Whether you refer to them as supine barbell bridges, barbell glute bridges, barbell hip thrusts, or what some of our pro-baseball guys like to call “slump busters” (give it a sec), there’s no mistaking that whatever your iteration, in recent years the exercise in question has grown in popularity and should be considered a staple in any well-designed strength training program.
Championed by strength coach Bret Contreras, and later highlighted in his book Strong Curveswhich he co-authored alongside the lovely Kellie Davis, the hip thrust has become a mainstay and often very popular exercise at Cressey Performance – and for good reason.
You’d be hard pressed to find any other exercise which targets the gluteal muscles, not to mention trains them in the often neglected anteroposterior load vector than the hip thrust/bridge.
Thing is: a lot of people tend to butcher technique, akin to watching Jillian Michaels attempt to coach someone through a proper KB swing. Which is to say – she’s not even close.
As much as I love the barbell hip thrust/bridge, I still have to be cognizant of implementing proper progressions when working with certain athletes and clients. For many, throwing them in the gauntlet and forcing them to place a loaded barbell over their pelvis and asking them to thrust up may be a bit aggressive and altogether a raging catastrophe.
In the end, without taking someone through the proper progressions, I may be doing them a huge disservice. Which is why I generally like to start people off with your garden variety 1-legged hip thrust .
While some will scoff at the notion (dude, I squat 300 lbs, eat beef jerky for breakfast, can grow a beard in three days, and drive a Chevy, trust me, I don’t need to do these! ), I’ve seen my fair share of strong peeps have to take a larger than expected piece of humble pie after trying these for the first time.
That said, I don’t want to sit here and discuss the benefits. For that you can head on over to Bret’s blog. Rather I want to discuss some common mistakes people make when trying to execute the exercise.
In the brief video below I give a handful of coaching cues that I’ve found very useful in helping to clean up exercise technique. I hope you find them useful!
1. Another busy weekend in the books! Yesterday I had the pleasure of being invited to speak at the New Hampshire Athletic Trainer’s Association annual symposium.
A few year’s back I remember attending a similar function with Eric at Northeastern University and walking in with jeans on and feeling completely out of place. Apparently I missed the memo (and it’s an unspoken rule) that athletic trainers have a tendency of wearing nothing but tan khaki pants! LOLz.
Not that I would ever consider speaking in a pair of jeans (unless I was speaking at Google), but I did make it a point of wearing tan khaki pants yesterday so that I wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Success!
And speaking of success, yesterday was awesome. First on the docket was Dr. Eric. Berkson (Director, MGH Sports Performance Center, Instructor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and team physician to the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots), who talked at length about common shoulder and elbow injuries seen in pitchers. Many of his thoughts, not surprisingly, mirrored that of ours at Cressey Performance – especially with regards to placing more credence in symmetry of TOTAL range of motion between (IR + ER) between the dominant and non-throwing shoulder.
Expectantly, lack of IR, commonly referred to at GIRD (Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficit), is predictive and not quite the “red flag” it was 2-3 years ago.
Additionally he stressed that many of the throwing injuries we see in young(er) baseball players is due to overuse, misuse, and not paying attention to pitch counts.
And then there was me, Tony Gentilcore (who has no affiliation with Harvard what-so-ever other than having a teeny-tiny man crush on one of their alumni, Matt Damon) who spoke more on the performance side of things. I delved into how we go about managing our overhead athletes, discussed some of the assessment process, spoke to the intricacies of dealing with a population that, unlike everyone else, lives in extension for a good portion of the year, gave the Cliff Notes version to breathing patterns and how we implement them, and maybe had a tip or two on how to improve one’s spin on their curveball….;o)
All in all it was an awesome afternoon and it was truly an honor to be involved in it.
2. Just a quick reminder that slots are still open for the Elite Training Workshop at Cressey Performance the weekend of April 20th. The line-up is BALLER, with the likes of Eric Cressey, Mike Roberson, Mike Reinold, Dave Schmitz, myself, Greg Long, and Jared Woolever slated to speak.
3. Last week I wrote a little sumthin sunthin on Strong Curves, the new book by my good friends Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis that I feel is going to be a game changer in the realm of women and fitness.
I won’t continue to sing its praises here (you can read my review HERE), but I do want to give everyone a heads up on another fantastic product by another good friend of mine, Nia Shanks.
