks on a trip to France.  I had no access to a gym and I was a little concerned about losing muscle in my glutes.  I tried to salvage my gluteals buy doing body weight exercises (hip thrusts, squats, lunges) and also by taking advantage on the hills in the French countryside.  I also did not count calories, but I did try eat as much protein as I could.  Before I left I was on a little junk food binge and had gained about 7lbs in pure fat, thank goodness I lost this while I was there.  Question is: did I also lose muscle? Yes, unfortunately I can see the loseness in my thighs and butt. But, on the bright side, I didn't lose inches on my butt.  Here are my measurements before and after my trip.

May 18, 2012              July 7, 2012

Waist-26 in                 Waist-25.5 in

Thighs                         Thighs

  upper-22.5                    upper-22.5

  middle-21                     middle-21.5

  lower-18.5                     lower-19.5

Butt-36.5                     Butt-36.5

I lost around my stomach, but my thighs are slightly larger, something I do not want.  My fitness goals for the next month are slightly different than before.  Instead of gaining more muscle mass in my glutes, I am going to try and maintain their size, while cutting down fat on the rest of my body.  The difficult part about that is I am going to be moving around and staying in hotels.  So, I'll write another post on staying in shape or losing weight while traveling.  Feel free to leave any questions or comments!

Fit and Curvy Body Shape

     Most fitness magazines show the same type of "fit-looking" women.

         Some, though, show women who are figure competitors.

                      But my ideal body type is more like this.

I want to have the six pack AND the big, full glutes.  The hard part for some women (who arenot blessed the genetic material to have full, round butt) is to chisel away body fat while keeping  their curvy parts curvy.  It basically comes down to weightlifting and diet, depending on where you are at with your body shape.  For example, women with a body similar to the first picture (average fitness mag cover girl) would have to incorporate more food into her diet.  She would need those extra calories to build up the muscle she is lacking in her lower body.  For someone who needs to lose weight first would need a different weightlifing plan and diet to achieve the same look.  It all comes down to hard work, but more realistically genetics.  But you can change the shape and size of your butt! More to come about diet and exercise to get a bigger butt!