Meganlynn tn s es fi GLUTE GROWTH GUIDE WHAT YOUR GLUTE GUIDE INCLUDES •8 week structured full body program with emphasis on glute growth • +2 EXTRA glute focused leg days to swap in/out if you’d like! •De nition of progressive overload and how to start •Breakdown of your glute muscles • Glute activation movements • Introduction to macros & how to calculate them • Cardio recommendations fi •Instructional photos explaining movements + form WELCOME TO YOUR GLUTE GROWTH GUIDE! fi I’m so excited to share this guide with you! I’ve put a lot of work into it and have had so much fun putting it together :) This GLUTE GUIDE is structured in a 5 day split, designed to challenge you in the gym, push yourself, and grow that booty baby! The guide is comprised of 2 upper body and 3 lower body days (AND 2 extra leg days that you can use to switch in & out if you want) that are to be followed for 8 weeks, and YES, ALL 8 WEEKSthe fact is that anything shorter is simply not as ef cient to see growth. Staying consistent with these movements for this amount of time will allow you to effectively progress over time. While you WILL be performing the same movements, what you WON’T be doing is using the same weight during these movements for each of the 8 weeks. Each new week I challenge you to push yourself and pick up heavier weights every time you step in the gym.. now it doesn’t have to be a lot but it should be steadily increasing over time. We’re incorporating 3 leg days to add the volume necessary in order to grow while not totally burning out. ☆PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD☆ Throughout this program you will be incorporating progressive overload...but let’s talk about what that really is Progressive overload is the process of increasing WEIGHT and or REPS over time when executing your movements. So where should you start? Let’s say you’re doing dumbbell RDLs WEEK 1: 15lb dumbbells @10 reps The following week try: WEEK 2: 20lb dumbbells @ 10 reps (Or as many as possible without compromising form) OR WEEK 1: 15lb dumbbells @10 reps The following week try: WEEK 2: 15lb dumbbells @ 15 reps (Or as many as possible without compromising form) Based off of the way this particular program is structured I would highly recommend the rst option of increasing weight, however if option 2 is calling you on a certain day go ahead! It is also IMPORTANT to remember that not every week will be a successful increase and that is OKAY! If we could all increase weight every week with ease we would be lifting thousands of pounds. So don’t get discouraged if you can’t get those 20s on week 2 or if you can’t get 50s on week 8- this is a fi PROCESS & the most important thing is consistency. Now...If this is a glute guide you may be wondering why we aren’t training glutes 4,5,6 days a week right? Pretty simple really, more is NOT always better. To understand more about WHY this is split and not a total lower body guide let’s take a look at our glute muscles. Our glutes are comprised of 3 main muscles: 1- maximus, 2- medius and 3minimus as well as slow and fast twitch muscle bers. The combination of these bers means that varying weights and reps are bene cial to overall growth. So there is no “magic number” most appropriate to grow those buns. During resistance training we place stress on our tissues, causing microscopic tears in our muscles. In order to repair these tears proper rest and nutrition are essential, AKA, why we don’t train the same muscle group 7 days a week. If you jump back in and work that muscle before the microscopic tears have had time to heal, you are at greater risk for injury, fatigue and will not be preforming optimally. Decreased performance=decreased progress. Over time, more stress leads to more tears, more tears leads to more recovery, and more of that rebuilding process leads to more glute gains ;) MAXIMUS MEDIUS fi - fi fi ☆OUR GLUTE MUSCLES☆ MINIMUS Because of these 3 main muscles that go into forming the entirety of our glutes, we want to perform movements that target EACH individual muscle to keep muscular balance and strength throughout our posterior chain. For example some movements include: → MAXIMUS: squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts → MEDIUS: abductions, banded side steps, clam shells → MINUMUS: abductions, side lunges fi Our gluteus Maximus is the LARGEST muscle in our entire body! MEANING- it de nitely needs proper rest and recovery. The majority of glute exercises will target your gluteus Maximus and this is the part of your booty that is most visible- so that nice plump, round behind is mostly made up