YOUR GLUTE COACH 1 YOUR GLUTE COACH TABLE OF CONTENT 01. Introduction............................................................................................................................04 02. The Value of Knowledge........................................................................................................06 Educational Videos...................................................................................................................................06 Educational Video Playlist.......................................................................................................................08 Glute & Hamstring Focused Training Program.................................................................................15 03. Factors Affecting Glute Growth.............................................................................................16 Exercise Selection......................................................................................................................................17 Exercise Execution.....................................................................................................................................18 Calories.........................................................................................................................................................19 Progressive Overload..............................................................................................................................20 Training Variables......................................................................................................................................22 Patience.......................................................................................................................................................23 04. Myths about Glute Growth....................................................................................................24 ‘Instagramable’ Glute Exercises.............................................................................................................24 Endless Glute Activation..........................................................................................................................24 Too Much Banded Work........................................................................................................................25 Cardio for Glute Growth.........................................................................................................................25 “Just Squat for Glutes”...............................................................................................................................26 “Just Hip Thrust for Glutes”......................................................................................................................26 05. Common Glute Issues for Women..........................................................................................27 Genetics.......................................................................................................................................................27 Hip Structure..............................................................................................................................................28 Fat Storage Location.................................................................................................................................28 Cellulite........................................................................................................................................................28 Lack of Great ‘Pump’ in Glutes...............................................................................................................29 Glute Imbalances......................................................................................................................................30 06. Program Design......................................................................................................................36 Exercise Selection.....................................................................................................................................37 Abduction Work........................................................................................................................................39 Understanding Resistance Profiles......................................................................................................40 Glute Max Subdivisions............................................................................................................................42 Factors that Impact Volume in Glutes.................................................................................................43 Hypertrophy Stimulating Reps.............................................................................................................43 Periodisation..............................................................................................................................................44 Activation and Warm Ups......................................................................................................................46 Loading the Bar and Warming Up.......................................................................................................47 Home-Gym Swaps...................................................................................................................................49 Want More Quads?..................................................................................................................................50 2 YOUR GLUTE COACH TABLE OF CONTENT 07. Understanding your Program..............................................................................................51 Sets.............................................................................................................................................................51 Reps...........................................................................................................................................................51 Tempo.......................................................................................................................................................51 Series and Supersets.............................................................................................................................52 Intensity Techniques..............................................................................................................................52 Tips for Beginners...................................................................................................................................53 08. Muscle Soreness....................................................................................................................54 09. Nutrition...............................................................................................................................58 Steps to Working out Calories for Goals.........................................................................................59 Build...........................................................................................................................................................60 Building Weight Increases...................................................................................................................61 Fat Loss......................................................................................................................................................61 10. Macronutrients Recommendations......................................................................................63 Protein.......................................................................................................................................................63 Fats.............................................................................................................................................................64 Carbs.........................................................................................................................................................65 The Levels of Nutritional Importance...............................................................................................65 11. The Program Breakdown......................................................................................................69 Accumulation 1 - 4x15...........................................................................................................................70 Intensification 1 - 4x10,8,6,6.................................................................................................................71 Accumulation 2 - 4x10 Agonist Superset........................................................................................72 Intensification 2 - 5x5............................................................................................................................73 12. Cardio & Steps.......................................................................................................................74 Building.....................................................................................................................................................74 Fat Loss......................................................................................................................................................74 13. ‘Your Glute Coach’ Training Program....................................................................................76 Phase 1: Accumulation 1 - 4 x 15.........................................................................................................76 Phase 2: Intensification 1 - 4 x 10,8,6,6..............................................................................................84 Phase 3: Accumulation 2 - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets...................................................................91 Phase 4: Intensification 2 - 5 x 5........................................................................................................97 14. Further Learning...................................................................................................................105 3 YOUR GLUTE COACH 1 Introduction It’s been a long time coming but I can now finally say “Welcome to ‘Your Glute Coach’!”. I have been working on this program for a long time because I wanted to deliver so much more than just a program to grow yourglutes. I wanted to provide an educational experience for women and coaches around the world to learn from! This is the guidebook I wanted to create for you so that I could give you the little cues, adjustments and insights I would normally only be able to give a one-on-one, face-to-face client in a gym setting. It was when the world started to trend towards a more online presence, even in fitness, that I knew it was essentially my most realistic option for coaching in the future. This, along with my growing community of men and women around the world wanting to be coached and prepped by me made me realise that I had to change the way I was educating and training, which is what led me here! I had to evolve my coaching, teaching and programming and this is exactly what I have done with ‘Your Glute Coach’. Before becoming an exclusively online coach, I had worked as an in-person coach for 13 years! That’s 13 years of doing up to 50 sessions a week with clients... and that’s not an exaggeration. In these past few years, I have transitioned from primarily doing in-person coaching, mainly with women, to now only online coaching. In my years when I was still doing face-to-face coaching, I trained some amazing women including Lauren Simpson, Emily King, Nurah Dababneh & Angela Murray. Lauren was a face-to-face client who went on to win the WBFF Bikini Champion World Title in 2018 and Ange, who was also face-to-face, placed in the top 10 in the WBFF Bikini World Titles and Emily King won the WBFF Australian Pro Figure title. These are obviously just some highlights as I have coached many other WBFF Bikini girls who have gone on to win their Pro-Cards and place in the top 10’s worldwide! Whilst I may be known for coaching Bikini Champions and Pro’s I have also trained many women who are just like the majority of you reading this - normal, everyday women who don’t necessarily want to ever get on stage but are serious and mean business with their training. These are women who want to get lean, challenge themselves, gain muscle and most of all, women who want to train optimally. This is where education comes into play. 4 YOUR GLUTE COACH 1 Introduction Time and time again, I get clients, even Bikini Pro’s who have had no education or understanding of how to build great glutes. These girls have never been taught how to make small tweaks in their training, exercise execution or program design. Changes big or small such as foot positioning could optimise an exercise for either their glutes, hamstrings or quads! These small changes may not seem like much on the surface but can drastically impact your training session not only in the short term, but may extremely, positively impact your results in the long term! The main goal I want you to achieve with ‘Your Glute Coach’ is quite simple, optimisation. Thousands of women train so hard all year round and give 100% effort into their training and nutrition, but in reality they are missing or not giving enough attention to the small things like technique and this is what is holding them back. One of the main messages that I want you to take away from this guidebook is that your technique is a huge determining factor of your results. My social media platform has allowed me to give my audience endless amounts of technique tips and education over the years. This to me, as a coach, is a fantastic way to educate you about the power of technique and demonstrate the difference between just doing an exercise and doing an exercise with all out purpose, intent and perfect technique. To me, nothing is better than hearing women say “WOW, I have never felt my glutes like that before!”. I’ve called this educational program ‘Your Glute Coach’ because I actually want to COACH you. You and I both know that any influencer with nice glutes can put out a generic training ebook and sell it, but they’re not coaching you. There is a huge difference between a person genetically blessed with a great body selling a program and an actual, beneficial educational program that is going to coach you to your best results. This is where I see so many people go wrong as they put their money, time and effort into purchasing and performing a program from an influencer that has their “body goals”. Majority of the time, that same influencer is not a qualified coach, has ever trained with a qualified coach, or never undertaken any further education since completing their Certificate 3 and 4 in fitness (if at all). I am not one of these influencers. I am a coach, your coach! This is why I aim to educate in my programs and now with Your Glute Coach I’ve taken a more “workshop” style approach to creating educational video content to include in this guidebook. My goal with these videos is to break down the barrier of ‘online-only’ as you get to see me actually speaking to you. The educational videos in this program are designed to help YOU recognise potential reasons why you are not getting the most out of your hard work, then teach you many potential strategies to combat that. I want to educate you on not only recognising mistakes, but also give you key cues and tips to implement and better yourself and your training! This program is designed to fill in, what I believe, is missing from online guidebooks and Instagram posts - education not only through theory but also practical application. These days, there is quite a lot of good, easily accessible science out there on glutes but the majority of it just explains the theory side and not how to incorporate this into your training. This is where we are lacking as it’s not just about doing a great program but actually knowing how to execute the program optimally for your body to ensure you are getting the most out of it. This is why I’m here and what this guidebook is about. We are going to really dive into understanding technique, tempo, resistance profiles, what key muscles of our glutes we actually need to focus on and how to get the most out of movements. Then, finally, we are going to go deep into understanding how to put all your effort and hard work into the most efficient and practical model to achieve progress! 5 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Educational Videos The coaching videos included in ‘Your Glute Coach’ are really where the value is in this experience. Originally, I was going to write another really in-depth guidebook, like the much loved Building the Bikini Body series but decided against it as I realised that there is already an overwhelming amount of reliable, science-based education theory out there when it comes to glutes. to bring value in IN a different way. I WANTEDI wanted TO BRING VALUE A DIFFERENT WAY. Whenever I have a Bikini Pro client visiting or in Sydney, they always ask to do a face-to-face session with me. I am not exaggerating when I say this is every single client, every single time! These women tend to be trainers themselves and I would say are also very experienced coaches but I always find that, without a doubt, they are blown away after just one in-person session with me (No, I’m not trying to toot my own horn… Let me get to the point). It normally goes something like: “Mark, I wish I could train with you everyday!” or; “Mark, you should do practical seminars! They would help so many women and coaches learn and advance in their training and job.”. This is where, initially (pre-Coronavirus), I decided on the concept of running actual coaching workshops, in a gym, for coaches and glute enthusiasts! This is my strength. Coronavirus, obviously, effected that goal by shutting down gyms worldwide and moving us to an even more digital space than we were in before. Through this though, I realised that the BEST way for me to get out there and help as many people as possible all over the world is to not do workshops, but to put my knowledge online. This is where I decided that the best course of action would be to film myself doing what I do best - coaching women in-person! This way I can show you myself observing a client and assisting them by tweaking a movement from not feeling anything at all, to feeling everything, in the right places, in the movement. This is what I want for you. These videos are me being a coach, me being ‘Your Glute Coach’. I wanted to create educational, coaching videos not only for the coaches out there who message me and tell me they feel lost with their clients, but also for the client (YOU!). I want these videos to be something you can watch and immediately apply to yourself and your clients. You may be working with another coach or doing another program, but you can still use this experience and take away everything I show to achieve even better results. The videos are going to be broken down into the following key topics: Glute Activation Squats Lunges Split Squats Deadlifts Hip Thrusts Glute Bridge Hip Hinge Accessories Abduction Movements Knee Flexion 6 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge These videos are going to be centred on my key exercises and movement patterns. These are going to be quite long videos because I want to be able to give you all of my knowledge to help you and your clients get the most out of these exercises and movements. The best way I suggest that you learn for this is to: 1 Watch the videos. 3 Watch the videos again. 5 Come home, watch your own lifts and compare it back to the technique videos. 7 Then, watch the videos AGAIN and really take notice of what I have the client doing. 2 Take notes. 4 Go to the gym and FILM your lifts. 6 Figure out the little areas that could be holding you back. 8 Finally, take in and make comparisons between what I have the client doing and what you are doing. NOTE: Sometimes a video will show an immediate tip/cue that you implement right away. Other times, some of the tips/cues will take longer and require you to slowly implement them. The next set of education I am going to give you is going to be centred around how to create and perform a successful training program. In ‘Your Glute Coach’, I have created a 12-week glute & hamstring focused program and have also filmed a set of videos that will break down the program design for each training phase and also the entire periodisation model. These videos will also include and dive into the factors impacting muscle building potential and common glute training myths, as well as potential reasons as to why your glutes may not be growing to their full potential. The training videos will focus around: Periodisation Building a Glute Program Hypertrophy Mechanisms Instagram Exercises vs. Optimal Exercises Home Training Swaps Common Factors Impacting Glutes All in all, by creating these videos, I wanted to be able to provide and deliver to you the ‘ bang-foryour-buck’, immediately applicable information that can help your own and your client’s training to further assist in achieving the goal of great glute gains. 