Nia has openly discussed her (past) battle with disordered eating routinely on her blog, and I can’t tell you how much I respect her for not only showing how human she is, but that she’s so willing to help others in the process.
I don’t think I have to tell everyone reading that it takes a lot of guts to open yourself up like that to the masses.
Myself, many of my colleagues, as well as Nia have noticed an unfortunate trend in the nutrition world where things have gotten so convoluted and complicated that people have no idea what the hell they should be eating! This phenomena – thanks in no small part to the likes of the mainstream media and gossip magazines – seems to be hitting its tipping point in the female demographic.
To the point where I overhead a woman talking to her friend not too long ago in Panera explaining that she wasn’t sure if she should have an apple included with her lunch because of the carbs. Mind you, she was crushing a massive sandwich.
Anyways, Nia felt it was high-time to put an end to the madness so she developed her own answer to the problem.
It’s an ebook, it’s nothing fancy (it doesn’t have to be), but the information is SOLID. I (along with Nia) don’t ever claim to have all the answers, but sometimes we just need to filter through the stupid and come back to common sense. And that is exactly what I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested to check it our for themselves.
This ain’t NASA. Eat the apple!
4. Speaking of nutriton, I’m really, really fascinated by the food industry. More to the point, I’m almost at awe at the food industry’s Jedi-like “mind trick” powers at convincing people that certain foods are “healthy” when they’re clearly anything but. ORGANIC Toaster Pastries anyone???
Lisa dragged me into a Target yesterday (don’t judge me!), and we happened to walk through the food section and I couldn’t help but drown in the bullshit. I noticed that General Mills has a new variation of Cheerios out called Multi-Grain Cheerios w/ Peanut Butter!
The kicker is the advertising and how they gloat that the first ingredient is WHOLE GRAIN!!!!! Like whoa! I should be doing cartwheels down the aisle and kissing every baby I see within a mile radius.
Upon further inspection, the “whole grain” they’re referring to is none other than whole grain corn, followed by sugar. Naturally.
Sigh.
While it’s technically not wrong of them to say the first ingredient is a “whole grain,” I think it’s fairly egregious of them to use that as a selling point of tactic.
Now if you excuse me I need to go throw my face on an ax.
NOTE: for those interested in food industry shenanigans I’d highly recommend becoming a regular reader of Dr. Yoni Freedhoff’s blog Weighty Matters.
Awesome stuff.
5. For those looking to kill roughly five minutes, HERE’s a radio interview I did while I was back in my hometown last week prior to speaking at my Alma Mater.
The guy doing the interview LOVED my “abs are made in the kitchen” comment.
6. If you ever would have told me at some point in my life that I’d see my name in the likes of Forbes, I would have laughed. While I didn’t make the any list such as Most Powerful or Top Five People Most Likely to Be Issued a Restraining Order From Kate Beckinsale World’s Richest People, it was still pretty neat to see my name in print on their site.
Thanks for Greatest.com’s Chief Research Officer and Editor, David Tao, for asking me contribute on THIS article on Interval (or HIIT) training has changed the industry – for better or worse.
7. In other cameo appearance news, I also helped contribute to anotherarticle titled 16 Exercises from the World’s Best Trainers collected by Jon-Erik Kawamoto on Livestrong.com.
I think it’s safe to assume that I tend to reverberate some of the same messages over and over on this site, and I’m sure for those who routinely visit on a day to day basis, you probably recognize a few long-standing trends.
For example:
1. I have a strong affinity for deadlifts (and Matt Damon).
2. I pity those who don’t eat dead animal flesh (but respect their choice(s) not to do so).
3. For the love of god, is it really that much of a hassle to take 5-10 minutes to warm-up properly?
4. And at the top of mountain, if there’s one message I’ve routinely championed it’s this: women should lift heavy things.
Unfortunately it’s been a tough battle to say the least, and it’s mind-numbing having to constantly deal with (and debunk) much of the archaic nonsense and jibberish that’s spewed out by the mainstream media as it relates to women and fitness. I’d even go so far as to say much of the information that’s regurgitated by the likes of US Weekly, Oprah, The Biggest Loser, Tracy Anderson (and a whole harem of other so-called celebrity trainers), and many (not all) of the books you peruse in the health and fitness section at your local Barnes and Nobles serves more as a form of scare tactics than anything else.
Strong Review for Strong Curves
Women shouldn’t lift a weight above three lbs!
Lifting appreciate weight will make you big and bulky and give you an Adam’s apple!