of your gluteus Maximus! BEFORE you jump right into your rst set of exercises you need to make sure your glutes are nice and warm! To do this we incorporate something called “glute activation”. This is essentially a way to warm up and engage your glute muscles prior to your workout to ensure they are engaging properly in each exercise and are performing at their best! Below is an example of some great activation exercises to incorporate before your next booty day EXERCISE SETS x REPS Banded Glute Bridges 3x20 Donkey Kicks 3x20 Banded Side Steps 3x20 Banded Kickbacks 3x20 Clamshells 3x20 Combining 3 of these movements BEFORE your leg day will ensure your glutes are red up and ready to go! Along with incorporating these exercises don’t forget about that MIND-MUSCLE CONNECTION! It may seem silly but it really works- when you’re performing your movement, focus on engaging and working those glutes! Utilizing mirrors are a great tool to practice this as well as keep an eye on your form. fi fi ☆GLUTE ACTIVATION☆ ☆MACROS☆ I’m sure you’ve heard by now about macros and “tracking macros” but If you are relatively new to all this it can seem super confusing... the good news is...IT’S EASY . The rst step is determining your GOAL: do you want to lose fat? Gain muscle? Maintain where you are? This is what will determine if you’re going to be in a surplus or if you’re in a de cit- because this is a glute GROWTH guide and I’m guessing you’re here to add some plump to that peach. I can tell you right now to grow you NEED TO EAT! You would be surprised just how much some extra food will bene t both you and your booty :) You CAN build muscle while at maintenance calories as well, it is just a longer process and hello who doesn’t want some extra food on their plate! CALCULATING Once you’ve determined what your goal is you’re going to calculate your total calorie intake by taking your body weight x your activity level on a range of 14-16 (14 being more sedentary and 16 being extremely active) this number will be your maintenance calories aka what you should be eating every day to maintain your current weight BW x 14-16 = maintenance cals EX: 125 x 16 = 2,016 From this number you’re going to add or subtract calories slowly and steadily based on the goals you set before! Bulking calories: EX: 2,016 + 200 = 2,216 From here it’s time to determine the macronutrients: Protein, fats, & carbohydrates fi fi fi Protein:1- 1.2gram per lb of body weight Fats: 25-30% of total calories Carbohydrates: remaining calories after fats and protein are added together EX: Protein = 1.2g x 125 = 150g (150 x4 = 600 cals) Fats= 2,216 x 0.25 = 554 cals (554/9 = 61g) Carbs = 2,216 - 1,194 = 1,062 (1,062/4 = 265.5g) If those numbers above are a little confusing here’s what you need to know- our protein is simple, we know that we need 150g based off of the simple math. To translate those grams of protein into calories we will take 150 x 4 because there are 4 calories in each gram of protein. We want fats to comprise 25-30% of our diet and so we will take our total calories and take 25% of that number giving us 554 calories. To translate those calories into the grams of fat we will be eating, we take 554/9 because there are 9 calories per gram of fat. Finally the carbs baby! Carbs will be the majority of your diet and to solve that we take the total calories taken up by protein and fat and subtract that number from our total calorie intake. This gives us 1,064 calories/4 due to there being 4 calories in each gram of carbs (just like protein) Making our starting bulk macros: Protein: 150 grams Fat: 61 grams Carbs: 265 grams From these numbers, track your progress and increase calories accordingly! At the end of 2 weeks if your weight has stayed the same- bump those b*tches up! I recommend ~100cal carbohydrate increase (20-25g) and if you want to raise fats, be conservative with ~5g increase (this can also be adjusted weekly but to start I would suggest letting 2 weeks set in) ☆CARDIO☆ A lot of people can get caught up on how much cardio to do with their training - how many days a week? For how long? Treadmill? Stairmaster? Bike? HIIT or LISS? In reality cardio is a very simple supplemental tool to use within your training! If you’re looking to build muscle (like your bum) cardio is going to be very minimal. There’s no need to be doing 30-40 min on the treadmill in a building phase! But why? When you’re building muscle you want to be in a caloric surplus and adding in cardio essentially minimizes that surplus with added activity! SO, my recommendation to YOU is to incorporate a small amount or cardio