7 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Educational Video Playlist Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! WELCOME TO ‘YOUR GLUTE COACH’ FACTORS AFFECTING GLUTE GROWTH PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD 8 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! BUBBLE BUTT KEY REASONS WHY YOUR GLUTES ARE NOT GROWING PROGRAM DESIGN PROGRAMMING THE 3 KEY GLUTE MOVEMENT PATTERNS 9 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! PERIODISATION GLUTE ACTIVATION HOW HEAVY SHOULD YOU LIFT? GLUTE TRAINING AT HOME 10 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! TEMPO AND RESISTANCE PROFILES OPTIMISING NUTRITION FOR GROWTH BACK EXTENSIONS FLOATING (DEFICIT) DEADLIFTS 11 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! GOOD MORNINGS HAMSTRING CURLS HIP EXTENSIONS (GLUTE KICKBACK) HIP THRUSTS 12 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! LEG PRESS LUNGES ROMANIAN DEADLIFTS SPLIT SQUATS 13 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Click here to view the entire Educational Video Library, or choose the specific videos below! SQUATS STRADDLE LIFT STEP UPS 14 YOUR GLUTE COACH 2 The Value of Knowledge Glute & Hamstring Focused Training Program In ‘Your Glute Coach’, I have created a 12-week glute & hamstring focused program. This does not mean that quads are not trained, no. This purely means that we are going to bias our training volume (sets & reps) more towards the glutes and focus on movements that work our entire lower body but tweak them to have greater glute emphasis. Don’t worry, I haven’t neglected the upper body! Obviously, we want balance in our physique which is why I have included 2 upper body days in this program too. Here’s the thing though - everyone’s goals are different (duh), which is why I am going to say that if you are a woman who desperately does not want to build an upper body, you can drop one of the upper body days from your program. I would recommend keeping the two days but in reality, it’s up to you. This 12-week program is heavily geared around the glutes and hamstrings which means we are going to need to regress some of the training volume from our quads to push the desired glute volume. There are only so many sets you can do in one week! Therefore, if something goes up (more glute focused work), something must come down to balance (less quad focused work). Although, if you are someone who wants to favour your quads, I do cover how to make small changes to put more emphasis on your quads because as I said above - everyone has different goals. For simplicity though, this 12-week program is very much a glute emphasis program, which makes sense as it is called ‘Your Glute Coach’. Just because it has the word ‘Glute’ in the name does not mean that we want this program to become an influencer-like program with over 100 glute-based exercises and nothing else. This is not logical, healthy or beneficial. Instead, this program is going to educate you on simplifying and optimising your glute training. I actually think a lot of you are going to be surprised with how ‘basic’ you need to train to build great glutes. As I always say: “Major in the Minors!”. 15 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Now, I want to cover some key factors that may be negatively impacting glute gains potential in the long term. Firstly, let’s understand that building any muscle is hard and takes a long time - it is not an overnight type of situation! Whilst building any muscle is hard, building great glutes is REALLY hard, which is why we want to be optimising the process as much as possible. The more positive things we do towards our goals, the better (obviously) but also, the more we can improve or fix our ‘weak links’, the better potential we have to progress. A lot of people do a whole lot of the right things but it’s the little things that are holding them back, which is what I want to address for you. 16 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Exercise Selection You know what the cool thing about lifting weights and building muscle is? Unlike fat loss, where we cannot spot reduce (choose where we are losing fat from), lifting weights is essentially directly telling our body where we want to improve and build either a movement pattern or muscle! This is why we choose specific exercises for the muscle groups we want to train, as we know that they are going to be the most optimal in developing them. Exercise selection can have a very dominant effect on results which is why we need to choose the correct exercises that are going to allow you to develop and improve. Poor exercise selection is going to be severely handicapping your potential. An example of this is something that I go into a lot in the educational videos, which is how social media has overemphasised the overuse and overtraining of your largest glute muscle (the gluteus maximus) with banded and abduction work. This idea is basically showing you that you have to excessively train the bigger movement patterns with ‘booty bands’ and abduction work instead of getting strong on exercises that you can add weight to and emphasises hip extension (which is way more important when it comes to growth). The movements that we can add weight to and emphasise hip extension (the bang-for-your-buck exercises and movements) are exercises like hip thrusts, lunges and hinge movements. These are what should be taking up at least two-thirds of your glute program. I am not saying here that you cannot or should not use a booty band or abduction machine, you definitely should, just in moderation. We do not want your glutes program to be dominated by these as they are not what is going to grow the glutes optimally. The main reason we see a lot of banded-only glute workouts on our social media is because they simply are good to film and look nicer in your feed - it’s all about the marketing. You’ve got someone telling you that you can build great glutes in a 15 minute home, band-only glute workout. A lot of people would be choosing that option/idea rather than knowing the truth that it’s going to take months of hard work, lifting heavy and getting strong in a crowded, sweaty gym. That’s the problem! Exercise selection is crucial! I will always have my clients focus predominantly on these bang-for-your-buck exercises and their glute training volume to allow them to progress as they grow. The 3 key lower body movement patterns I want my clients to focus on are: 1 Hinging Movements 2 Knee Dominant Movements 3 Bridging Movements Through these movements, we will be able to train all fibres (both lower and upper divisions) of the gluteus maximus. This is exactly what ‘Your Glute Coach’ will target and this is exactly what my own clients have targeted to achieve large success. We can still do the fun banded finishers and train the abduction movement patterns but we have to be sure that these are not our main focus. We want a more balanced approach which is getting strong on the basics first, then adding in the fun stuff. KEY POINT: Building great glutes, for 99% of the world population, will not come from doing a 15 minute booty-band workout (sadly). It’s hard work and focusing on mastering the basics! 17 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Exercise Execution The whole concept of ‘Your Glute Coach’ is essentially all about exercise execution. How can we get the most out of each exercise to ensure it will give us the most value for our goals? I’m not going to go into a great depth of detail here as this is something I really hammer in on in the videos. Although, I also feel like I need to quickly touch on exercise execution here so I can really drive in the concept that just because you are going to the gym and doing a specific lift, does not mean that you are performing it optimally. Take this metaphor for example - high school. For me, high school was not the best and whilst I did GO to school, I wasn’t actually present in my learnings and never really paid attention. Did I go to school and class? Yes. Did I get everything out of being there like I should have? Absolutely not. Now compare this to you when performing an exercise. Yes, you are at the gym, lifting hard and heavy BUT you aren’t performing the exercise in the most optimal way. Did you go to the gym and lift weights? Yes. Did you lift these weights and perform the exercises in the most optimal movement patterns? No! For many years I went to the gym and I trained f*cking hard! Yes, I did get good results but I kept injuring myself and hindering my progress, but couldn’t figure out why this kept happening. The issue with injuries is it means that you can’t continue to train in the most effective way which is again, hindering your progress. I wish I knew what I do now because it is so clear to me what I was doing wrong and what was holding me back. It was simply that I was doing these exercises incorrectly! It was the small details that, even to a personal trainer (like myself) at the time thought was correct, I can now identify as where I was going wrong. Whether its injuries or loading the muscle correctly, these small details matter! 18 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Calories I dive more into this topic in the nutrition section later in the guidebook, but I wanted to make this extremely clear: You cannot build your dream glutes if you are trying to stay in a calorie deficit all yearround. As I said before, building muscle is hard but being in a calorie deficit and trying to build muscle is like being in a fight with one arm tied behind your back. Can you win the fight? Potentially... but you are severely holding yourself back from what is optimal. I am sure that the majority of your reading this have followed me on social media for some time now and you would have seen many of my clients, particularly my Bikini clients, have followed a common theme of an initial surplus. These are big-time Instagram women, who are known for their physiques, who have listened to me as a coach and allowed me to increase their calories immediately after starting with me (majority of the time) to begin building. These girls will spend months with their calories up and put on some weight - some of this being body fat, yes but a lot of it being muscle mass. This method allows them to come back down into a calorie deficit from higher calories (which can mean that they don’t have to cut as much as they would have), get absolutely shredded and then relieve their new and improved muscle mass. As you know, this was the method for a lot of my Bikini clients who went on to win their shows and become Pro’s! These clients, in my opinion, would not have won their shows if they didn’t go into this surplus and stayed in a deficit for their entire prep. Now, let me get one thing straight - you can absolutely use this program to achieve fat loss! Although, I really want you to evaluate your body, training and diet now and think to yourself “This might be the time to build some serious glutes!”. I want you to use this educational program as motivation to step away from the year-round deficit and lack of results and change the way you are training your body. I really do hope that a lot of you invest into this program and optimise your glute growth by getting out a calorie deficit and going into a surplus, or maybe even just coming back up to maintenance! Trust me when I say that your future glutes will love you for it. 19 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Progressive Overload Progressive overload is a key training principle which falls in line with the nutrition principle of energy balance. Just as you need a calorie deficit to lose body fat, you need progressive overload in training to change your body composition. Basically, progressive overload is your body adapting to a training stimulus and being able to do more, like adding more weight. All too often I see people not following a training program and not having any change in their body composition year after year. If these people analysed their training, they would most likely note that they are not lifting any heavier or doing any more work than what they were doing a year before, despite routinely going to the gym. As I said above, a lot of times people think just turning up is good enough. Turning up is fine if your goal is to just be seeking good health in general but for all of you reading this, I can strongly imagine that this is not the case. You don’t want to just be ‘okay’, you want results and you want great glutes! This all comes back to the principle of progressive overload. How can you progressively overload? Here are 5 ways: 1 You get stronger in your weights - An example of this would be if you were previously performing a hip thrust for 10 reps at 60kg. A few weeks later, you are now doing this exercise for 10 reps at 80kg. This means that you have gotten stronger and progressive overload has occurred. Something to note: Let’s say one week you did 10 reps at 60kg, but then in the following week you did 8 reps at 70kg. This does not mean you have gotten stronger and this is not progressive overload as you have just increased your weight due to the decrease of reps. Simple but important to understand the difference. 2 You get stronger in your reps - This is different to the above point as you are now able to achieve more reps using the same weight. This time, instead of doing 10 reps at 60kg, you can do 15 reps! You have now become stronger for reps which is another form of progressive overload. 3 You can tolerate more training volume - Firstly, let it be known that volume = sets x reps x weight. Training volume is more of a slower progressive overload aspect as I am not just referring to increasing your total working sets in each workout or each week. What I mean by working set is if you do 3 sets of 6 different exercises, this means that you have done 18 total working sets in that workout. When talking progressive overload in terms of increasing volume, I am more so talking about your ability to handle more total work over the week as you go which is definitely a process that takes time! For instance, a beginner may only need 9 total working sets over a week for their glutes to get a hypertrophy response. An intermediate lifter however, would not experience this hypertrophy response from 9 total working sets as this is not a sufficient enough training volume for them. Doing more total volume is a slow process but it is a form of progressive overload which will allow you to be able to handle more training, which can increase your muscle building potential. Building muscle is dose dependent which explains why beginners can achieve great progress with lower working sets in total, compared to a more advanced lifter who will more likely be required to perform larger and heavier amounts of work to generate this same muscle building response. You increase training density - Training density is the amount of work you do per unit of time. An example of this would be if you have 45 minutes to get as much training volume in. By improving 4 work density, you would be able to do more volume (work) in that time period, therefore meaning you can get more volume (work) done with less rest. Training density and improving a clients work capacity has always been one of my go to methods to improving my clients who are beginners. A way I would achieve this with a client is by increasing their training density in 4-week phases. In their first 4-week phase, they will only do 15 working sets in each session. In the next 4-week phase, I will slightly reduce the rest periods and bring up their working sets to 19. Then, in their final 4-week phase, we slightly reduce rest again which will allow 20 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth 5 Improved technique - Improved technique is kind of progressive overload. The reason I say “kind of” is because it doesn’t 100% mean that you are building more muscle, it just means you are improving your skills as a lifter and lifting with better technique. I’ll give you an example to explain this one a bit better; let’s say a client of mine is doing heavy hip thrusts. They send me a video of this and I can see that they have plates stacked on each side of the bar BUT I can straight away see that they are only performing half-reps and are not contracting their glutes properly (or at all) at the top. I coach them through this and a few weeks later, after practicing and understanding how to perform a proper hip thrust, they send me another video and I can see that they are now able to do full range of motion reps and are contracting their glutes properly in the top position. This client has achieved progressibve overload! By improving their hip thrust technique from half-reps to proper, full range of motion reps, this client has both improved strength adaptations and also improved their technique awareness. All in all, progressive Progressiveoverload overloadisis crucial. crucial. This This is is our our key key driving driving principle to being able able to build glutes, or any principle to being to build glutes, ormuscle! any muscle! I will mention though that sometimes when you have to relearn movements (which, I’m sure, a lot of you will be doing after watching the technique videos), you do have to actually go backwards in weight and this is okay! This is because I am teaching you how to optimise your lifts which is going to result in where the muscle tension goes. Sometimes, in order to get more glutes, we have to take away muscle tension from other muscle groups so this can definitely result in some of you having to regress in weight. Again, this is okay! We are no longer just hoping for the best and throwing as much weight around as possible. We want the weight from these exercises to hit the specific muscle tissues that we are aiming to grow! However, yes, you may initially regress the weight to relearn these movements but then these same principles of progressive overload still matter. You just need to now improve your lifting potential with your new technique as the benchmark. 21 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Training Variables Two very common issues that I see are either people’s lack of following a plan or only training the same rep ranges and total sets over and over again for months on end. Yes, it is good to repeat a program for 3-4 weeks, sometimes even 5-6 weeks if you are still seeing improvements. Although, from an adaptation point of view, what we get back after repeating the same program over and over again for too long is slowing progression. There are 3 key training stimulus pathways to achieve adaptations: 1 Neurological - Neurological adaptations are more referring to strength adaptations. Getting strong for very low reps is in fact a neurological task. Your nervous system becomes more efficient which, in turn, allows you to lift more weight. When I say “very low reps”, I mean 1-3 reps. These low reps are not only optimal for achieving hypertrophy but also allow a strength carry over which means if you get stronger on very low reps, it will then carry over for you to be stronger in more traditional hypertrophy rep ranges (I go into this below). The thing with strength is; getting strong on high reps does not necessarily carry over with getting stronger on lower reps as it doesn’t have this same carry over effect. This is why for my clients, I do like programming lower rep phases to improve neurological adaptations. 2 Hypertrophy - Hypertrophy adaptations are more going to be in line with your principle of progressive overload. The rep ranges that are going to bring on these hypertrophic adaptations and grow muscle are much more broad than what we once believed. We used to think 8-12 reps was the sweet spot but we now know that reps of 4-5 or even 20+ can still lead to very similar hypertrophy responses. This is exactly why, when I create programs for my clients, I like to program training phases with different rep ranges. I do this because our body naturally becomes desensitised to the same exact rep ranges over and over which can result in our progress stalling. This is why I like training phases still in hypertrophy producing rep ranges but only spending 3-4 weeks in a specific phase to allow time to adapt and improve before we have time to adapt too much and level off. 3 Metabolic - The Metabolic pathway to adaptations is associated with higher reps, more blood flow, lactic acid build up, that burning feeling when performing an exercise and shorter rest periods. Metabolic adaptations also lead to hypertrophy via metabolic stress as this is where the progressive overload comes into play traditionally. You will notice in my programs that the accumulation (volume) phases have shorter rest periods and high rep ranges, as compared to the intensification (intensity) phases where we bring the reps down and have longer rest periods. This is because in each training phase I am trying to push a greater bias towards one training stimulus. This doesn’t mean that both stimuli are not hit, it just means in each phase, one is greater emphasised. 22 YOUR GLUTE COACH 3 Factors Affecting Glute Growth Patience In a world where everybody wants things in an instant (and are getting used to the fact that this is possible in some ways of life), building muscle does not correlate too well in our society. We can literally order ‘Uber Eats’ and have our food prepared and delivered to us in 20 minutes. This is a standard that people are, unfortunately, getting used to and now expecting with this new ease of life. Sadly though, muscle building is a slow and tedious process which does not fly well with some people. All too often I get people messaging me, telling me that their genetics are terrible and that they want to give up after only training for 6 months! To me, that’s like being in kindergarten and complaining that you are not capable of learning at a Year 12 level yet. Unlike fat loss, which can come quickly if done correctly, muscle building, even with great genetics, is a patience game. Don’t expect DON’T world class glutes in just 12 weeks. EXPECT WORLD CLASS GLUTES IN JUST 12 WEEKS. My advice is to learn and use these methods I’m teaching you in this guidebook and then keep working! Do the complete Building the Bikini Body series, or the Art of Reverse Dieting, maybe even a Challenge! Stick it out and stay with my methods long term to watch your body transform. Be patient with progress. Do the little things well each day, each week, then accumulate this to great weeks for the next year or two! That’s where the real progress is. 23 YOUR GLUTE COACH 4 Myths about Glute Growth ‘INSTAGRAMABLE’ Glute Exercises One of the hardest things I’ve faced as a coach on social media is teaching the important stuff in a world full of clickbait. Engagement is king and teaching people the optimal techniques for exercises is not always very ‘trendy’, believe me. This is why, the majority of what you see on social media is pretty much useless and 100% done for the engagement. I can totally understand why an influencer does this because most of the time, this is their job and they are doing these things to grow their profiles - it’s business! Although, I really hope people realise that the majority of the workouts and exercises you see on Instagram from these fitness influencers are NOT what this person actually does when they go to the gym and workout. It is their job to go to the gym and film 10 workouts to post to their audience for engagement to then sell a program. This is a sales concept that will make people believe that results can and will come quickly and with little effort - the ‘magic pill’ effect. This is where people get pulled in on social media with glute exercises that promise a “rounder, fuller butt”. This is not what ‘Your Glute Coach’ is and is exactly why I want you to do this program knowing you are not doing exercises made up purely for engagement, but to help you get the best results possible! Endless Glute Activation Glute activation is a concept that, thanks to social media, has morphed into something more extreme than it has to be. The idea that your glutes do not fire up at all and therefore must do 20 minutes of banded booty work pre-workout is just ludicrous. Another reason I wanted to make ‘Your Glute Coach’ was because of seeing and reading messages of women constantly saying they can never feel their glutes but then, within 30 seconds of me giving them some small tweaks to technique to optimise the movement, BOOM they feel their glutes. One of the reasons women do so much activation work with bands pre-workout is they want to ‘feel’ their glutes so badly. By doing this though, you may actually be decreasing your performance as you are going into your working sets fatigued. On top of this, a lot of banded abduction work that people do is not actually working their pure glutes as much as it is the surrounding hip musculature. This is why I like warming up and activating with movements more specific to the actual exercises you will be doing, and also more hip extension over abduction work alone. There is a concept of ‘glute amnesia’ which can potentially mean, through injury, you have decreased neurological drive to your glutes, meaning that your ability to recruit glutes is not as optimal as it should be. This may explain why a lot of people struggle so much. A good test for glute amnesia is a one leg glute bridge which I go over in the videos for you! Basically, what I am trying to say is that you do not need to do endless banded glute work to ‘activate’ your glutes before you start lifting weight. What you need to be doing is more intelligent exercises and movements that utilise the neural drive to your glutes before you start lifting weights. 