Do Squats develop your glutes?

by Harmony Fitness, Ece

Squats and Deadlifts are great exercises that are full-body, multi-joint exercises. When done properly, the squat will work the primary muscles; quadriceps and secondary muscles; hamstrings, glutes, and erector spine. The deadlift is primarily for the hamstrings and secondarily for the erector spine and glutes muscles. Therefore, While performing these exercises, the hip muscles are used as auxiliary muscles.

I've seen loads of girls squatting for hours on the smith machine at the gym. Even if your goal is to get bigger legs, I would not recommend anyone to do squat with heavy weights for hours, because it can cause problems in your spine.

Why is it important to activate your glute? Weak glutes can cause injuries, ankle pain or imbalances while we do exercises, especially squats and hip thrust exercises, heavy-loaded exercises that can cause serious injury. We can achieve better results if we train each muscle twice a week, but the glutes require more repetition and frequency than other muscle groups. So, try to do 3-5 times a week, to get visible results.

The Glute Bridge is a very simple exercise to strengthen your glutes. If you're looking for a simple and quick way, do 100 reps glute bridges everyday, no more than 5 days a week. I Also, tried this challange for 2 month ( 100 repetitions of glute bridges and variations with BODY WEIGHT). It helped a lot, but got better result after 2 months. Of course, while trying this experiment, I continued my usual exercise habits, not just that. I also paid attention to my diet. Post-workout meals play an important role in muscle building. You can join 16 Day Glutes Challange program.

You can see the variations below to make a different one each day.

GLUTE BRIDGE

-Watch your legs, keep them at 90 degrees and attention your lower back, not arched so it doesn't cause lower back pain. From knee to shoulder, your body should be in a straight line.

-Lift your pelvis off the floor by pressing into the soles of your feet until your lower body is in line with your knees. Squeeze your glute muscles and keep your stomach flat to avoid overextending your spine.

-Hold the position for a few breathsthen slowly lower back to the starting position.

-Repeat these steps for a few reps, then rest and do an additional set.

SINGLE LEG GLUTE BRIDGE

Same as the hip bridge, but this time raise one leg, then the same way, lift your pelvis, tighten your glutes and come back. Repeat as much as possible. Constant tension on one side will make both sides equal.

MARCH On Glute Bridge

In the same position, move the legs as if walking, keeping the hip bridge high all the time.

HIP THRUST ON CHAIR OR SIDE OF THE BED/ SOFA

Place the shoulder blades on the chair and keep your knee and ankle in the same line. Like the glute bridge, lower your hips and then squeeze upward. Pay attention to the legs and keep your body in line during the exercise.

KICK BACK

Kicking the back on the four or standing is a great exercise that directly engages the glutes and keeps the pressure there and makes your hips bigger.

-To do this, stand, bend slightly at the waist, you can do this by holding a chair or a wall, or you can try without holding to improve your balance. Then kick your leg back without moving your torso.

-You can do these on the ground on 4 and put your elbow on the floor.

-Make sure you don't arch your back when kicking back şn both position. Do these kicks parallel to your body to get better contraction.

After doing these for a month, rest your glute for a week or more, if you want, you can continue like this for another month. Like me, I got better results after 2 months. After that, you can add some resistance with bands or weights. You can apply all these exercises to the resistance band. It will be a great option and you will feel your glutes keep firing all the time. Good Luck!

My Youtube videos:

100 reps glute bridge challange for a month

https://youtube.com/shorts/SnwKnjBmIYY