if you feel like it! If you’re not moving around much throughout your day you may want to add in ~15 min of steady state cardio just to get yourself moving! LISS or low intensity steady state cardio can be done in anyway that YOU enjoy! For example it could just be a walk outside, a walk on the treadmill, some steps on the stairmaster, nothing too taxing. Now If you were trying to cut, cardio is used much more frequently to increase that calorie de cit without sacri cing the calories in your actual diet. The duration and frequency of cardio in a cut is all dependent on the individual, however I WILL SAY: a solid starting point for weight loss would be: 20-25 min of LISS 3/4 x a week! fi fi AGAIN, not jumping right into anything crazy or 7x a week, this whole process should be taken slow and steady to ensure you don’t burn yourself out too quickly or cause injury due to overworking yourself. DAY 1- HAMSTRINGS & GLUTES EXERCISE SETS x REPS Barbell Hip Thrust 4x10 Dumbbell RDL 3x8-10 Weighted Glute Bridge 3x20 Superset with - Dumbbell Sumo Squats 3x15 Single Leg Hamstring Curl 3x12 (each leg) Cable Kickbacks 3x15 DAY 2- SHOULDERS, TRICEPS & CHEST EXERCISE SETS x REPS Seated Shoulder Press 4x8-10 Incline Dumbbell Chest Press 3x15 Superset with Lateral Raises 3x15 Cable Tricep Pushdown 3x15 Superset with Upright Rows 3x15 Rear Delt Fly 3x12 Superset with Plate/Cable Front Raises 3x12 DAY 3: QUADS/CALVES/GLUTES EXERCISE SETS x REPS Barbell Squat 2x10, 2x8 (heavier weight on lower reps) Dumbbell Goblet Squat (heels elevated) 3x12-15 Superset with - Elevated Banded Hip Thrusts 3x20 Leg Press (wide stance) 3x10 Walking Lunges 3x20 (each leg) Banded Glute Bridges 3x15-20 BURNOUT- Banded Jump Squats 2x25 Standing Calf Raises 3x15 DAY 4: BACK & BIS EXERCISE SETS x REPS Barbell Row (overhand grip) 4x10 Lat Pull Down 3x10 Superset with Overhead Press (wide grip) 3x10-12 Single Arm Row 3x10 Superset with Incline Bicep Curl 3x10 Cable Pull Over 3x15 Superset with Cable Low Row 3x10 Hammer Curls 3x15-20 DAY 5: GLUTES EXERCISE SETS x REPS Barbell Hip Thrust 3x10, 1x6-8 Bulgarian Split Squats 3x15 (each leg) Superset with Single Leg Hip Thrust 3x15 Dumbbell RDL 3x10-12 Superset with Weighted Frog Pumps 3x20 Cable Pull Throughs 3x12 Superset with Abduction 3x20 Dumbell Goblet Squat 3x12 REST DAYS fi I suggest 1-2 rest days a week depending on how you’re feeling! You can add them in to t your schedule EXTRA LEG/GLUTE DAY 1 EXERCISE SETS x REPS Barbell Hip Thrust 4x12 Dumbbell Sumo Squat 3x10 Superset with Banded Jump Squats 3x15 Dumbbell RDL 3x10 Dumbbell Back Lunges 3x12 Cable Pull Throughs 3x12 EXTRA LEG/GLUTE DAY 2 EXERCISE SETS x REPS Sumo Deadlift 3x10 Dumbbell Goblet Squat 3x12 Superset with Banded Glute Bridges 3x20 Split Squats 3x10 Leg Press 3x10 Dumbbell Walking Lunges 3x30 ☆MOVEMENTS☆ In the next few pages I’ve lined up the most commonly used lower body movements in this guide! With each movement there is a picture representing the start & end of each movement as well as informational captions explaining how to execute each movement with proper form! **the weights used in these photos are not recommendations for YOU! They are simply for examples of proper execution and form** BARBELL HIP THRUST Position the bar over your hips and make sure it’s even on both sides. Keep your upper back on the bench (usually the line of where your sports bra ends is a good point) you don't want too much of your back on the bench but you want more than just your shoulders. Push through your heels to move the weight up, driving your knees out and squeezing your glutes at the top of the motion. Keep your chin tucked for the entirety of the movement! When lowering back into the movement focus on moving your hips/ pelvis and not swinging your entire back. DUMBBELL RDL fi Place your feet underneath your hips. With a slight bend in your knees push your hips back and lower the weights down past your knees to your shins, keeping your back straight the entire time. When raising back up, keep your feet rmly planted and push through your heels. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement, keeping your head neutral the entire time! If you feel you are pulling more with your back and not your hamstrings/glutes lighten the weight to something more comfortable until you get the form down. BARBELL GLUTE BRIDGE fi fl Laying at on the ground place the barbell over your hips. Keep your upper back on the ground, feet rmly planted, and thrust through your hips to push the weight up. Keep your knees pushing out and squeeze your glutes at the top of the bridge movement. DUMBBELL SUMO SQUAT Take a wide stance with toes pointed slightly outwards. Holding the dumbbell in both hands, make sure your pelvis is tucked under, push your hips back and lower into a squat. When coming back up, keep your knees out and drive through your heels, keeping your glutes engaged throughout the movement. CABLE KICKBACK For these you can use an ankle strap or a handle attachment. Keeping one knee slightly bent, position yourself at a slight angle, using the cable machine to stabilize. Push with your heel and kick your leg back and up, squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement BARBELL SQUAT Once the weight is on your back, make sure your pelvis is tucked under and your feet are underneath your hips ( you can slightly point your toes out if you prefer). Push your hips back and lower into the squat. Once at 90 degrees, keep your core tight, pushing your knees out and driving through your heels until you reach the top of the movement. DUMBBELL GOBLET SQUAT Position your feet underneath your hips (toes pointed out if you prefer). Hold the dumbbell with both hands in a front rack position, close to your chest. Keeping your pelvis tucked, push your hips back and lower into a squat. When coming back up drive your knees out while pushing through your heels until you reach the top. FEET ELEVATED HIP THRUST Position yourself on the ground with the bench in front of your feet. Put your heels up on the bench keeping your upper back on the ground. Push through your heels, driving your knees out, lifting your hips up and squeezing your glutes at the top of the movement. BULGARIAN SPLIT SQUAT Place your foot on the bench/ step and position your other foot closer to the bench for more quad focused and farther from the bench for more glute focused. Once stable, lower down into the lunge position. Once at the bottom push back up through your heels keeping your back upright the entire time. SINGLE LEG HIP THRUST Position your upper back on the bench keeping one foot planted on the ground, lower your pelvis down and push back up, driving through your heel. Complete the amount of reps designated per leg then switch. You can add weight for added resistance if you want! DUMBBELL FROG PUMPS Position yourself on the ground with the soles of your feet touching and knees wide. Place the dumbbell over your hips and push through your feet to lift your hips up. Keep your glutes squeezed at the top of the movement. CABLE PULL THROUGH Using the rope attachment, take a few steps out with a wide stance and toes pointed out. Holding the rope between your legs push your hips back and lower the weight through your legs with a straight back, you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Using your glutes and hamstrings, pull the weight back through and squeeze your glutes at the top. DUMBBELL BACK LUNGE Hold two dumbbells on either side of you with your back straight and head facing forward. Step back and lower into a lunge position. When coming back up drive through your heel and try NOT to use your other foot to kick you up. When you come to the top of the movement return your feet back together. ☆YOU GOT THIS☆ Go build that booty! I hope that this guide has given you a bit more of an understanding of how to implement certain tools to reach your goals! Just a few things to keep in mind: Push yourself! - this guide isn’t supposed to be easy, it is supposed to set you up to challenge yourself so don’t be afraid to test your limits Stay consistent - yes this guide is a total of 8 weeks but your journey doesn’t stop there! Take what you learn from here and use this knowledge to continue on in your journey - also don’t be pressured to stop at 8 weeks exactly, if you’re enjoying the workouts keep it going Don’t get discouraged- if you don’t think you’re making progress or you can’t increase weight the following week THATS OKAY! Chances are you are making progress you just don’t notice it because we look at ourselves differently! Just know you’re doing great, you’re working hard, and you owe it to yourself to keep going! I can’t thank you guys enough for your support and interest in what I’ve put together for you! MESSAGE ME If you guys enjoy this guide and are comfortable with it I would absolutely love to see any progress pictures or overall thoughts you have about the guide! It would mean to world to hear back from you <3 Disclaimer- if you have any underlying injuries or conditions please consult a professional before executing any movements. Building muscle is more than just what you do in the gym, its about lifestyle choices, diet, consistency, and dedication!