Yoga is all you need to yield toned and lean muscles!
Long-duration, steady-state cardio is the key to losing fat!
Don’t you dare touch that carrot – it contains (GASP) carbs!!!!
To say it’s gotten a bit confusing and sensationalistic would be an understatement. It’s no wonder why so many women (hell, guys too) don’t know who’s right or who’s wrong and are left spinning their wheels. So and so said I should forego lifting weights and go to Zumba class instead. If I just stand in this 100 degree room and stretch, I’ll be bikini ready in no time, right? I just read the Don’t Eat Food Diet, and now I’m wondering if it’s okay to drink water!
All of this, seemingly, to imply that women are these delicate flowers that shouldn’t (or can’t??) hold their own in the weight room, and that we should just roll them in bubble wrap and send them on their way.
Words like “tone,” and “lengthen” and “pink dumbbells” get thrown around like candy at a parade and it’s almost as if once we combine the words women and fitness, and toss them into a caldron and stir them together, what’s left is a big, messy concoction of bullshit.
And that’s, well, bullshit!
Thankfully I have some really smart friends who feel the exact same way as I do and they actually did something about it.
Yesterday my good friends, Bret Contreras and Kellie Davis, released their new book, Strong Curves, to the masses and I couldn’t be more pumped!
As if the title didn’t give it away, this book is all about two things: getting strong and building some feminine curves – particularly the butt.
Sadly, many women are under the impression that grabbing a barbell and lifting it off the ground will turn them into He-Man overnight, when in fact the opposite is true. Lifting weights will build a strong, lean, curvaceous body, not to mention offer a plethora of other benefits like an increased metabolism, more energy, more sex drive, decreased risk of osteoporosis, and an unlimited sense of self-assurance and confidence.
There’s no one in the world that knows the butt better than Bret. The man has literally spent years reading research, hooking himself (and others) up to EMGs, and basically training hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
I often joke that I sit in my evil strength coach lair, stroke my evil beard, and conjure up exercises and programs that will make people hate life. In Bret’s case, I think he actually does it! I don’t know many people (let alone coaches) who are more dedicated to their craft and contain as much of an insatiable desire to make people better than Bret.
Likewise, Kellie, a fitness enthusiast, writer, and competitor herself (and a client of Bret’s) not only talks the talk, but walks it. I mean there’s a reason why she served as the cover model, contributor, and exercise demonstrator for the book!
Combined, the two have produced an outstanding book that I feel is a MUST read for any woman looking to take her health and physique to the next level.
Granted it’s called Strong Curves for a Better Butt, but in every sense it’s a routine that focuses on the ENTIRE body.
What I love most about the book is that it’s not full of fluff and fillers. In every sense, they get right to the point and EDUCATE the reader on why the glutes are such a big deal. Maybe even more importantly, they do a fantastic job of empowering women and giving them the nudge some may need to take the reigns and actually grab a barbell.
Thankfully, it’s not like Bret and Kellie just tell women to go lift weights, but they SHOW them how to do so in a safe, effective, and time efficient manner. The entire book is filled with lovely (again, thank you Kellie Davis) pictures and exercise demonstrations, as well as detailed instructions on how to do everything from a glute bridge to a deadlift correctly.
What’s more, no stone is left un-turned. There are sections on how to warm-up properly, nutrition, some anatomy talk for the uber nerds out there who like that sort of thing, and even a section for expectant mothers who are interested in doing the program as well.
Speaking of which, another major perk of the book is the programming itself. It’s spectacular. Bret and Kellie came through BIG-TIME here. In all there are four programs included such as the Twelve Week Booty-Ful Beginners Program, the Twelve Week Gluteal Goddess Program for the Advanced Lifters, and even two programs that can be modified to do at home for those who don’t have access to gym equipment.
All told, when you look at the entire package, you’re getting top-notch information (HINT: stop listening to Tracy Anderson), coaching on exercise technique, and detailed programs all for what it would cost to go see a double viewing of a Twilight movie. If that’s your thing. Which I hope it isn’t.
I can’t recommend Strong Curves enough. Of course I’m excited for Bret and Kellie because they worked their tails off writing this book and they deserve all the praise and accolades they receive, but I think I’m even more excited to see more and more women jump on the “lets lift heavy stuff” train. I can’t wait to see the results that women are going to get on this program.
Today’s guest post comes from someone many who read this site regularly should recognize – Kellie Hart Davis.