24 YOUR GLUTE COACH 4 Myths about Glute Growth Too Much Banded Work When you think about training your quads, shoulders, chest or even calves for example, you think of people lifting weights and using heavy machines to progress and build muscle mass. When it comes to glutes though, a lot of people just think of booty bands and bodyweight work which is just insane to me. If the gluteus maximus is the biggest muscle in your body, don’t you think that it deserves to be trained with the same equipment needed to grow all your other muscles? That’s how I look at things, but once again, people in the age of social media look at what’s easy and simple to sell and perform. This is where I see people getting so confused all too often. By all means, finish your lower body workout with a fun, banded circuit. Just bear in mind that there is actually no real science behind these ‘booty finishers’ doing anything much for your glute growth. I recently released a Challenge and there was an uproar that I had not included any booty-band finishers in the program, so I was pretty much forced to put them back in. This is the hard part about being a coach - people love to ‘feel’ exercises and movements. Throw a band around your knees, perform 1 abduction move and you’ll be burning but this is not the same as taking a muscle through a full range of motion with traditional resistance training methods. Cardio for Glute Growth There are two key things to remember with cardio: 1 It is a tool for fat loss as it increases your calorie expenditure. 2 It is a form of training your heart which is positive for your health! With these two points in mind we have to remember our goals with this program. Are you doing this program to train your glutes optimally and build muscle in them? I’m assuming that’s a strong YES! With this in mind, I would say to remove cardio from your weekly program. Cardio is still taxing on the body and may also have an interference effect on hypertrophy adaptations. When we are resistance training, we are sending signals to our body that we want to repair and build the specific muscle tissue we just trained. Cardio, especially when done too close to a workout, can interfere with that signalling and therefore interfere with our bodies ability to build more muscle. If you are doing the build component of ‘Your Glute Coach’, I want you to take out the cardio for the next 12 weeks and put all your focus and efforts into your training sessions. Then use the time outside your training sessions to focus on your growth and recovery. I have realised that many people have an issue with thinking that they are not training enough but these are generally the same people who are overtraining and therefore holding themselves back! They are never giving their body a chance to recover and grow. This is why training needs to be dose dependent. Too much training and it gets in the way of results. Too little training and we don’t stimulate our body enough for results. If you are dieting and using this program for fat loss, that’s fine! Use cardio but be mindful of the volume that you are doing - it’s probably not as much as you think you need. If the goal is muscle preservation (which it should be, even in a deficit), don’t kill your gains with hours and hours of cardio! 25 YOUR GLUTE COACH 4 Myths about Glute Growth “Just Squat for Glutes” When I first came into the industry as a coach in 2007, I remember that if there was ever any talk of glutes (as it was very rare back then), it was if you wanted to build great glutes, you needed to squat. This stayed with me for a pretty long time and never really challenged my way of thinking, as back in those days, building great glutes was not really a big deal. Then in 2013, when I got more into training women, and I started educating myself, I came across Bret Contreras who totally challenged and changed the way I looked at glutes training. Were squats really the king of glutes? F*ck no! Bret would say that every other muscle group would be trained through a large variety of exercises and not just one movement. Yet for glutes, the biggest muscle in the body, the dogma was that all you needed to grow them was to squat. Although, thousands of women were squatting and lifting heavy sh*t, with great form, and were still not growing their glutes. This is where Bret taught me about hip thrusts and the importance of treating glutes like any other muscle - a muscle that needs a variety of exercises to grow to its full potential. Remember, when it comes to a squat, we are only challenging the glutes in the lengthened position, which is only working more of the lower subdivision of the gluteus maximus. There is still a lot more glute tissue that we need to train, which is exactly why one exercise alone is not the sole answer to growing glutes. We want to hit the glutes in a variety of ways! “Just Hip Thrust for Glutes” Now that we have spoken about only squatting to build glutes, let’s talk about only hip thrusts for glutes. Hip thrusts are fantastic and are a great glute exercise as they work both the lower and upper divisions of the gluteus maximus. Unlike squats, lunges and Romanian deadlifts, the hip thrust resistance profile is at the top of the movement, meaning the peak tension on the glutes is when we thrust up and squeeze at the top. On the other lifts I mentioned above, the peak tension is on the glutes in a lengthened position. As much as I agree with hip thrusts taking the title of ‘King’ for glutes over squats, you still cannot solely rely on one exercise to hit the glutes in the variety of ways that we need it to for growth. We want to challenge the glutes through a variety of resistance profiles to ensure that we are getting the most optimal growth for the muscle. This is why I like talking about building glutes with opposing resistance profiles; exercises which are hardest on the glutes in the top (thrusts and bridges) and exercises which challenge the glutes in the bottom position (lunges, step ups and squats). 26 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women I’m going to go through the most common issues that I find women have with glutes. Most of these, you actually have no real control over but others can definitely be influenced. The main things I want you to take away from these points is that they are all potential issues that can be impacting growth. I want you to understand this but also not get too down over things you can’t control. Focus on things you can control and be aware of the little facts that you can’t… then get to work! Genetics When it comes to muscle, do genetics matter? Yes! Some people just have a better genetic ability to build muscle mass than others. However, this does not mean that they will have that same genetic lottery win on all muscle groups. Some women build fantastic upper bodies but struggle with glutes and other women have made a career out of having an amazing set of glutes all while barely even going to the gym. Is it fair? No, but life is not fair sometimes. I really really cannot stress enough though: focus on what you can control. I REALLY REALLY CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH THOUGH: FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL. Before you start blaming your genetics for anything, think of this checklist: Have I been training HARD for 3-4 years? Have I been spending months and months in true building phases through a calorie surplus? Have I been following a structured training plan for the last 2 years? Have I been utilising progressive overload principles? Am I aiming to get 8 hours sleep a night? Am I managing my stress? Am I doing the exercises all optimally? All of the above points matter. Do you need all of the above if you have been blessed with amazing genetics? No, but again, this is out of our control and there is not time for us to stress over these small things! One of the hardest things that I’ve had to teach women in general is that their ‘body goals’ (an influencer on Instagram most of the time) does not train like my clients do. This will probably be due to one of the following reasons: A It is a tool for fat loss as it increases your calorie expenditure. B They do the exercises I prescribe but know that these exercises won’t perform well on their Instagram feed and therefore don’t film them to show you. C They want you to think it’s super easy to achieve a body like theirs. Every single one of you reading this needs to realise that if you put the work and effort into this program, like I am coaching you to, you will achieve some amazing results and improve on what you already have. 27 5 YOUR GLUTE COACH Common Glute Issues for Women Hip Structure Your hip structure can very much dictate how your glutes look. The shape of your pelvis can not be trained or altered because it’s your anatomy. The best breakdown on hip structure I have seen is by Bret Contreras in his Glute Lab book - I highly recommend reading this if you are interested in a more in-depth breakdown on why your pelvis affects the shape of your glutes. The shape of your pelvis can very much dictate the shape of your glutes whether that be more square like or rounder. I have seen and met many world-famous influencers who I know do not even train that had small waists and wide hips, giving the illusion that they had an insane bubble butt! Girls went crazy for these women’s bodies and glutes when they didn’t even realise that this was most likely not going to be an achievable look for this. This is the power of hip structure. Once again, you cannot change your hip structure BUT you can build muscle mass to add shape to your physique. Having more muscle mass can then give an illusion of better, fully, rounded glute muscles. Even with the growth of the glutes, we must realise that everyone’s glutes will look different! I remember sitting in the Bahamas in 2019 watching Lauren Simpson compete in the Pro WBFF World Bikini Championships and I really took notice of all the different body shapes that were on stage. Now, all of these women looked (and still do) sensational and were Bikini Pro’s but they all had distinctly different body shapes and most of all, distinctively different glutes! If some of the best bodies in the world all have distinctively different shaped glutes, then remember it’s perfectly normal and ok for you to as well! Fat Storage Location This is probably one of the bigger genetic factors that has potential to influence glutes and their shape in general. Just as people can win the genetic lottery in where they build muscle or have the perfect hip structure, fat storage location can dramatically create an illusion of bigger, rounded glutes. This is something, that again, you cannot train or alter (sadly). Just as we cannot pick where we lose fat, we certainly cannot pick where we store fat. Fat can go ANYWHERE on your body, some people are just fortunate to have that fat mass predominately favour their glutes, whilst everything else on their body seems to stay lean. Cellulite Cellulite is actually a super common part of being a woman. Whilst I don’t want to go into much detail on the topic of cellulite, I do want to mention that it is completely normal and seems to be very much dependent on your genetics. There is no magic cream or oil that is going to make it miraculously go away (as much as these companies would want you to believe) and nor should you feel like you have to get rid of it! I train all types of women, and all of my clients (to some degree) have cellulite. Yes, even my Bikini Pro’s! Does it lower at times? It can, yes but I have found that this correlates to when a client loses body fat. This is besides the point though as I really want you to understand that you should not be upset or self-conscious of your cellulite - IT IS NORMAL! Once again, it’s not a factor we can control, nor is it something that women should feel like they have to control. Focus on the key ideas here - changes in your body composition. 28 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women Lack of Great ‘Pump’ in Glutes I want to cover some things on the ‘pump’ though as it’s not something to always strive for, nor is it always correlated with growth. Firstly, the ‘pump’ comes from blood flow into the muscle. Generally, sets with longer time under tension lead to a greater ‘pump’ as it leads to blood staying in the working muscle for longer. This is why I think women love booty band finishers, as they are often 2-3 minutes of constant load on the gluteal area. That feeling of seeing the glutes look fuller and more shaped is a nice confidence boost. Something I really want you to understand though is that the ‘pump’ isn’t everything. Doing sets of 8-10 reps of hip thrusts with long rests will most likely lead to less pump than a 3 minute, all-out, banded abduction workout. Although, this does not mean that the hip thrust isn’t as optimal for growth. Certain training phases will have higher reps, greater time under tension and shorter rest periods (volume/accumulation phases), all of which tends to lead to more blood flow into a muscle group. Now, this does not mean when we move to other phases with lower reps, higher weight, longer rest and less time under tension, (intensity/intensification phases) that we are not training less effectively due to their being less ‘pump’. I think a lot of you, after watching the exercise videos, will notice increased blood flow in the glutes in all phases as you are now going to be engaging more glutes than ever before and getting more out of the muscle! Lastly, I just wanted to cover that a lot of women actually struggle to get a great ‘pump’. This tends to coincide with long term consumption of low calories and also low carbohydrates. My clients consistently notice much more improved muscle pumps in both building phases and during diet breaks (when dieting) which is due to the increase in calories coming from carbs. This large carb increase can help lead to a serious muscle ‘pump’. If you are struggling to get this ‘pump’, look at your calories but mostly, look at your carbs. If you are following a very low carb diet, you will tend to find muscle pumps are far less frequent due to the depleted muscle glycogen. This is one of the many reasons why I suggest a higher carb amount when dieting as it will increase performance and therefore increase muscle ‘pump’. In summary, the pump is not everything but when you have it, enjoy it! Take a booty photo and celebrate all your hard work! 29 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women Glute Imbalances Glute imbalances are very common, just as muscular imbalances within all other muscle groups are very common. This can actually be due to a number of reasons but one that I have found to be the biggest culprit is your dominant hand or footing. Being left/right handed or footed will naturally have you use one side of your body more often. Think back to when you were a kid and would throw a ball with one hand. This means that you are using the muscles on this one side more often than the other. I vividly remember when I began weight training back when I was 13 years old. I remember I wanted a big chest and I wanted biceps so girls would notice me (I didn’t ever really get either, sadly but life goes on!) and I would always notice that when I did a dumbbell chest or shoulder press, my left side would always give out at least 1-4 reps before my right side. Each year, slowly but surely, this evened out. The 4 reps became a 3 rep strength deficit in the first year, then 2 rep deficit in the second and so on until about 3-4 years later when I felt as though both sides were even. My point is that this took a seriously long time, which is why you shouldn’t expect any immediate fixes in 6-8 weeks time. Muscular imbalances are just as common as strength imbalances. Believe it or not, this is normal even at the highest of levels of fitness in women. Some women often feel their glutes perfectly fine but one side is slightly bigger than the other. Some women tend to feel one side much more than the other and the growth can reflect that. This is where mind-muscle connection can actively show its importance. How do we combat this? STEP 1: First thing we want to do is learn to feel both of the glutes working. I go over this in the activation videos but basically: if you cannot learn to contract your glutes without load (weight),you’re going to have an extremely hard time trying to contract them with heavy weight. This is where we go back to the good old bum squeezes. I need you to stand up right now and contract your glutes, HARD. Squeeze your bum cheeks together like your life depends on it! You will know it’s a deep contraction when you feel it through all fibres, both the lower and middle portion of the glutes. Now, hold this for a 20 second isometric contraction. I want you to take note of and learn to feel and recognise what it’s like to get that muscle really short (contracted) as this will be a great tool to then transfer when actually executing a lift. This is something that I want you to do everyday! Start your morning off with a 20-30 second hold and do it as a warm-up pre-workout. What we are doing is teaching your nervous system to more effectively contract both sides of the glutes, which will be building that mind-muscle connection as you go. STEP 2: Another way to combat this imbalance is to begin your unilateral work on the weaker glute. That means for example, in a lunge, do all reps on your smaller glute muscle first and then swap over to the stronger side. This will ensure you enter into the set with less fatigue and a better ability to neurologically aid in contracting those muscle fibers. 30 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women STEP 3: The third option is to do more unilateral bridges/thrusts, such as a single leg Kas Glute Bridge. The reason I suggest the Kas Glute Bridge over the traditional hip thrust is because we want to purely target that imbalance. For instance, if that left side glute is weak and smaller, we want to be doing more work for that specific muscle. A hip thrust is a larger range of motion which means greater chance a stronger muscle (quads or hamstrings) can assist and take away work from the imbalanced glute. The Kas Glute Bridge is a smaller range of motion with the goal of just training the glutes in their active range of hip flexion. You flex your hip (lower your bum down) to a range where it’s hitting all glutes. Once the shin starts to rock back, this is now incorporating other muscles to assist the glutes. This is fine in most cases but not right now as we want to target the weakness in the glutes and do not want to allow for other muscles to do the work. My suggestion is to, before you begin your lower body workouts, on 2 out of 3 lower body days, do two sets of one leg Kas Glute Bridges. Perform one set on your weaker side and one set on the stronger side, making sure you always start the set on the weaker side. This will be shown in the videos but again, I want to drive in that this range of motion is all about the glutes only. This is a great way to begin a workout with isometric contractions to aid sending signals to contract those fibres hard which can then help during your other lifts. This is what a 3 week training block of targeting your imbalance would look like: Phase 1 (Weeks 1-3): 2 x 5-7 reps each side with a 5 second hold at the top Phase 2 (Weeks 4-6): 2 x 8-10 reps each side with a 3 second hold at the top Phase 3 (Weeks 7-9): 2 x 12 reps each side with a 2 second hold at the top (use a DB and place it on your thigh now to increase intensity) Phase 4 (Weeks 10-12): 2 x 10 reps each side with a 1 & 1/4 rep (quarter rep at top) Do this 2 times a week before lower body days. The first 3 weeks is a longer hold and less reps to really teach your body to recruit that side. Then, every 3 weeks the reps go up slightly and the pause duration decreases. I want you to begin feeling the glute well without the need for such a long isometric contraction. In phase 3, I want you to add a little bit of weight to your thigh to make it a little harder now and try to increase your ability to contract that glute with a shorter pause. The final phase we are going to be incorporating 1 & 1/4 reps at the top. Note: Do not take these sets to complete failure. Learning to feel this movement, especially initially, is not about doing it until you are severely fatigued. As the weeks progress and your ability to contract your glutes improve, then by all means take closer to fatigue but remember that you have the entire workout to do following this pre-workout! 