Butt... I love it
Benefits of stronger Glutes;
Believe it or not, stronger and bigger glutes don't just help you get more likes on your instagram pictures. They actually serve a very important purpose in the health and longevity of a pain free body.
Here are some of the benefits of a bigger and stronger behind;
1. Run Faster - This will really come in handy during the zombie apocalypse. The gluteal muscles are highly responsible in the act of sprinting. The bigger and more active the booty, the faster you will run. All you have to do is look at Usain's butt. Amaze right?
2. Lower back pain relief - a lot of the time we assume that the cause of the pain, is the same as the location of the pain. However, chasing the pain, doesn’t necessarily lead you to the cause of it. Lower back pain can actually come from weak glutes. Your abdominal muscles obviously play a part in supporting your spine, however your glutes work to stabilise the pelvis (many osteos will often address pelvic issues, before they try to address spinal issues). Working to strengthen your glutes will help to stabilise the pelvis and the legs, ultimately taking the pressure off your lower back muscles.
3. Knee pain relief - again, the cause of the pain, is not necessarily the location of the pain. Walking, climbing stairs, getting out of chairs - all take muscular work. If the glutes and hamstrings are lazy, someone has to step in and get the job done. In this case, it’s usually the Quadriceps. Tight and tension filled quads can begin to pull on the knee joint in a way that can cause incorrect tracking of the knee, this in turn causes inefficient biomechanics which leads to pain. All this because of a lazy booty? Sometimes, yes. So get training.
4. Better Thrusting capabilities - One movement the glutes are heavily involved in, is hip extension. Full hip extension is the same as a thrust. Thrusting is good, I don’t really need to explain why, do I?
5. Increased booty, increased muscle, increased metabolic rate - Glutes and Hamstrings are two of the largest muscles within the body, increasing their size will make a significant and overall difference to your total muscle mass. Muscle, unlike fat (or adipose tissue), is actually metabolically active - so your muscle tissue burns calories even when you’re just chilling like a big old pimp. The bigger the booty muscle mass, the more calories you will potentially burn without even lifting a leg (excuse the pun).
Here are some of my favourite glute exercises - honour your body’s capability, and if you can to throw these into your repertoire today (with professional guidance on form);
3. Bulgarian Split Squat