31 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women Step 4: Step ups are a fantastic exercise but the issue is that a large majority of the time they are done with almost no control or understanding of what you are trying to achieve from the movement. A step up can be done from a small box, a larger box or a really high box. A small step can be a good way to train the quad muscle, specifically the VMO which is the tear drop looking muscle inside the knee. A moderate step (more mid-shin to upper-shin height) will still get quads but we now also increase glutes and particularly the gluteus medius activation. A high box step up, if executed with control and a stabilised pelvis, will train the glutes and quad but have more emphasis on training the glutes here in deep hip flexion. The reason I have step ups in the glute imbalances section is because it is a great exercise again to isolate one glute muscle. It always is a great way to train your glute medius muscle, commonly over done by abduction work alone. The gluteus medius’s job is to stabilise the pelvis and knee joint, especially in single leg work. This is why when doing the One leg Kas Glute Bridge you will feel not just gluteus maximus but also gluteus medius. Yes, you can train the gluteus medius without banded work. Before your squats and deadlifts, I want you to utilise, in your activation routine to go along with the Kas Glute bridge isometrics, the moderate box step up, focusing on the eccentrics. Again, begin on your weak or smaller side. Now, instead of doing isometric holds, we are going to focus on the eccentrics which is the controlled, lowering portion of the rep. What we want is to ensure the knee tracks inline with the toe and your hip doesnt rock about. These are the steps I want you to follow: 32 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women Begin with standing on one 20kg plate. The big thing here is to not allow the other foot to touch the ground during all reps, if possible. Lift the opposing leg off the ground. Have a small forward hinge in the torso. Break at both the knee and hip together. Have the opposing leg in front of you, extended like it would be if you were doing a pistol squat Now I want a 4 second eccentric! That’s a 4 second count of lowering, ensuring your knees are tracking in line with toe and not caving in. Do this for 5-6 reps on each side. Now we are really training the gluteus maximus and medius as they are both stabilizing hard! This is a great way to improve long term issues such as knee valgus which is when the knee collapses in on a squat or deadlift. Do two sets on the imbalance side and one set on the stronger side. If you are experiencing knee valgus on both legs when you squat and deadlift (even though it is more common for one side to be an issue) then perform two sets on each side. Every 3-4 weeks, add another 20kg plate on top to stand on. As you are progressing, we increase the challenge of the movement by increasing range of motion. More range of motion means the harder it is to stabilise. Once you can do a one leg step up eccentric from a box at knee height with great range of motion, this is a strong signal you will now at the very least have lessened the knee valgus and also increased ability to recruit your imbalance side. Step 5: Cable and banded kickbacks with resistance on the ankles. Nothing too amazing here, just a traditional cable kick back or a banded kick back. Again, focus on doing two sets on the weaker/smaller side and one set on the other. Use this at the end of your workout 1-2 times a week on lower body days. I want you to keep the reps for these on the higher end, around 15-20 reps and focus on mind muscle connection. 33 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women Step 6: Cable or lying straight leg abductions will seem to train more of your gluteus minimus. A strategy that I would suggest you use is performing 2 weeks of cable straight leg abductions and then 2 weeks of side lying straight leg abductions. For the cable straight leg abductions, I want you to stand side on to the weight stack and hold onto the machine with your opposite hand to your leg, to give you stability. Have your foot in a ‘D’ handle cable and attach it to the pulley set on the lower level of the stack. Abduct out for 2 sets of 15 on the weak side and 1 set of 15 on the stronger side. For the side Lying straight leg abductions, try not to be lying directly straight up on your side. Imagine leaning over slightly towards the ground and trying to not just raise your leg straight up, but almost out and across your body with your toe turned down. Start with your top foot in front of your body slightly and then raise it up and out for 2 sets of 20 reps on the weaker side and 1 set of 20 on the other. Step 7: One Leg Reverse Hypers, much like the Kas Glute Bridges, are great for the smaller range of motion and decreasing potential of quads to take over. I learned this one from Bret Contreras and I know he likes this movement with a small ankle weight (maybe 2-5kg). Bret has said it works excellently and I have used it myself on clients and very much agree with him. Lots of people don’t have a reverse hyper machine but you can easily just hang your legs off the end of a bench or box. Ideally, put some plates under the bench to increase bench height to allow for a greater range of motion. Yes, you will get hamstrings involved in the movement but I don’t think that’s a negative whatsoever for this instance. Use this at the end of your lower body day 1-2 times a week for 2 sets of 20-25 reps on weaker glute and then 1 set on stronger side. If both sides are an issue, then use both legs for 2 sets but keep doing the reverse hyper one leg at a time to help increase neural drive to that glute. 34 YOUR GLUTE COACH 5 Common Glute Issues for Women SUMMARY: Overall, this program covers working the glutes in key movement patterns and from all the videos, diving deep into really learning how to execute them all correctly. I cannot stress enough how important execution is with your training, ESPECIALLY a muscle group you do not have the most amazing genetics in. Outside of working on technique, these tips covered here in the glute imbalances are perfect tools to add to your routine. I have given quite a few scenarios and tips and the purpose of the program is to give you knowledge and options. For those with clear cut imbalances, my suggestion is to alter this program slightly so that we are not adding anymore volume to it as there is already so much! We don’t want you to be doing 5-6 sets of the imbalance focused work AND THEN perform the already glute-heavy program as you will be totally crushing yourself. Therefore, I am going to suggest decreasing 1 set off the A) series and 1 set off the final exercise of the day for glutes. This will slightly decrease total volume but then allow for more volume for imbalance focused. For example, in Day 1, we have a Kas Glute Bridge for 4 sets of 15 reps. Before beginning Kas Glute Bridge working sets, I would want you to do the simple activations that I’ve talked about, which would look like this: 1 20-30 second bum squeeze 2 2 sets of 4 second eccentric step ups of 5-7 reps each leg Then you would go into your A) series and do ONLY 3 working sets instead of the 4 of the Kas Glute Bridge. Another example would be for Day 2, when you A series is a High Bar Squat. On this day, instead of beginning with step up eccentrics in your activation, I would rotate to the One Leg Kas Glute Bridges to get those glutes firing before your squatting. Your activation for this day would look like this: 1 20-30 second bum squeeze 2 2 sets on the imbalanced side and 1 set on the stronger side of One Leg Kas Glute Bridge Then you would go into your A) series and do ONLY 3 working sets instead of the 4 of the High Bar Squat. This way we are, again through unilateral work, increasing neural drive to the glutes and also training the gluteus medius before your high bar squat to assist you with getting more out of your glutes when you squat and then help assist managing knee valgus. I would keep on swapping over between these activation types for each lower body day so that we have a little bit of structure to help you learn to feel the glutes more, particularly the weaker/ smaller side and increase potential to get more out of that weaker side and grow it to match the stronger opposing glute muscle. Disclaimer: Please do not over do this as I find that some people love to go to extremes. I say to do 1-2 extra sets 2-3 times a week to target an imbalance and all of a sudden that turns into 5-6 sets for 5 days a week which is not helping you at all! We want quality over quantity here which is why I am only recommending 2 extra sets. That’s it. This, combined with learning better lifting execution, combined with fueling your body with more calories will all lead to an accumulation of wins. 35 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design There are so many variables that go into creating a great program. Why? Because the BEST program in the world for one person, may not be a good program for the next person. You can get all the reps and sets in but if there is too much or too little of a key variable, it can negatively impact results. This is why, firstly, my brother Glen Carroll and I are currently working on a big program design course for coaches and then secondly, why all my programs that I’ve created the last few years, from The Art of ‘Gen Pop’ Transformations and the Building The Bikini Body series to The Challenge and now Your Glute Coach, all of my work is dedicated to educating my audience with so much information packed into my guidebooks and programs that can be practically applied and learned from. I want you to learn the key principles and have a nice grasp of training so you know if an exercise machine is taken in the gym, your whole world doesn’t fall apart. This literally happens! People freak out so badly because they cannot do the precise order of a program one day in a busy gym and just give up. I don’t want this to happen. I want you guys to understand the big picture and be able to think on the fly if an exercise you want to do is taken. Logical thinking goes a long way. This is why we start with exercise selection. It’s one thing getting into the gym but it’s another choosing the right exercises for your specific goals. My big issue with the world of fitness on Instagram and social media is the rapid rise of gimmicky exercises which trend and do well on the algorithm. It’s hard being a coach! I am not a beautiful person with amazing glutes who can sell my programs because I look good. No, everything I am about is for my clients - you and what the best thing for you is! What are the best exercises to take you to your goals, unfortunately, are not the ones you see most girls on Instagram doing. This is where I want you all to embrace the grind. Embrace work and do what the majority of people never do: go out and crush your goals. Take the road less travelled which is mastering the basics and doing it over and over. 36 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Exercise Selection I didn’t want to make this program is overly science based because that’s not my strength and guys like Bret Contreras have great books like ‘The Glute Lab’ that you can read to get that deeper science based knowledge on more detailed concepts like bone anatomy. I am just a coach who has produced World Bikini Champions and has had almost 60,000 women do my programs. My goal is to be your coach in this program and teach you what I know in a basic and immediately applicable manner. In a way, as if you were coming to see me for a private session, immediate fixers to a lot of your issues. Before 2020, I would frequently have women fly into Sydney for a private workout with me to learn and this is the stuff I cover in ‘Your Glute Coach’. When training the glutes, my focus is 9.9 times out of 10 on training the biggest glute muscle in the body the gluteus maximus. This is the muscle which predominantly makes up great glutes and really accentuates the ‘bubble butt’ look. This is what I target with my clients and is what helps my clients develop incredible glutes. Exercises to train our gluteus maximus will involve 3 key lower body movement patterns: 1 Hingeing - Romanian Deadlift, Back Extension, Good Mornings, etc. 2 Bridging - Hip Thrust, Glute Bridges, etc. 3 Knee Dominant - Lunge, Squat , Split Squat, etc. My goal is to train these 3 movement patterns multiple times a week, then get really really good at them. Simple. My usual lower body structure that I like for women, and particularly my Bikini clients, is to have 3 lower body days. Each lower body day will begin the A) series (the first exercise on that day) with one of these 3 above movement patterns. For instance: 37 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Lower 1: Monday = Knee Dominant - High Bar Squat Lower 2: Wednesday = Hingeing - Romanian Deadlift Lower 3: Friday = Bridging - Barbell Hip Thrust I really like this structure because it allows each lower body day to be fresh and rested for the A) series at least one time a week for each key movement pattern. A nice balance to the week. From there, I will usually try to get all 3 movement patterns in the one day. This does not have to be purely glute focused, for example a high bar squat is not a glutes only movement, it’s a combination of quads and glutes, but it still trains that key movement pattern of a knee dominant exercise. Following the knee dominant A) series, we can then move into the B) and C) series with the other 2 patterns. An example may look like this: 1 High Bar squat - Knee Dominant 2 BB Romanian Deadlift - Hinge Dominant 3 Smith Machine Hip Thrust - Bridge Component When creating a program though, I want you to also understand it’s not just about glutes and only glutes. We also want to push training volume towards hamstrings and quads. Lots of these exercises will have this crossover effect. Knee dominant movements will train both the glutes and the quads. How you execute the movement of the knee joint can impact just how much quads, or how much glutes you emphasise. Whichever way, you will still get both muscles working in the movement. With a hinge movement, you will be training the glutes via hip extension, but your glutes are not the only hip extensors. Your erector muscles in your lower back will assist with hip extension as will your hamstrings and adductors. For instance, a Romanian Deadlift is a hinge movement but should always be performed with a small bend in your knees. This bend will help to decrease the mechanical advantage the hamstrings have in the movement, therefore allowing for an increase in potential glutes work. With the bridging pattern, the goal is to train glutes which is why my goto exercise is a hip thrust. The hip thrust, invented by Bret Contreras, is an excellent exercise as the bent knee positioning in the lift (discussed above) decreases the hamstrings ability to assist in the movement which therefore increases the potential to get more glutes out of the hip extension and bridging patterns. 38 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design All of these factor into exercise selection. For instance, if I have a woman who comes to me and says I want big glutes but I really want to minimise my quads growing, the answer is to program more exercises which will load the glutes as much as possible, while decreasing exercises which are knee dominant (more quads). This was the thought process of ‘Your Glute Coach’, imagining a woman who wants a whole lot of glutes, improved hamstrings and minimal quads. Even though we bias the training volume towards more glutes and hamstrings, while decreasing quads, we still want some knee dominant movements in your program for 2 key reasons; 1 It’s important to have structural balance in the body. It is important for a healthy knee joint to be trained. A healthy knee joint is a joint which has strong quads and balances out the rest of the lower body. 2 It’s also important to keep knee dominant movements in your glutes focused lower body program because many of them are fantastic exercises for working the glutes in a lengthened position. This means exercises such as lunges, split squats, squats are all great movements to assist in your goal of great glutes. We do not want to totally get away from those movements and miss out on potential glute gains. Small tweaks to knee angle, or lunge stride and direction can impact how much we bias the quads or glutes. I go into this in detail in the educational videos but, again, I want to not just drive in the power of exercise selection, but also exercise execution. How a program has exercises written can be vastly differently interpreted which is why I wanted to create this program to help all of you understand the finer details to reaching your true potential. Abduction Work Abduction work is an interesting one as through the rise of glutes training the last few years abduction work has been really seen as a big variable to great glutes. The issue with abduction work is finding the right angle to hit the gluteus medius and minimus as a lot of traditional exercises for abductions seem to line up well with other surrounding muscles like the piriformis, especially an exercise like the machine abductor. For me, I will say abduction work is a bit of a grey area. From a lot of recent learning, coaching people first hand and an obsession with glutes in recent years, I do not think a seated banded abduction is anywhere near the level of importance as exercises like a hip thrust or single leg work like a lunge. This does not mean we do not have to use abduction, it’s just that we bias the volume towards the bang-foryour-buck exercises, and lower volume for abduction work. Finding the right exercise, one which lines up well with the muscle you are trying to train, is key. We go through this in the videos! Do I use abduction work? Yes, a little. Do I think it’s imperative to match training volume for gluteus medius through abduction work as gluteus maximus work through hip extension? No. I do think the popularity of abduction work tends to come from the sensation of a burn, which is a nice feeling as you feel like you are doing a lot of work. This is why I like to call abduction work your ‘dessert’. We attack volume through exercises through the 3 big key patterns of hinge, bridge, knee dominant and then we also throw in abduction to finish things off. We do a little hip abduction in ‘Your Glute Coach’ like I do a little with my clients and in the bikini series. A little is fine! I like to finish the sessions with some abduction usually, after, we have done our bigger compound movements! 39 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Understanding Resistance Profiles Resistance profiles are quite an important concept because it helps you understand where an exercise is most challenging. When we are aiming to build muscle mass, we want to spend more time in an exercise where the resistance is greatest. We don’t want to run from it, but towards it! When you can understand resistance profiles it also makes understanding tempo easier as you can understand where and why you pause in a certain part of the rep. The resistance profile of an exercise is where an exercise is most challenging. This is important to understand because for the same muscle group, the resistance profile can vary from exercise to exercise. Generally, resistance will be greatest in a movement in the lengthened position. An example of this for quads would be that a squat or a split squat will be hardest in the bottom. When you are in the bottom of the squat, this is where the resistance is greatest, which is why so many people fail their reps at the bottom, but when you see a client fight that rep, and get past half way, they generally are able to finish the rep as resistance lowers the higher you go up. Although, on another quad exercise, a leg extension, it is the opposite. A leg extension is the only true quads exercise which will challenge the quads the most at the top position, when the muscles are shortening. When you begin the rep, the bottom position is the easiest and as you go up and up to lock out and contract your quads muscles, resistance becomes greater and greater. Then if we look at glutes; a squat and lunge will again challenge the glutes like the quads, in the bottom position. This is where you have peak tension in the glutes as they are lengthened and the resistance profile is greatest in the bottom position. Now, this is one of the many reasons why the hip thrust is a great exercise because it challenges the glutes the most at the top position, the glute muscles contracting. 40 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Understanding the resistance profile will help you to understand where peak tension is in the glutes on a particular exercise which will help you to realise why it’s important to use a range of motion specific to the muscle that you are trying to challenge on a specific exercise. The concept of full range of motion is not as integral in one exercise as it is in training the muscles you want through the exercises which match the resistance profile. Let’s say you want great glutes but your quads seem to take over no matter what on hip thrusts, and then your hamstrings is all you feel on an RDL. The muscle you desperately want to bring up, glutes, seems to lag behind. You are using a full range of motion hip thrust, you are using a full range of motion RDL, going so low you have to stand on a plate for more range. This is where it’s important to understand your glutes ‘active range’ and also resistance profiles. More range of motion is not always best. We want to train the glutes or quads, through a full range of motion, yes but it doesn’t have to be off every exercise. We want to train the glutes in a full range of motion through multiple exercises. For instance, instead of a full range hip thrust which leads to knees rocking back and getting more quads involved and decreasing the pure output of glutes alone, would it not be better just using a Kas Glute Bridge? As stated above, the Kas Glute Bridge trains the glutes only in the range the glutes are the dominant player while also incorporating purely time spent where the resistance is greatest for the glutes - at the top! This would make a lot more sense. Then if we want more glutes from a hinge; doing an RDL with a glute emphasis instead of just purely doing as much range of motion as possible which tends to lead to a more hamstring dominant RDL. For a glute dominant RDL, we hip flex and only let the bar travel as low as we can push the hips back - that’s the glutes in a lengthened position. Anymore range we strive for then leads to more hamstrings which again takes away from the glutes. 41 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Now, through the Kas Glute Bridge, even though total range of motion has decreased, we are spending the key parts of the rep utilising primarily glutes only, and yes the range of motion is smaller but we are spending the entire set where the glutes are most challenged - therefore getting a whole lot out of the glutes. Tempo is something you all know I love programming. All programs have tempo regardless if you mean to or not. There is still always an eccentric (muscle lengthening) and a concentric (muscle shortening). Regardless of if you are focusing on it or not, the way I really like to focus on tempo is utilising pauses where the resistance is greatest. For instance, an RDL, we want to pause in the lengthened position as that’s where glutes are under most tension. Doing a pause at the top makes no sense because there is no tension but on the opposite ends, a hip thrust, due to the resistance profile being the exact opposite (hardest at the top), it makes all the sense to utilise pauses at the top. If you can learn to understand where an exercise is hardest, it dramatically improves your ability to understand tempo and also understand how to get the most out of a muscle group. We don’t want an entire program for glutes to only challenge the lengthened position, or only challenging the shortened position. A great program challenges the muscles through a full range of motion, but it just doesn’t have to be over one exercise which is why my programs are about utilising a variety of exercises which have different resistance profiles! Glute Max Subdivisions The gluteus maximus, as we have said, is the biggest muscle in the body. Large muscles tend to have different divisions and with the glutes, we have the big glute muscle but different exercises will work the glutes predominately more in either the lower or upper subdivisions of the gluteus maximus. You often hear the term “exercises for the ‘under butt’”, this is going to be exercises which challenge more so the lower portion of the gluteus maximus. The resistance profile generally will be exercises which are hardest in the lengthened position, such as: Squats Deadlifts Romanian Deadlifts Lunges Split Squats Then we have the upper portion of the gluteus maximus (not the gluteus medius which is the upper shelf which sits above the upper division of the glute max). When training for the upper portion of the glutes, exercises such as hip thrusts, bridges, 45 0 back extensions, kickbacks and reverse hypers will all work this. What makes the hip thrust such an excellent exercise for building glutes is that it works both the lower and upper portion of the glute maximus, which is why it’s my favourite lift and probably the most influential glute builder created by the great Bret Contreas. Now, as we have gone over picking key exercise movement patterns such as hinges, bridges and knee dominant movements and also resistance profiles, you can start to see why program design matters and why we will not just pick a few exercises and hope for the best. As I have also said and will constantly drive in, the gluteus maximus is the real key to a big, round, perky set of glutes. Understanding exercises which work both divisions of the gluteus maximus can help you understand why, on a lower body day, it’s important to have a variety of exercises training not only key exercise patterns but also exercises that work both the lower and upper divisions for a complete workout! 42 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Factors that Impact Volume in Glutes Lately, the surrounding evidence shows anywhere from 10-20 working sets for a muscle group is the optimal level for building muscle mass. Obviously, this is quite generalised and then if you look at an exercise for a squat, for example, how you execute the lift can really dictate if you get glutes out of it or not. So, if you did a super quad dominant squat, would that contribute to your total working set volume for glutes? Not at all. Then the next level of breaking things down further is by asking if all training volume/working sets are created equal? For instance, is a heavy deadlift working set the same contribution as doing a set of a banded kickback for 15-20 reps? That is where I find things get a little murky to fully breakdown what is true working set volume for a muscle group. So many lower body movements use a lot of muscle tissue with some using more tissue than others. Which exactly contributes to working volume for a muscle group? Are all muscle groups really equal in their ability to tolerate training volume? I and a lot of other good coaches who train a lot of women all seem to agree that glutes can handle higher training volume to other muscle groups. A few reasons why I think is because firstly, the glutes in many exercises are not the only muscle doing the work. Then secondly, exercises tend to lead to more muscle soreness (DOMS) tend to load the stretch position the most, meaning the resistance profile is hardest in the lengthened position. But a lot of our glute movements are thrusts and bridges which load the glutes the most in the shortened position, therefore not generating the same muscle soreness which can lead to an ability to probably do a bit more training volume. When it comes to banded exercises it’s important to know that 3 sets of banded work is not equal to 3 sets of heavy weighted exercises, even when both are taken to failure. One is far more taxing on a total global fatigue level; the RDL as it not only loads the glutes but also the spine, whereas the banded movements are very localised in their work, meaning it’s not global fatigue. All in all, I think the glutes do well 3 days a week for most people, or even 2 days for time sensitive people, as a way of dispersing the volume over the course of the week. When it comes to working sets for glutes, I like to have the reps in the high 20’s to low 30’s as so many of these exercises have carried over effect to other muscle groups as well. A leg press even with feet lower trying to bias more quads, will still get some glutes therefore, driving up the total glute volume. If you are having trouble with recovery, what I would do is just take off a working set off of each exercise for a week, which over the total course of the week would be close to 30 sets backed off, to really deload training volume for the week. Hypertrophy Stimulating Reps A key topic which has evolved since I began being a coach was the concept of rep ranges which lead to hypertrophy (muscle building) as 8-12 reps was very much the gold standard. Now, recent literature shows a very broad range of reps can lead to almost identical hypertrophy adaptations. Very low reps of 3-4 can lead to hypertrophy, moderate reps of 5-12 lead to hypertrophy then also high reps as high as 30% of your 1 rep max, which for most exercises would be in the upper 20’s of the rep range. This is valuable to know because it means we have plenty of options. 43 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design The thing with reps ranges is; to elicit a hypertrophy response, we need to take sets within 1-5 reps of failure. That doesn’t mean every set has to be to complete failure where you cannot push anymore but I still expect quality. Now, that also means if you are doing exercises of 30 reps, the hypertrophy stimulating reps pretty much means only reps 25 to 30 are important. This then also means that the previous 24 reps were pretty much not key to achieving adaptations, it was only the final reps. That’s a lot of reps to do, without getting much out of them. So, why not just do low reps? Well, doing low reps alone tends to beat us up a fair bit more. Soreness in joints and increased potential of injury occurs when we are lifting really heavy all the time. From memory, in a study which showed the difference in groups using the variety of rep ranges, the group who did the low rep ranges only did achieve similar hypertrophy to the higher rep groups but they also had high drop outs due to injuries. This is not saying low reps are bad but for hypertrophy, this is why I like periodisation. It means we can spend some time in low rep phases, but we don’t have to live there. Get in and get out. Spend a few weeks training lower reps for hypertrophy before a huge amount of fatigue or potential lingering injuries can become worse from the beat down of constant heavy work and then move to higher rep ranges. This is one of the reasons why I do not do a lot of set out deload work because my programs usually only train a specific rep range for a few weeks before we then move to a totally different intensity. We get what we want from a specific rep range, then, after 3-4 weeks, we move. This is why in ‘Your Glute Coach’ I have used a variety of phases. Higher rep phases which are more metabolic in nature and then lower rep phases which are more traditional hypertrophy focused. Periodisation As I have done a video on this topic, I won’t dive too deep into this here - I just want to cover the basics. Over these 12 weeks, we are using an undulating periodisation scheme meaning the 3-week training blocks will be going between higher rep phases and lower rep phases. Basically, 3 weeks with more volume (accumulation), then 3 weeks with more intensity (intensification) and then we repeat this, hence the undulating. We are going up and down in intensity (intensity meaning relative to your one rep max) as the closer you lift to your predicted 1-rep max, the greater the intensity. 44 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design WHY AN UNDULATING PROGRAM? I like undulating because although we know many rep ranges can lead to hypertrophy, each rep range can be fatiguing and leading to a plateau over time. I sometimes like using a daily undulating periodisation method which involves having low, moderate and high rep days all in one week as it can be an effective strategy to achieve hypertrophy. The issue with this type of programming is that I find that if you do fatigue or plateau, it’s hard to decide whether it is due to the low, moderate or high rep day/s. This more commonly will lead me to having to schedule in a deload. I still like programming undulating as I find that 3 weeks on one phase is enough time to progress and improve before we begin to level off and have to undulate and change the rep scheme. This way we can work consistently well through the 12 weeks without necessarily needing a scheduled deload phase. This is one of the many reasons why I think my clients get such world class results, because each training phase has a specific plan behind it. I think you will also enjoy the program because you know each phase has a specific identity to it and although you will most likely feel a little different from each phase, you now know that it’s normal and planned. Not every phase needs to be insane muscle pumps, just like not every phase needs to be very low reps lifting super heavy. Basically, what I want you to remember is: Accumulation phases = more volume Intensification phases = more intensity 45 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Activation and Warm Ups One thing I definitely think and want you to understand is that activation is 1--% pointless if you then go and perform terrible technique when actually lifting (which happens a whole lot). Activate all you want but when you are not using the muscle fibres exactly how they need to be trained within a set, you are never going to get the glutes you strive for. Now firstly, I want you to just warm up through some quick mobility exercises. Do the following exercises for a total of 2 rounds: 1 Bodyweight Squat - 10 reps 2 Walking High Knees - 10 reps 3 Bodyweight Squat - 10 reps 4 Walking High Knees - 10 reps 5 World’s Greatest Stretch - 5 reps each side Now that you’re warmed up, we want to activate. This is going to be very similar to the glute imbalance walkthrough that I went through above as this has great carry over to overall glute improvements, regardless of imbalances or not. YOU DO NOT NEED A LOT OF BANDED WORK HERE. As you know, I am a big advocate for learning to train and activate the muscles in a way that’s movement specific. For example, in a squat, deadlift or hip thrust, we are focusing primarily on hip extension, so doing activation work around banded abductions is not necessary as these lifts aren’t training your glutes through abductions! This is why my personal favourite way to activate is through unilateral work, just as it is my goto for imbalances. If you struggle to activate your glutes, let’s choose movements which are very well known for increasing glute recruitment but also do this unilaterally to increase the glute stabilisers and ensure we keep the hips level. Follow this as your activation routine, which you will do after finishing the above warm up (refer back to the Glute Imbalances section for the greater breakdown): 1 20-30 second standing bum squeeze. 2 6-8 reps on each leg of the small box Step Ups with 3 second eccentrics. 3 8-10 reps on each leg of Kas Glute Bridge with 2 second pauses at top. 46 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design That’s it. These warm ups and activations shouldn’t be taken to failure or anywhere close to it. From here, you are ready to begin warming up and loading the bar for your A) series (see below)! NOTE - Those with the glute imbalances, remember to follow the warm ups and activations as laid out in the Glute imbalance section. This means you would do the quick warm up and activation as previously laid out. Loading the Bar and Warming Up The method I like for my clients to use when warming up and loading the bar (90% of the time) is a ramping method. Simply, this means that in each working set, we add weight. Remember;the 1-5 reps are the hypertrophy stimulating reps, so I like to integrate this into the loading of the bar. Think of it as if in set 1, we are doing 5 reps from failure and then each working set we work closer to the lower end within failure. The goal week 1 is not to hit true failure where zero more reps are possible. In ‘Your Glute Coach’, we are using 3 week training phases. The way I would think of choosing weight selection for the A) series is to add weight each set but in week 1, you finish on a weight which you have 2 reps left in the tank before your true, total failure. Following on, in the second week, you finish on a weight that you have 1 rep left in the tank. In the final week of the phase, week 3, you are aiming to hit a personal best and leave no reps in the tank for the final working set. To do this effectively you have to be smart with numbers. When you are new to an exercise or tempo particularly, make sure you do a good amount of warm up sets that are not anywhere near failure but just enough to learn the movement pattern and follow the correct tempo. Do this for 3-4 warm up sets for the A) series then get into your first working set. 47 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design A big thing with load selection, especially in week 1 of a program, is to be conservative. You can always work your way up in a program. We do not want to be going to failure immediately as this then gives you zero room to progress week to week and also leads to a larger accumulation of fatigue immediately during the first week. The first exercise you do for the day is the one you have the best potential to lift heaviest on. The additional exercises all lead to hypertrophy as well, just not as great potential on strength adaptations as they are being done in a more fatigued state. When loading the bar. I want you to think of each series a little different: 1 The A) series is where we want to be conservative as this is the most strength based exercise for the day. Regardless of if it’s 5 or 15 reps, our number one goal is to lift heavier for reps on this movement as we progress through the program. Therefore, the A) series should have the most warm up sets and also the most conservative approach to load selection. 2 When performing the B) series, you will be much more warmed up, which means you will most likely have to only perform 1-2 warm up sets to be sufficient. 3 The C) series and all addition series are where you should be very warmed up by which is why there is no need to perform warm up sets outside of just a very light practice run of feeling that movement pattern, making sure your setup is correct and the tempo is spot on. Then, just get into your working sets. Key Point: During all of these exercises, you are still applying the ramping principle by adding weight to each working set. 48 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Home-Gym Swaps I am writing this at the end of 2020, and what a crazy year it has been! I have gone from never having to write a home-training program as I have always been a gym based coach. Now, almost all of my clients and guidebook purchases are home-based! My whole coaching world pretty much flipped upside down. Right now, as I am writing this, many countries are going back into lockdown for a second or third time and sadly, I feel as if this may be a common occurrence for a while. With all of this going on in the world, I still don’t want to completely write two separate programs, home and gym, because a good home program should consist of as much of the same exercises you do in the gym program. I have found that during 2020 a lot of people have invested into their home-gyms with squat racks, dumbbells, barbells and benches, which is amazing! Majority of the key goto exercises I use are using these types of equipment so therefore can be used in my programs. Unfortunately, the majority of home-gyms lack machines that I love to program, such as a leg press and lying leg curl. This is why I have made a lift of exercise swaps for those of you who don’t have certain machines or are still building your home-gym: Original Exercise Exercise Swap Leg Press - Feet High Straddle Lift - Glute Emphasis Leg Press - Feet Middle Straddle Lift - Heels Elevated Leg Extensions DB Squats - High Heels Elevated Lying Leg Curl Lying Leg Curl - Banded or DB Between Feet Single Lying Leg Curl Single Lying Leg Curl - Banded 450 Back Extension Rack Back Extension or DB Romanian Deadlift Smith Machine Hip Thrust Any Machine Hip Thrust or BB Kas Glute Bridge Machine Abductions Seated Banded Abductions Lat Pulldown Pulldowns - Banded or Pull Ups (use same grip) Seated Row Bent Over Rows - BB/DB or One Arm Rows - Banded Face Pulls Face Pulls - Banded BB Squat DB Squat - Heels Elevated or Goblet Squat - Heels Elevated BB Hip Thrusts One Leg DB Hip Thrusts or Kas Glute Bridge BB Romanian Deadlift DB Romainian Deadlift or 450 Back Extension BB Good Morning DB Romainian Deadlift or 450 Back Extension BB Presses DB Presses (use same grip and incline) BB Bent Over Row Bent Over Row - DB The main point is to be resourceful. Focus on what you can do, not what you cannot do! If you cannot do a hack squat then just make it a logical swap for another quad exercise. Just think logically and you will be fine! 49 YOUR GLUTE COACH 6 Program Design Want More Quads? Inevitably, in creating a program for the masses, no matter how great and thought out the program is there will still be individuals who have slightly different goals and requirements. We are all different! If you are someone who is more focused on developing your quads, you can still follow ‘Your Glute Coach’ but we are going to need to make some small changes on certain days to ensure your quad’s training volume is a little bit higher. The way I would make these changes is by making some exercise swaps to ensure they are more quad focused over glutes. Here are my quad recommendations: High Bar Squats Elevate your heels and focus on really pushing your knees forward in the squat to maximise knee flexion. Split Squats On at least 1-2 of the lower body days, utilise a heel elevation on the front foot. This heel elevation will further allow you to push the knee forward over the toe and increase quads stretch. Buldgarian Split Squats These are already a brutal quad exercise but we can increase this by elevating the front foot’s heel. By doing this we are training the back quad and the front quad! Leg Press - Feet High We can just simply just lower the foot position on the platform to accommodate for more quads Lunge Variations: Walking Lunges Deficit Reverse Lunges b Use a slightly smaller step when performing Walking Lunges. Swap 50 YOUR GLUTE COACH 7 Understanding your Program That’s pretty much it! As you can see, nothing needs to be dramatically changed. We are just decreasing some of the higher glutes training volume over the week and prioritising a bit more balance to the training volume. From working with thousands of clients both in person and online over the last decade, I know that for a client to get great results, they need to actually know how to use the program. The importance of knowing the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of the program will always dramatically drive up the success of any routine. So, let’s cover the basics! Sets Sets refers to the number of times you repeat the same exercise. For example, 5 x 10-12 reps would mean that you will be performing 10-12 reps of a particular exercise 5 times in total. Reps Reps refers to the number of times you will do the relevant movement. For example, if the program said 5 x 10-12 reps for a Low Bar Squat, that would mean that you do 10-12 Low Bar Squats for each of the 5 sets. Tempo Tempo refers to the time under tension you lift each rep with. Each number on the tempo layout also refers to a different component of the lift. An example would be 4110 tempo on a Low Bar Barbell Squat: 4 – The first number always refers to the eccentric (lowering) component of the movement. In the example of the Low Bar Squat, this would mean you are taking 4 seconds to lower the weight into the squat. 1 – The second number refers to the bottom position (pause) of the movement, which in most cases is where the exercise is the hardest. This would mean that in your Low Bar Squat, when you reach the bottom of the squat, you would pause for 1 second at the bottom of the movement. 1 – The third number refers to the concentric (lifting) part of the moment. In your Low Bar Squat, this would be when you are lifting the weight up from the bottom. As this is a ‘1’, you would lift the weight up to the top of the squat in 1 second. 0 – The fourth and final number refers to the top position (pause) of the movement, which in most cases is the beginning or easiest part of the lift. In the Low Bar Squat, this would be when you are standing at the top of the movement in a dead stop, or in this case no pause at all meaning you would immediately flow into the next rep of the set. 51 YOUR GLUTE COACH 7 Understanding your Program SERIES AND SUPERSETS Our program is all based on sets which are alphabetised series. These series will be displayed in either of the following two ways: 1 A straight series - A) or B) This means that the exercise is a stand alone and will be executed on its own. 2 A superset series - A1) and A2) This means we are partnering the two exercises together and doing them together (back to back) before moving onto the next series. Intensity Techniques I commonly use intensity techniques to extend the final working set. My favourite intensity techniques (as you would know if you have done one of my other programs) are drop sets and rest-pauses. In ‘Your Glute Coach’, I use these sporadically so make sure you make note of if an exercise has one of these written on it! If there is a note on an exercise, normally something along the lines of “Drop Set x 1” or “Rest-Pause x 1”, this means that on your final working set you will perform this intensity technique. Let me break these down for you: 52 YOUR GLUTE COACH 7 Understanding your Program Drop Set x 1 Let’s say you have an exercise that is 4 sets of 10 reps and you’re using the ramping method correctly (adding weight to each set). On the FINAL SET ONLY you will be doing a drop set. You will still take your final set to failure and then immediately drop 20% off the load, then immediately begin to perform as many reps as you can until you reach failure. Rest-Pause x 1 The rest=pause method is the same concept as a drop set but instead of dropping the weight, we are going to utilise a small rest period. Again, on the FINAL SET ONLY, take it to complete failure and then put the weight down and rest for 10-15 seconds. After this small rest, pick up that same weight and so as many more reps as you can until failure again. Note: If you are a beginner, I do not want you to do these intensity techniques - just follow the sets as normal. Tips for Beginners I know that this program is going to be very popular with women wanting to learn more from me on glutes (well, I hope it’s popular) and that is 100% the purpose of it! Although, I would say that this is very much a program aimed at intermediate to very advanced women but beginners can still do it! If you are a beginner, your ability to tolerate as much work (volume) is not as high as an intermediate or advanced trainer but this is actually a good thing! This simply means that you can actually get better results from less than more, initially. This is why, during this program, I want you to do a little less as I don’t want to make the volume become detrimental to your results and progress week to week. We need to build up your work (volume) capacity first and focus on really training with quality. If you are a beginner, I am going to suggest that you drop the final (third) lower body day from the program, making it just 4 days a week - 2 lower body and 2 upper body. The reason is simple: we need to get you doing quality over quantity to begin with. You will get more out of this program following the basics over 4 days a week, rather than killing yourself over 5 days a week. This will lead to better recovery which then leads to faster strength and hypertrophy adaptations. I also want you to take off 1 set of the A) series each week, on all training days. This is because a beginner doesn’t need as many repeated efforts on the same day. A more advanced lifter will be able to often hold strength and even improve from set to set. Beginners tend to have a large drop off in performance as sets continue for longer. Therefore, 3 sets is the max I want you to do for sets on the A) series each day. Now, here is the issue: a lot of you will read this and ignore it. All I ask of you is to trust me and my experience as a coach. Use these 12 weeks to learn, understand proper movement and really understand how to recruit your glutes, all of which will become impaired when you are not recovering well from a program. The goal is not to make you so sore you cannot walk. The goal is to save years of wasted training for you and get you where you want to be faster! 53 YOUR GLUTE COACH 8 Muscle Soreness Muscle soreness is VERY common when weight lifting. In terms of soreness, I am talking about Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) which tends to occur in the 24-48 hours after a workout. DOMS does not correlate with an effective workout or means it leads to superior hypertrophy adaptations. If you are not sore after a workout, this does not mean it was not an effective workout. Many of my most advanced lifters are never sore after a session but lift the heaviest weight and do the most training volume. DOMS will usually occur due to a few different instances: 1 You are new to training or have had a few weeks off training - Being new to lifting or having some time off from training always leads to the most muscle soreness initially. The goal is not to make you terribly sore. We actually want to minimise this, which is why if you are a beginner or have had a few weeks off before beginning the program, I suggest cutting working sets in half on all exercise the first week to ease yourself in. More sets just create more soreness which means a longer period of time before you physically can train again. 2 You are being introduced to new exercises - Often, my clients get less and less sore over the 4-week duration of a program/phase. They normally, in the final week will hit PB’s yet still experience no soreness. This is until the next week, when they receive a new program and are being exposed to new exercises or movements they have not done recently or ever. They are sore, once again. 3 Slow eccentrics and pauses - DOMS are commonly associated with purposely increasing the eccentric (lowering) component of the rep. I have found that 4-5 second eccentrics anecdotally seem to lead to more soreness for a client that faster, 1-2 second, eccentrics. Long pauses also seem to lead to DOMS increase initially, particularly on exercises which load the stretch position like the bottom of a squat. These are just a few scenarios but I wanted to go over this because firstly, people either freak out about soreness and believe that they will be sore for all future workouts in the program. Relax, you won’t be. The soreness will become less and less each week. Secondly, soreness all too often correlated with whether or not that session was effective or not. Soreness, as I said, is not a good indicator of an effective workout. It just tends to mean one of the above points. Don’t think a program isn’t effective because it’s no longer making you really sore. The final thing I want to cover on muscle soreness is whether or not you can train when you are sore. The answer is YES! It’s not as ideal and will probably impact you but it is completely fine. My suggestion to combat the pain a little is to get some blood flowing in the muscle before you start your workout. Do 10 minutes on the bike or cross trainer and get some blood flow, then do the usual warm up and activation routine. From here should begin to notice less painful range of motion. If you’re so sore that you can barely walk or sit down, then either skip a day, do an upper body workout or even get in some light cardio. 54 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Nutrition is a huge component of building muscle. I wanted to focus the educational videos more on the glute specific training as that is my real strength and also where I believe education is lacking. When it comes to nutrition, there are a lot of great sources of material that have already been created with in depth understanding of both building and cutting components, such as my ‘Building the Bikini Body’ guidebook. I wanted to use the nutrition section in ‘Your Glute Coach’ in the same manner I would talk to a new online client. The thing I really like about online coaching is a person is able to come to me in the initial consultation and present where they are currently at in their training and nutritional history. During this time, I am processing all the information I am receiving and trying to find the missing link. In this section, I am going to go through what the missing nutritional links may be. We have attacked education on exercises and training so let’s dive into focusing on something a lot of women struggle with: building in a calorie surplus. Firstly, let’s cover the fact that energy balance is the key driver of fat loss or body fat gain. Energy balance refers to the balance of calories in vs. calories out. We have a threshold where we can maintain weight which is commonly referred to as your maintenance calories or your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). If we have a balance between your calories consumed vs. calories expended, we will maintain weight. If we want to lose body fat, we have to create a negative energy balance (calorie deficit). When we are in a calorie deficit (consuming less calories than we expend) we begin losing body fat tissue. On the other end of the spectrum; if we consume more calories than we expend, we create a positive energy balance (calorie surplus). See the image below for further demonstration on this: 55 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition *numbers shown are just examples. CALORIES IN 2000 Kcal CALORIES OUT Energy Balance CALORIES IN 3500 Kcal CALORIES OUT Positive Energy Balance CALORIES IN 2000 Kcal 2000 Kcal 2000 Kcal CALORIES OUT Negative Energy Balance 2500 Kcal RESULT Maintain body weight RESULT gain weight RESULT lose weight A huge reason why women seem to not build the muscle tissue they desire, whether it’s glutes or any other muscle group, is from fearing a calorie surplus. The surplus is associated with body fat increases however, it’s also greatly associated with greater anabolic potential! There is a cost benefit to going after your building goals. In this situation, you need to ask yourself: “Do I want to change long term or do I want to keep looking the same and not getting anywhere?”. 56 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Having the ability to prioritise your long term goals is often the characteristics of achievers. People who don’t run from the uncomfortable will smash their goals! Of course, you may not be super lean for the next 12-24 weeks but you are going to be attacking your goals of building muscle, particularly glutes. This is your growth mindset, so remember it and recognise that it’s what you need to do to GROW! During a calorie surplus, we have less protein breakdown, which means we protect more muscle mass and also provide the body more potential to build muscle. In a deficit, we have fat loss but we also increase the ability to be catabolic (breaking down) in muscle mass. Can you build muscle in a deficit? Yes, but nowhere near as optimally as having calories at maintenance and above. Something that comes up a lot during my initial consults is the fact that a client has lost a lot of weight before coming to me, and now they want to build muscle as they are having trouble doing so. What I find tends to happen a lot is, after I find out their TDEE, it is revealed that they have been eating WAY below this, hence the lack of muscle growth. Due to them staying at such low calories, even after them achieving their fat loss goal, their calories are no longer matching their goals. People are scared of putting the weight back on after achieving a fat loss result but don’t understand that by staying in a calorie deficit for an extended period of time, they are neglecting themselves of reaching their other, newer goals! This is why, if your goals are around building muscle, gaining weight or even maintaining, we have to get out of that deficit and move towards a calorie surplus. A calorie surplus (or at least maintenance) combined with great training and education is where the magic is made. 57 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Another scenario that I find comes up a lot of when a client has the goals of losing weight AND wanting to build more muscle. These people tend to train hard already and know how to track but are falling between these two goals which is therefore delaying their progress. In this situation, you want to look at what is most pressing for the client and which goal is more achievable now. If this sounds like you, read these 3 scenarios and find out what I recommend: 1 You have 5-10kg to lose to reach your goal body weight - Instead of going into a true build with a solid surplus, I would go the more conservative route. Work out your TDEE and spend the time over the next 12 weeks at your maintenance. At least this will provide a more optimal environment in your body to build but wont have you getting too far away from your goal body weight. 2 You are quite close to goal body weight - Prioritise the goal of building muscle over fat loss right now. Use these 12 weeks to do things as optimally for muscle building which means getting into that calorie surplus. Yes, you may put on a little bit of body fat but that’s ok! Think long term goals! 3 Your body fat and weight is on the higher end - Yes, I know you want to build more muscle mass but right now, it’s probably more pressing (for your health) to lose some body fat first. When it comes to building muscle in a surplus, the balance between lean mass accumulating or fat mass accumulating seems to be a more optimal ratio the leaner you are. Therefore, if your body fat or weight is 10-15kg away from your goal weight, the most optimal thing would be to go into a calorie deficit first, lose 5-10kg and then focus on your building goals. You can still build some muscle in a calorie deficit, especially beginners and those with higher fat mass as they have lower muscle loss. 58 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Steps to Working out Calories for Goals The first thing you need to do is go to the website tdeecalculator.net. Use your weight and also estimate your body fat levels when filling out the form, and also choose ‘Moderate’ activity for this program. If you are unsure of your body fat levels, use the photo grid below to gain an estimate but be slightly more conservative. 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 40% From here, we will now be able to use your TDEE. This is where, theoretically, you should be able to maintain your weight. Now we have to choose the goal we want to achieve. 59 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Build If your goal is to spend the next 12 weeks prioritising muscle building, I strongly suggest to use this program to have your calories up out of a deficit and at minimum, have calories set to your TDEE. Before we break down the different build strategies, I really want to drive home that building muscle, when done perfectly, takes time! The reason why I strongly believe most women don’t optimise their muscle growth is because they are too conservative with their building phases. Spending 6-8 weeks in a build then rushing back to a deficit I can assure you will not get you noticeable changes. Is there a magic time period you should build for? Honestly, as long as you can! I want my clients to spend around 6-12 months in their build phases, but the absolute minimum would be 12 weeks. The point I am trying to make is to not run from your build when you feel uncomfortable. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable because your future self and future glutes will thank you for it! Now, let’s break down the ‘build’ component into two categories; coservative and moderate. CONSERVATIVE BUILD: A concervative build will have you starting at your TDEE and is for someone who has been on low calories previously and may have some metabolic adaptation build up or for someone who is terrified of putting on weight. Metabolic adaptation is a natural response your body uses as a defence mechanism against fat loss. Your body purposely lowers calorie expenditure to make fat loss harder. The reason why I suggest going the conservative build approach here is due to these potential metabolic adaptations, which lower your true TDEE. For instance, your TDEE on the calculator may be 2100 but due to long term dieting, your actual current TDEE may be slightly suppressed, meaning it is actually around 1800-1900 calories. and you could maintain weight from 1800-1900 which would usually be a deficit. For more in depth science behind fat loss and metabolic adaptation, please refer to my guidebook - The Art of Reverse Dieting. You are going to be starting your conservative build at your TDEE (maintenance) and then assess your weight every 3-4 weeks. Your maintenance is a lot better of a place to begin building than a deficit. If after these 3-4 weeks you are maintaining your weight, I want you to increase your calories by 5-10%. If you have gained a little bit of weight during these first weeks, then keep your calories here for now! MODERATE BUILD: This is where I hope the majority of you will take yourself, at least, for the next 12 weeks. For those who are really focused on using this time to build and not too scared off of a little bit of fat mass in the quest of epic glute gains, I suggest a more moderate build of a 5-10% calorie surplus. You are going to be starting your moderate build in a calorie surplus of 5-10%. This means, if your TDEE is 2000 calories and you want to start in a 5% surplus, you’re going to be starting at 2100 calories. You need to assess your weight every 3-4 weeks to see if you are gaining or maintaining here. If you are maintaining your weight here, I want you to increase your calories by another 5-10%. If you have gained a little bit of weight during these first weeks, then keep your calories here! 60 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition Building Weight Increases Whichever option you have chosen from the above, I want you to understand that we are training to gain weight! We just want to be gaining at a reasonable pace. During the first week, you will probably see an increase in weight. This will probably be due to the extra carbs you are consuming which means more muscle glycogen (water retention) within the muscle - this is not fat mass! We are in a surplus for a reason - to build muscle. This comes with weight gain! Whether that be from water retention, eating more, increased muscle mass or even fat mass, this is the point of the build. Often people freak out way too much over a little scale increase. Always think to yourself: “I am doing this for the greater good - my future self.”. No one else cares if you put on a little bit of body fat, only you do. Don’t be so hard on yourself! I know, first hand as a coach, the rewards you get for devoting time to a build are incredible. You just need to put the work in long term not just through training hard, but also eating accordingly to your big long term goals! Now, let’s go build some epic glutes! Fat Loss The goal of choosing fat loss is obviously - to lose body fat, but as much as losing body fat is the goal, we need to also be retaining our existing muscle mass (aka, keeping your glutes!). The best ways to retain glutes muscles (or any muscle) whilst in a calorie deficit are: 1 Eat sufficient protein levels (I go into this in the next chapter). 2 Keep lifting the exact same way you would if you were aiming to build muscle in the gym. I am often asked why is the training program always the same regardless of nutritional goals and the answer is simple: resistance training is aimed at building muscle and strength and also KEEPING muscle and strength. Let’s get into the deficit percentages you can choose when it comes to fat loss. The speed of which you lose weight will (obviously) come down to the size of the deficit. The 3 options I use and recommend are: 1 Conservatve Deficit = 20-25% 2 Moderate Deficit = 30% 3 Aggressive Deficit = 35-40% 61 YOUR GLUTE COACH 9 Nutrition All of these percentages are the deficits that you will remove from your TDEE. The TDEE amount alone is what your maintenance calories should be. That’s why we then have to take off the percentage we have chosen to create our deficit. Remember: Your weight, body fat levels as well as activity levels will impact your TDEE. This is why I dont give generic figures. It needs to be specific to you. Now, how do you choose the right deficit option for you? Simply put, The higher your body fat, the potentially more aggressive you can go! But again, our focus is not just on fat loss. It’s also on muscle retention! We do not want to be eating literally nothing as we need enough calories to survive and perform well in the gym! If you have below 25% body fat, I would recommend you begin with a more conservative deficit of 2025%. If you are above 25% body fat, begin with the moderate approach with a 30% deficit. Begin here and if after 3 weeks there is no change, drop your calories by about 100-150. Spend another 2 weeks here and observe your weight. If you are losing around 0.5kg (around 1lbs) a week, just keep going with your calories. When fat loss stalls for more than 2 weeks, then just lower your calories again by another 100-150. TIP: When taking away calories, only take away from your carbohydrates and fats as we want to keep your protein consistent for these next 12 weeks! 62 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations Firstly, you need to note the following calories per 1g of each macronutrient: 1g of Protein = 4 calories 1g of Fats = 9 calories 1g of Carbs = 4 calories Protein When it comes to protein we have a range of daily optimal targets: 1.6g-2.5g per kilogram of body weight. Ensuring we are consuming adequate protein intake daily is crucial to muscle mass building and also muscle retention in a deficit. As 1.6g-2.5g per kg is quite a broad range, I want to give you some clarity. My way of doing things would be to split the recommendations into building or cutting. BUILDING: When you are building, you are only going to need the lower end of the protein requirements: 1.6g - 2g per kg of body weight each day. Being in a calorie surplus alone is muscle sparing which negates the importance of such high levels (above 2g) of protein. We only need so much protein to maximise anabolism in a calorie surplus so, therefore, my recommendation is to go on the lower range. For leaner individuals, under 25% body fat, go for the 2g per kg of body weight and for those higher in body fat, go for the 1.6g-1.8g per kg range. 63 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations FAT LOSS: For fat loss phases, the calorie deficit leads to a more catabolic environment in the body. Catabolic in fat hence fat loss, but also a more optimal environment in the body to lose muscle mass. The 2 best ways to retain muscle mass in a deficit is eating sufficient protein daily combined with resistance training. If you do both of these, you should maintain your muscle tissue very well. My protein recommendations per day would be: For those lower in body fat, 25% and under, go for the 2.0g-2.5g per kg of body weight each day. For individuals with body fat percentages being between 26%-35%, go for the 1.8g-2g per kg of body weight range. If your body fat is above 36%, keep your protein intake around the 1.6g per kg mark of body weight. The reasons for the different levels of protein daily for those with differing body fat levels are simple - the leaner you are, the harder it is to keep muscle mass hence needing higher protein levels. As body fat creeps up, higher fat mass can actually aid in muscle sparring in a deficit, meaning the higher body fat levels can protect against muscle loss despite being in a deficit. Fats Regardless of building or cutting, we still need an essential amount of fats each day. We aim for a minimum of 0.8g per kg each day in most situations. The usual range of fat intake is 0.8g-1.2g per kg of bodyweight but we can go above or below these if our goals need it! When in fat loss phases, I usually like to set fats at 0.8kg per kg of body weight for a client so we can utilize more carbohydrates with the remaining calories. Yes, it is okay to lower your fats to 0.7g per kg, or even 0.6g per kg for short periods of time in a deficit, just not for a long time! On the other hand, some people feel better on more fats, meaning we can go as high as 1.2g per kg of fats. Even if you do prefer more fats, I still like to stay away from getting to really low carbs and keep them moderate. In building phases though, can fats go above 1.2g per kg? Yes, of course! If you are struggling to get calories in, often just an extra 10g of fat can be very easy to consume while also keeping calories consistently in the amount you are striving for. NOTE: My goal is to usually get carbs up as high as possible before excessively loading up fats in a build. 64 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations Carbs Once the two essential macros are set (protein and fats), carbohydrates make up the remaining of your available daily calories. Carbs are important as resistance training is primarily using carbohydrates as our key fuel system for our training sessions, which therefore, aids performance levels in the gym! Carbs are usually what is remaining after setting our other macros. For instance, if a client has a TDEE of 2500 and wants to achieve fat loss, she will do the following: 1 Take away her deficit amount (e.g. 20%) to find her calories. Her deficit calories are 2000. 2 She is on the leaner side and chooses to put her protein at 2g per kg of bodyweight. If her body weight is 60kg, her protein will be (60 x 2) 120g daily. 3 Her fats are set to 0.8g per kg of body weight. This means her fats are (60 x 0.8) 48g per day. 4 The rest of her calories will make up her carbohydrates. We do this by calculating the calories we have already set: Protein is 120g per day Fats is 48g per day 480 + 432 calories 5 (120 x 4) = 480 calories (48 x 9) = 432 calories = 912 calories Now we want to subtract the 912 calories used so far from the daily calorie target of 2000, (2000 - 912) leaving 1088 calories. By dividing this by 4 we get our carbohydrate, (1088/4) meaning our carbs are 272g per day. Therefore the client who is on 2000 calories a day has a macro breakdown of: Protein: Fats: Carbs: 120g per day 48g per day 272g per day The Levels of Nutritional Importance 1 Adherence 4 Meal Timing 2 Calories 5 3 Macros Supplements 4 If you have done one of my programs before, you will know and understand the levels of nutritional 5 importance well but it’s still important to once again drive in the factors that truly matter when it comes to nutrition. 65 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations 1. ADHERENCE: This one is pretty simple - you need to be following the plan as I have given it to you and stay consistent throughout! If your calorie target is 1700 calories, then you need to adhere to that and be compliant. 2. CALORIES: We have discussed a lot about calories above but I want to push once more, calories are king. Simply, if you are not hitting your calorie target, you will not get the body composition changes you are after. When it comes to tracking, the most important variable by far to hit is calories! Hit your calories spot on whether the goal is cutting, maintaining or building. The more accurate you are consistently here, the more data you have to understand why you are or aren’t getting results. When you are not getting the changes you are after, this is important data as it then leads to being able to make more educational changes to your calories and macros. If you have no idea what your calories are, then it’s going to be hard to make truly intelligent and data backed changes. 3: MACRONUTRIENTS: Right after hitting your calories, the one macronutrient that you 100% need to ensure you are hitting is your protein! Carbs and fats are able to move around but protein is key to either fueling your muscle mass or maintaining it. 66 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations 4. MEAL TIMING: Meal timing is a part of nutrition which is a bit all over the place but I do just want to cover some basic points on meal timing: 1 Fasting is not better for fat loss than hitting the same amount of calories over 5-6 meals through the day. 2 Frequent meals throughout the day does not lift up your metabolic rate. Can you weight train in the morning fasted? You can, but if your goal is building muscle I do believe having something to eat pre-workout would be ideal for performance. What we are seeing in recent research is that it’s optimal to have 4-5 protein servings throughout the day, if your goal is to build and retain muscle mass. Science has also shown recently in a study than greater muscle is lost when fasting. Protein post-workout is always a good idea. Does it have to be within 20 minutes of your session? Not necessarily, except if you have trained first thing in the morning with no pre-training breakfast. In this case, yes, get some protein in as soon as you can. If you had a larger meal an hour or two before your weights session, you can push back the post-workout meal by probably 1-2 hours but you’ll probably want to make this meal your biggest protein intake of the day. Carb timing is not imperative for your goals, although I still recommend that my clients have carbs prior to training as I believe it drives performance. Your carb timing more comes down to your total calories each day/week. Let it also be known that you are allowed to have carbs at night! Carbs at night is totally fine as long as you’re hitting your daily calorie goals. Some people will feel better eating more calories in the morning and less at night, and others will feel better by saving their calories throughout the day to consume later at night when their hunger and craving tend to come on. Be smart with your meal timing and make sure it’s specific to yourself. 5. SUPPLEMENTS: Do you need supplements to reach your goals? No, absolutely not! A lot of the supplements we see being sold in the health and fitness industry now are all about the money, sorry to say! Supplements like BCAA’s are not necessary as long as you are reaching your protein intake, as this is going to be giving your body all the Amino Acids you need to trigger protein synthesis. Although supplements like creatine can be positive to add to your diet, the only ‘supplements’ that I really like and recommend are whey protein and caffeine! 1 Whey Protein: I recommend whey protein to my clients to assist them in reaching their protein goals. If you are a vegan, obviously go for a vegan protein but you get the idea. 2 Caffeine: I like to refer to caffeine as a supplement due to the obvious energy boost. I use it and recommend that my clients use it as a pre-workout. Caffeine can come in many different ways such as coffee, pre-workouts and energy drinks. I don’t recommend any over the other but you do have to be sure that you are tracking any for of caffeine you are consuming. 67 YOUR GLUTE COACH 10 Macronutrients Recommendations Whilst understanding the level of importance of all points above, what’s most important to understand is for you to focus on the easiest tasks that will have the most bang-for-your-buck affect on your results. From a training perspective, obviously getting to the gym is the key. It does not matter what I teach if you don’t actually go! The same goes for nutrition; adherence is the key! If your goal is to lose body fat and you need a deficit to lose weight, but every 2 weeks you binge for 3-4 days then you are not going to achieve the results you are aiming for. Adherence is sticking to the plan and allowing your goals to come into fruition. 68 YOUR GLUTE COACH 11 The Program Breakdown ‘Your Glute Guide’ includes a 12-week training program with four 3-week phases: 1 Phase 1: Accumulation 1 - 4 x 15 2 Phase 2: Intensification 1 - 4 x 10,8,6,6 3 Phase 3: Accumulation 2 - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets 4 Phase 4: Intensification 2 - 5 x 5 5 The goals of this program are to: Build glutes through high volume. Train glutes through a variety of movements both of which challenge the glutes in both the lengthened or shortened position. Moderate hamstring volume through both hip extension and knee flexion movements. Moderate quads training volume. Focus on shoulders and back to further accentuate your physique’s shape through upper body training. 69 YOUR GLUTE COACH 11 The Program Breakdown Accumulation 1 - 4 x 15 The first training phase, being an accumulation phase, will focus on higher rep ranges and slightly shorter rest periods. This training programming is about doing as many reps as you can to achieve greater blood flow from higher time under tension and contractions. In accumulation phases, I like using more exercises in total so that we can attack the lower body from a variety of angles. If this is the first program of mine that you have done, or if you’ve had some time off in between guidebooks, then there is a good chance that this will come as a bit of a shock to the system. You are going to be doing a lot of lower body work over the 3 lower body days. The big thing here is to ease your way into this program. With all of the education included in ‘Your Glute Coach’, I want you to use week 1 as your learning (or relearning) week as you are going to be moving away from your previous (possibly bad) technique and going towards learning the optimal technique for a lot of exercises. This most likely will lead to DOMS as I have discussed above. This is why I am really pushing the idea of easing yourself through week one and not going to complete failure. Each week your technique will improve and with that will come greater strength progression. In this phase, our lower body days are focused on hip extension with a small amount of abduction work at the end of the workouts. Our main focus is the hip extension movements, so if you are someone who is strapped for time, drop the final exercise/s. 70 YOUR GLUTE COACH 11 The Program Breakdown Intensification 1 - 4 x 10,8,6,6 Our second 3-week training phase will have a decrease in rep ranges and increased rest periods. This should naturally lead to more weight lifted (greater intensity). The first 3- week phase (Accumulation 1) was about really attacking you with volume and higher reps, which would have led to greater muscle ‘pump’. This phase is more focused on the progressove overload principles of lifting heavy with great technique to ensure we are optimally loading the muscle fibres we want. Technique tends to be exposed when rep ranges are lowered as people naturally want to throw as much weight on the bar as possible. Please do not do that here. ‘Your Glute Coach’ is not a powerlifting program, it’s a program about building muscle! This is why I like starting with the higher rep phases, as it generally means more practice of the new, more optimal technique. Now, being 3 weeks into the program, this optimal form should start to become more and more natural. This phase will include a few new movements but nothing major. The tempos may change slightly but as you will see over the course of the program, I tend to stick to the same movement patterns to ensure we are still hitting our hip hinge, bridge and knee dominant exercise components. BRIDGE: Phase 1 - Kas Glute Bridge Phase 2 - Hip Thrusts In phase 2, for your main bridging exercise, I want you to focus on moving more load which is why we transition from a smaller range of motion exercise, Kas Glute Bridge, to a full range of motion exercise, a Constant Tension Hip Thrust. HIP HINGE: Phase 1 - Romanian Deadlift Phase 2 - Deficit Deadlift I really have loved programming a deficit (floating) deadlift for a lot of my client’s this year as it helps teach you how to leg drive away from the floor. It’s just like a conventional deadlift but by standing on the plate, it gives you more range of motion. Due to the elevation from standing on a plate, you are forced to control the weight when lowering it back down which is keeping constant tension. This may be a new movement for a lot of you so begin light! Add weight each set but ease yourself into week one and PLEASE ensure you are warming up! TIP: I would use about 60% of your normal deadlift weight for the same reps to begin. 71 YOUR GLUTE COACH 11 The Program Breakdown KNEE DOMINANT: Phase 1 - High Bar Squat Phase 2 - Box Squat A box squat can be a great variation to teach people how to achieve a more hip dominant High Bar Squat. The box allows you to sit back more, keep your skins vertical and has a greater emphasis on hip flexion over knee flexion. Your box should be at a height that you can still maintain hip control and not have a butt wink. TIP: Please watch the squat video and take note of Jenna during this exercise as she does not rock back once she is sitting down! Your focus is to hit a depth that you don’t lose tightness. Accumulation 2 - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets In phase 3, we move back to higher time under tension and more metabolic work through supersets and also some tri-sets. This is the undulating part of this periodisation as we have gone from high rep, down to lower reps and now back up to higher reps again. The idea is that we push a pathway to hypertrophy hard for 3-week periods and then we move to another pathway. This phase is about some serious blood flow! More metabolic work through agonist supersets (the partnering of 2 exercises that use the same muscle group). What I like to do with glutes through agonist supersets is to partner 2 exercises that hit opposite resistance profiles. This means that one exercise will challenge the glutes in the shortened position and the other will challenge them in the lengthened position. Not only do we get greater time under tension by partnering 2 exercises but we also hit the glutes through the full resistance profile in the one superset. No gluteus maximus fibres will be left untrained! Now, before you come to me and say that you can’t superset in your gym, look at the program and notice that I have really tried to put exercises together that use the same equipment or do not require movement around a gym. For example, if you have a Hip Thrust and Straddle Lift superset, you can easily set these up in the same area of the gym. The point is to try and be as resourceful as you can! 72 YOUR GLUTE COACH 11 The Program Breakdown Intensification 2 - 5 x 5 Our final 3-week phase of ‘Your Glute Coach’ will undulate back down now to an intensification training block to focus on low, hypertrophy leading reps (5 reps). I like 5 reps because it’s low enough to allow you to lift some heavy weight but still high enough to stimulate hypertrophy. This phase wont bring on as much lactic acid as the previous phase did but this does not mean that it is less hypertrophy focused. This is all part of the undulating periodisation. My goal is to expose you to new variables to really increase both your short term and long term potential to building muscles, particularly building great glutes! That’s it! Your 12-week training program that utilises a variety of methods to take your glutes to a new level. Use this 12-week program to learn the proper technique! For a lot of you, this is the start of your growth and progression. Use what you learn from ‘Your Glute Coach’ in your next program and every other program after that. Take what you learn here and continue developing this knowledge long term! It’s been a pleasure having you learn from me and use my methods. I hope you all enjoyed this experience and most of all, learnt something from it. I can’t wait to see you building some great glutes! Thank you! 73 YOUR GLUTE COACH 12 Cardio and Steps Both cardio and steps are tools I use for clients aiming for fat loss. I use the word “tools” as neither are essential to fat loss but are both great to help contribute to an energy deficit (calorie deficit). In ‘Your Glute Coach’ you have two real options: build or cut. Building Cardio - None Steps - 8,000 per day If you are building then your goal is simple; optimise everything possible to build new muscle mass. This means we need to be prioritising resistance training and calories consumed. Therefore, we want to minimise daily calorie expenditure through cardio and steps, which is why there is no cardio if you are building and your 8,000 steps per day are just for an overall health perspective. If you are someone who is building and naturally moves more or does more steps (due to your job, for example), bear in mind that you need to account for this when filling out the TDEE calculator. If you are taking 10,000 or over a day, increase your activity to ‘Heavy Exercise’ instead of ‘Moderate’. Fat Loss For those using ‘Your Glute Coach’ for fat loss, you will be doing cardio and have higher steps. Getting lean is still about resistance training and obviously nutrition but fat loss can be complemented by increasing your daily movement as it increases your daily calorie expenditure. In ‘Your Glute Coach’, I really want to focus on high quality training and performance, regardless of being in a deficit or not. Although, being in a deficit does mean less calories pushed to recovery. This program is tough and the last thing I want is to crush you with hours and hours of hard and intense cardio as it will take away your ability to recover from the weight sessions. 74 YOUR GLUTE COACH 12 Cardio and Steps CARDIO What we want to achieve here is getting calorie expenditure from less demanding activity. What I suggest is, rather than doing cardio through F45 classes or high rep work, I want you to focus on Low-Moderate Intensity Steady State (LISS/MISS) cardio. I don’t want any HIIT or interval cardio work here as it is going to be far too demanding on your body. I want your heart rate to be 70% of your max heart rate, which you can calculate with this formula: 1 2 2 Subtract your age from 220 to find your max heart rate. Example: If you are 30 years old, you would subtract 30 from 220 (220 - 30), which equals to 190. This means that 190bpm is your max heart rate. To find 70% of that, grab a calculator and multiply your max heart rate by 0.7. Example: If your max heart rate is 190bpm, you would multiply 190 by 0.7 (190 x 0.7), which equals 133. Therefore, 70% of your max heart rate is 133bpm. Now that you know your 70%, when you are doing cardio you just need to aim for that heart rate bpm and don’t go over it. Your cardio overview for the next 12 weeks is 2 sessions per week. Here is the breakdown of how I want you to do this: Phase 1 (Weeks 1-3): 2 x 25 minutes Phase 2 (Weeks 4-6): 2 x 30 minutes Phase 3 (Weeks 7-9): 2 x 35 minutes Phase 4 (Weeks 10-12): 2 x 40 minutes Note: Ideally, do your cardio on your 2 rest days. If you have to do it on training days, you must do cardio AFTER your weights. CARDIO We want to be periodising our steps as well, just like we have with our cardio. As you diet, naturally your body does everything it can to make fat loss harder as a defensive mechanism. This means your body will naturally lower your Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) which therefore leads to expending less calories. Tracking your steps can be a great artificial way of managing your NEAT levels. Over the course of the 12 weeks your steps will rise to continue giving your body the same energy expenditure. Here is your 12-week steps breakdown for fat loss: Weeks 1-4: 2 x 25 minutes Weeks 5-8: 2 x 30 minutes Weeks 9-12: 2 x 35 minutes That is it for cardio and steps! Nothing earth shattering because we don’t need it to be. 75 YOUR GLUTE COACH 13 ‘Your Glute Guide’ Training Program PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 Program - 4 x 15 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST DAY WORKOUT STEPS MONDAY LOWER 1 10,000 TUESDAY UPPER 1 10,000 WEDNESDAY LOWER 2 10,000 THURSDAY REST 10,000 FRIDAY UPPER 2 10,000 SATURDAY LOWER 3 10,000 SUNDAY REST 10,000 76 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 LOWER 1 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST Kas Glute Bridge Last Set - Rest Pause x 1 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 100 2010 2 4 15 100 2010 3 4 15 100 2010 b SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 2 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 3 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 90 2010 2 4 15 90 2010 3 4 15 90 2010 Lying Leg Curl SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 60 2010 2 3 12 60 2010 3 3 12 60 2010 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Leg Press - Feet High week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 60 2010 2 3 15 60 2010 3 3 15 60 2010 f Set 3 Last Set - Rest Pause x 1 week e Set 2 450 Back Extensions - DB on Chest week d Set 1 DB Back Foot Elevated Split Squat week c PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - MONDAY Standing Straight Leg 300 Abductions - Banded week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15-20 Each Leg 45 2010 2 3 15-20 Each Leg 45 2010 3 15-20 Each Leg 45 2010 Set 1 77 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 UPPER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - TUESDAY DB Arnold Press week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 30 2010 2 4 15 30 2010 3 4 15 30 2010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 DB Standing Lateral Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 90 2010 2 4 15 90 2010 3 4 15 90 2010 b Pull Ups - Neutral (Banded if Needed) week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 5-7 30 2010 2 4 5-7 30 2010 3 4 5-7 30 2010 c Bent Over BB Row - Pronated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 90 2010 2 4 15 90 2010 3 4 15 90 2010 d Face Pulls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 60 2010 2 3 15 60 2010 3 3 15 60 2010 e1 Standing DB Bicep Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 15 2010 2 3 15 15 2010 3 15 15 2010 78 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 UPPER 1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - TUESDAY e2 Lying DB Triceps Extensions Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 75 2010 2 3 15 75 2010 3 3 15 75 2010 week SETS REPS REST SETS REPS SETS 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 79 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 LOWER 2 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Romanian Deadlift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 120 3010 2 4 12 120 3010 3 4 12 120 3010 b SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 Each Leg 90 2010 2 4 12 Each Leg 90 2010 3 4 12 Each Leg 90 2010 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 2 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 3 4 15 Each Leg 90 2010 Leg Extensions Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Last Set - Drop Set x 1 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 75 2010 2 3 15 75 2010 3 3 15 75 2010 e1 Set 2 One Leg Hip Thrust - KB on Thigh week d Set 1 DB Deficit Reverse Lunges - 1 x 20kg Plate to Stand On week c PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - Wednesday Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Cable Kickbacks - Top Range Pulses week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 Each Leg 15 2010 2 3 15 Each Leg 15 2010 3 3 15 Each Leg 15 2010 e2 Standing Straight Leg 90 Abductions - Banded 0 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 Each Leg 75 1010 2 3 15 Each Leg 75 1010 3 15 Each Leg 75 1010 Set 1 80 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 UPPER 2 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - Friday Incline DB Press - Neutral week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 30 2010 2 4 15 30 2010 3 4 15 30 2010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Incline Prone DB Lateral Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 90 2010 2 4 15 90 2010 3 4 15 90 2010 b Pull Ups - Supinated (Banded if Needed) week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 5-7 30 2010 2 4 5-7 30 2010 3 4 5-7 30 2010 c 300 Prone DB Rows week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 90 2010 2 4 15 90 2010 3 4 15 90 2010 d Reverse Pec Deck week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 60 2010 2 3 15 60 2010 3 3 15 60 2010 e1 Cable Biceps Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 15 2010 2 3 15 15 2010 3 15 15 2010 81 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 UPPER 2 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - Friday e2 Straight Bar Cable Pushdowns Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 75 2010 2 3 15 75 2010 3 3 15 75 2010 week SETS REPS REST SETS REPS SETS 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 82 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 1 ACCUMULATION 1 LOWER 3 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB High Bar Squat week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 120 3010 2 4 12 120 3010 3 4 12 120 3010 b SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 15 100 2010 2 4 15 100 2010 3 4 15 100 2010 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 10-12 Each Leg 75 3010 2 3 10-12 Each Leg 75 3010 3 3 10-12 Each Leg 75 3010 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 Each Leg 75 3010 2 4 12 Each Leg 75 3010 3 4 12 Each Leg 75 3010 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Leg Press - Feet Low week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 20 75 2010 2 3 20 75 2010 3 3 20 75 2010 F Set 3 Single Lying Leg Curl week e Set 2 Step Up - Box at 900 week d Set 1 Smith Machine Hip Thrust or BB Hip Thrust week c PROGRAM - 4 x 15 DAY - Saturday Machine or Seated Banded Abductions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 20 60 1010 2 3 20 60 1010 3 20 60 1010 83 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 Program - 4 x 10,8,6,6 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST DAY WORKOUT STEPS MONDAY LOWER 1 10,000 TUESDAY UPPER 1 10,000 WEDNESDAY LOWER 2 10,000 THURSDAY REST 10,000 FRIDAY UPPER 2 10,000 SATURDAY LOWER 3 10,000 SUNDAY REST 10,000 84 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 LOWER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Monday BB Hip Thrusts - Constant Tension week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 100 2011 2 4 10,8,6,6 100 2011 3 4 10,8,6,6 100 2011 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 DB Front Foot Elevated Split Squat week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 Each Leg 100 2010 2 4 10,8,6,6 Each Leg 100 2010 3 4 10,8,6,6 Each Leg 100 2010 b Lying Leg Curl week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6-8 120 3010 2 4 6-8 120 3010 3 4 6-8 120 3010 c Leg Press - Feet High - Paused Last Set - Drop Set x 1 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8-10 100 2210 2 4 8-10 100 2210 3 4 8-10 100 2210 d Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Cable Kickbacks week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 15 Each Leg 45 1010 2 2 15 Each Leg 45 1010 3 2 15 Each Leg 45 1010 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 85 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 UPPER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Tuesday BB Seated Overhead Press week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 2 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 3 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Eccentric Focused Pull Ups - Neutral week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 3-5 75 5010 2 4 3-5 75 5010 3 4 3-5 75 5010 b1 450 Prone Y Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 60 2011 2 4 8 60 2011 3 4 8 60 2011 B2 One Arm DB Rows week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 Each Arm 60 2010 2 4 8 Each Arm 60 2010 3 4 8 Each Arm 60 2010 c Rope Rear Delt Rows - Elbows at 450 from Torso week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 10 60 2012 2 3 10 60 2012 3 3 10 60 2012 d1 450 Incline DB Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 45 3010 2 3 8 45 3010 3 8 45 3010 86 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 UPPER 1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Tuesday d2 Lying BB Triceps Extensions Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 45 3010 2 3 8 45 3010 3 3 8 45 3010 week SETS REPS REST SETS REPS SETS 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 87 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 LOWER 2 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Deficit Deadlift - 1 x 20kg Plate to Stand On week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 2 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 3 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 b1 PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Wednesday Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 DB Deficit Reverse Lunges - 1 x 20kg Plate to Stand On week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 2 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 3 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 b2 BB B-Stance Hip Thrust week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 2 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 3 4 8 Each Leg 90 2010 c Leg Extensions - 1 & 1/4 Reps week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8-10 90 2010 2 3 8-10 90 2010 3 3 8-10 90 2010 d Cable Straight Leg 300 Abductions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 Each Leg 60 2010 2 3 15 Each Leg 60 2010 3 3 15 Each Leg 60 2010 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 88 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 UPPER 2 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Friday DB Shoulder Press - Pronated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 2 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 3 4 10,8,6,6 75 2010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Eccentric Focused Pull Ups - Supinated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 3-5 75 5010 2 4 3-5 75 5010 3 4 3-5 75 5010 b1 650 Prone DB Lateral Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 60 2011 2 4 10 60 2011 3 4 10 60 2011 b2 Seated Row - Neutral week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 60 2010 2 4 8 60 2010 3 4 8 60 2010 c1 BB Biceps Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 45 3010 2 3 8 45 3010 3 3 8 45 3010 c2 Seated Overhead Tricep Extensions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 45 3010 2 3 15 45 3010 3 15 45 3010 89 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 2 Intensification 1 LOWER 3 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Box Squat week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 2 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 3 4 10,8,6,6 150 2210 b Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 BB Hip Thrusts - Dead Stops week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10,8,6,6 120 1111 2 4 10,8,6,6 120 1111 3 4 10,8,6,6 120 1111 c1 PROGRAM - 4 X 10,8,6,6 DAY - Saturday Straddle Lift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6-8 75 3010 2 4 6-8 75 3010 3 4 6-8 75 3010 c2 DB Bulgarian Split Squat week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6-8 Each Leg 75 2110 2 4 6-8 Each Leg 75 2110 3 4 6-8 Each Leg 75 2110 d Banded Donkey Kickbacks week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 20 Each Leg 45 2010 2 3 20 Each Leg 45 2010 3 3 20 Each Leg 45 2010 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 90 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 Program 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST DAY WORKOUT STEPS MONDAY LOWER 1 10,000 TUESDAY UPPER 1 10,000 WEDNESDAY LOWER 2 10,000 THURSDAY REST 10,000 FRIDAY UPPER 2 10,000 SATURDAY LOWER 3 10,000 SUNDAY REST 10,000 91 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 LOWER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Hip Thrust - 1 & 1/4 Reps week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 30 2010 2 4 10 30 2010 3 4 10 30 2010 a2 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 3 Set 4 Straddle Lift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 120 2210 2 4 10 120 2210 3 4 10 120 2210 b1 PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - MONDAY BB Good Morning week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 30 2210 2 4 10 30 2210 3 4 10 30 2210 b2 Lying Leg Curl week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 120 3010 2 4 10 120 3010 3 4 10 120 3010 c Leg Extensions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 20 75 2010 2 4 20 75 2010 3 4 20 75 2010 d Lying Straight Leg Extra Range Abductions - Lay on Bench week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15-20 Each Side 45 1010 2 3 15-20 Each Side 45 1010 3 15-20 Each Side 45 1010 Set 1 Set 2 92 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 UPPER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST 650 DB Press - Neutral PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - TUESDAY Last Set - Rest Pause x 1 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 10 2110 2 4 10 10 2110 3 4 10 10 2110 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 65 DB Y Raises 0 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 10 2110 2 4 10 10 2110 3 4 10 10 2110 A3 30 Prone DB Rows - Elbows at Neutral 0 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 120 2110 2 4 10 120 2110 3 4 10 120 2110 b1 Lat Pulldown - Mid Pronated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 10 2010 2 4 10 10 2010 3 4 10 10 2010 b2 Straight Arm Rope Pulldown week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 120 2010 2 4 12 120 2010 3 4 12 120 2010 c1 Standing DB Hammer Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 10 2010 2 3 12 10 2010 3 12 10 2010 93 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 UPPER 1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - TUESDAY c2 Decline DB Triceps Extensions Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 60 2010 2 3 12 60 2010 3 3 12 60 2010 week SETS REPS REST SETS REPS SETS 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 94 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 LOWER 2 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - Wednesday A1 BB Romanian Deadlift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 30 2210 2 4 10 30 2210 3 4 10 30 2210 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Kas Glute Bridge week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 120 2010 2 4 12 120 2010 3 4 12 120 2010 b1 DB Back Foot Elevated Split Squat week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 Each Leg 30 2110 2 4 10 Each Leg 30 2110 3 4 10 Each Leg 30 2110 b2 Goblet Squat - Heels Elevated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8-10 120 2010 2 4 8-10 120 2010 3 4 8-10 120 2010 c1 Cable Kickbacks - Top Range Pulses week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 15 Each Leg 30 2010 2 3 15 Each Leg 30 2010 3 3 15 Each Leg 30 2010 c2 Seated Banded Abductions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 20 60 1010 2 3 20 60 1010 3 20 60 1010 95 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 UPPER 2 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - Friday Standing BB Overhead Press - Don’t Lock Out at Top week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 10 2210 2 4 10 10 2210 3 4 10 10 2210 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Standing DB Lateral Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 45 2010 2 4 12 45 2010 3 4 12 45 2010 b Face Pulls - 1 & 1/4 Reps week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 75 2010 2 4 12 75 2010 3 4 12 75 2010 c Lat Pulldown - Mid Supinated week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 60 2010 2 4 10 60 2010 3 4 10 60 2010 d Seated Row - Neutral week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 12 60 2010 2 4 12 60 2010 3 4 12 60 2010 e1 Cable Bicep Curls week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 10 2010 2 3 12 10 2010 3 12 10 2010 96 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 UPPER 2 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - Friday e2 Tricep Rope Pushdowns Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 60 2010 2 3 12 60 2010 3 3 12 60 2010 week SETS REPS REST SETS REPS SETS 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 3 week 1 2 97 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 3 ACCUMULATION 2 LOWER 3 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 4 x 10 Agonist Supersets DAY - Saturday BB High Bar Squat - 1 & 1/4 Reps at Bottom week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 150 3010 2 4 10 150 3010 3 4 10 150 3010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 b1 One Leg Hip Thrusts - Landmine week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10 Each Leg 30 2010 2 4 10 Each Leg 30 2010 3 4 10 Each Leg 30 2010 b2 DB Romanian Deadlift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 10-12 120 2010 2 4 10-12 120 2010 3 4 10-12 120 2010 c High Box Step Ups week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 12 Each Leg 90 3010 2 3 12 Each Leg 90 3010 3 3 12 Each Leg 90 3010 d Lying Leg Curl - 1 & 1/4 Rep at Bottom week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 10 75 3010 2 3 10 75 3010 3 3 10 75 3010 e Straight Leg 300 Abductions - Banded week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 15 Each Leg 15 1010 2 2 15 Each Leg 15 1010 2 15 Each Leg 15 1010 98 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 Program - 5 x 5 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST DAY WORKOUT STEPS MONDAY LOWER 1 10,000 TUESDAY UPPER 1 10,000 WEDNESDAY LOWER 2 10,000 THURSDAY REST 10,000 FRIDAY UPPER 2 10,000 SATURDAY LOWER 3 10,000 SUNDAY REST 10,000 99 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 LOWER 1 a CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Hip Thrust - Dead Stops week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 5 120 1111 2 5 5 120 1111 3 5 5 120 1111 b1 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6 Each Leg 90 3010 2 4 6 Each Leg 90 3010 3 4 6 Each Leg 90 3010 b2 Lying Leg Curl Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Last Set - Rest Pause x 1 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6 90 4010 2 4 6 90 4010 3 4 6 90 4010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Straddle Lift week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 120 3110 2 3 8 120 3110 3 3 8 120 3110 d Set 1 BB Front Foot Elevated Split Squat week c PROGRAM - 5 x 5 DAY - Monday Cable Straight Leg 300 Abductions week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 15 Each Leg 60 2010 2 2 15 Each Leg 60 2010 3 2 15 Each Leg 60 2010 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 100 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 UPPER 1 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 5 x 5 DAY - Tuesday Seated BB Overhead Press week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 5 90 3010 2 5 5 90 3010 3 5 5 90 3010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Pull Ups - Supinated (Banded if Needed) week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 3-5 90 3010 2 5 3-5 90 3010 3 5 3-5 90 3010 b1 Flat DB Press week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 75 2010 2 4 8 75 2010 3 4 8 75 2010 B2 Bent Over BB Row week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 75 2010 2 4 8 75 2010 3 4 8 75 2010 c Rope Rear Delt Rows - Elbows at 450 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 60 2012 2 3 8 60 2012 3 3 8 60 2012 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 101 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 LOWER 2 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB Deficit Deadlift - 1 x 20kg Plate to Stand On week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 5 180 3110 2 5 5 180 3110 3 5 5 180 3110 b Smith Machine or BB Kas Glute Bridge week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 120 2012 2 4 8 120 2012 3 4 8 120 2012 c Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Last Set - Drop Set x 1 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Leg Press - Feet Middle - Paused week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 120 2210 2 4 8 120 2210 3 4 8 120 2210 d1 PROGRAM - 5 x 5 DAY - Wednesday DB Walking Lunges week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010 2 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010 3 3 8 Each Leg 90 2010 d2 Standing Straight Leg 90 Abductions - Banded Around Knee 0 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 15-20 Each Leg 30 2010 2 2 15-20 Each Leg 30 2010 3 2 15-20 Each Leg 30 2010 week SETS REPS REST tempo Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 1 2 102 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 UPPER 2 A1 CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST PROGRAM - 5 x 5 DAY - Friday DB Shoulder Press - Neutral - 1 & 1/4 Reps week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 5 90 2010 2 5 5 90 2010 3 5 5 90 2010 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 a2 Pull Ups - Neutral (Banded if Needed) week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 3-5 90 3010 2 5 3-5 90 3010 3 5 3-5 90 3010 b1 Leaning One Arm DB Lateral Raises week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 Each Arm 75 2010 2 4 8 Each Arm 75 2010 3 4 8 Each Arm 75 2010 b2 One Arm Rows - Dead Stops week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 8 Each Arm 75 2210 2 4 8 Each Arm 75 2210 3 4 8 Each Arm 75 2210 c Face Pull week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 60 2012 2 3 8 60 2012 3 3 8 60 2012 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 103 YOUR GLUTE COACH PHASE 4 Intensification 2 LOWER 3 A CLICK THE WORKOUTS BELOW TO VIEW THE VIDEO EXERCISE PLAYLIST BB High Bar Squat - Paused week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 5 5 150 2210 2 5 5 150 2210 3 5 5 150 2210 b SETS REPS REST tempo 1 4 6 Each Leg 100 2010 2 4 6 Each Leg 100 2010 3 4 6 Each Leg 100 2010 SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 6 120 3010 2 3 6 120 3010 3 3 6 120 3010 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Last Set - Drop Set x 1 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 One Leg Hip Thrust - KB week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 3 8 Each Side 90 2011 2 3 8 Each Side 90 2011 3 3 8 Each Side 90 2011 e1 Set 1 Lying Leg Curl - 1 & 1/4 Reps (1/4 Rep at Bottom) week d Set 1 DB Deficit Reverse Lunges - 2 x 20kg Plates for Deficit week c PROGRAM - 5 x 5 DAY - Saturday Banded Donkey Kickbacks week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 20 Each Leg 10 1010 2 2 20 Each Leg 10 1010 3 2 20 Each Leg 10 1010 e2 Standing Straight Leg 30 Abductions - Banded 0 week SETS REPS REST tempo 1 2 20 Each Leg 60 1010 2 2 20 Each Leg 60 1010 2 20 each leg Set 1 104 YOUR GLUTE COACH 14 FURTHER READING When you finish ‘Your Glute Coach’, depending on whether you chose to cut or build during this program, these are the programs that I recommend you do next: If you chose Fat Loss: The Art of Reverse Dieting is your plan after the plan ends. It is a 16-week program designed for you to customise your own nutritional program and follow to set you free from dieting. You cannot live in a calorie deficit; it is not the way the human body is intended to be. I want you to experience health, I want you to experience happiness, once you achieve your ultimate body from your transformation, I want to teach you how to keep it, appreciate it and build upon it so that you are always progressing to be the best! If you chose Build: Continue with your build or start your cut with Building the Bikini Body 1, 2 and 3. The Building the Bikini Body series includes 3 12-week guidebooks of training and nutritional programming assistance. Achieve your best body in 9 months for your health, for the stage, for a photoshoot or just to feel and look good! It’s time to totally transform your body, strength and life! 105 Copyright ©️ Carroll Performance Pty Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or retrieval, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act), a maximum of 10 percent of the number of pages of the e-resource or chapter, whichever is the greater, may be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the education institution (or the body thatadministers it has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Disclaimer: The content of this e-book is to serve as a general overview of matters of interest and is not intended to be comprehensive, nor does it constitute medical (or other) advice in any way. This e-book is a compilation of one person’s ideas, concepts, ideologies, philosophies and opinions. You should carry out your own research and/or seek your own professional advice before acting or relying on any of the information displayed in this e-resource. The author, and its related entities will not be liable for any injuries, loss or damage that may arise out of your improper use of, or reliance on, the content of this e-resource. You accept sole responsibility for the outcomes if you choose to adopt and/or use the systems, methods, ideas, concepts and opinions within the content of this e-book. E: support@coachmarkcarroll.com