For those scratching their heads, Kellie’s essentially the female equivalent of me except for the slight distinction of being way smarter and much better looking than myself.
Plus, given she’s a copy editor and prolific health & fitness writer herself, she can tell you the difference between an independent and dependent clause, whereas I’m the king of run-on sentences.
So I guess we’re nothing alike- except for our affinity to lift heavy things and to encourage (and to enlighten) women all over the world on why they should do the same.
Nevertheless, this post was inspired by and serves as an adjunct to last week’s post by Emily Socolinsky.
While this is a phenomenal stand alone article in its own right, I’d highly encourage anyone who didn’t read Emily’s post from last to click on the link above before proceeding. Trust me it will be well worth it.
*Cue Jeopardy music*
All caught up? Good.
Why We Are the Even Weaker Sex
As a kid, I didn’t put much thought into how my grandmother lived. But now I sit here marveling at the very thought of it. How she accomplished so much in a given day without ever making mention of the work involved.
My grandfather passed away the year I was born. He left her with a modest 3-bedroom home and a backyard garden that would gain approval from Martha Stewart. It hosted an expansive 20 x 5 meter vegetable garden, an apple, cherry, plum, and apricot tree. Bushes of various berry varieties and other types of edible plants.
Below in the basement she stored the finished products of her agricultural ventures. A cabinet filled with jams, pickled vegetables, and canned sauces and fruits all made with her hands. The freezer held prepped vegetables, potatoes and cuts of meat to get through the winter.
And this was just a hobby. She worked at Colorado State University everyday up to her forced retirement at age 66. Until she was in her late 50’s she rode her bike to and from the printing press on campus (weather pending). This wasn’t the flat terrain of the Midwest. It was Fort Collins, for heaven’s sake. That’s no easy ride.
I remember days as a kid when all my aunts, uncles, and cousin would gather at my grandmother’s house for harvest. The women would sit in lawn chairs shucking corn and beans for dinner while the kids dropped cherries down from the tree and the men pruned bushes.
That was her life for 70 years. She was as strong as an ox, but never made mention of it. She never made noise about how she activated her lats tilling soil or how she had to cut back on carbs in the winter because she was more sedentary.
Yeah, I can say that my grandmother was indelibly stronger than I ever will be. There’s no shame in that. She was pretty badass. I grow potted vegetables and bake bread in a $300 bread maker that does the work for me. There’s no way I would ever compare to Granny Hart.
What really struck a cord with me: faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker . . .
Is that really it?
My grandmother never thought about dieting or bulky muscle. But she was into Clean Eating™. Tosca Reno would be proud! Grandma was never overly muscular either. She was rail-thin even though she was totally Primal™.
I guess one could argue that modern women have all the luxuries that women in the past never did. Sure, when my dad was a kid they lived on a farm with no running water in the plains of Nebraska. They had to walk to the outhouse in the dark and milk their own cows.
But when I was a kid things weren’t so. Grandma had a washer and dryer, a vacuum cleaner, running water, a dishwasher, and many of the same luxuries that I have. Okay, so she wasn’t totally Primal by this point.
I don’t think it’s the fear of being bulky or eating too much that sends modern women fleeing to the couch with their iPhones so they can tweet their daily macro accountability.
I think it’s an innate fear of all things.
We are a society that is scared shitless of everything.
We’re scared of injury, disease, germs, dirt, robberies, getting hit by cars, concussions, aging, peeping toms, pederasts, guns, not having guns, too much real violence, not enough fake violence, loss of internet connection, Facebook hackers, identity theft, zombies, not having a hot vampire to love, too much carbsfatprotein, muscular arms, flabby triceps, bulky legs, fat legs . . .
We think so much about what could possibly go wrong in our lives that we live in a state of paralysis. That is why we are weak and lazy. It’s safer to sit around and talk text and tweet about what we think we should do or aren’t going to do rather than unplugging so we can actually do something.
That is the generational difference. Our grandmothers acted on instinct, doing what they must to make life possible. But now the female mind switches to making choices. We must choose to be active, to eat well. All instincts are gone because life comes in a ready-made package with automated systems.
It’s time to turn off automation. It’s time to reach deep down in your belly to pull out those instincts. The ones that tell you to move and eat the way that your body was designed to do. To unplug from a world that you cannot touch or hear and get involved in the world that is tangible and interactive.
So be it if you pick up a barbell or plant an orchard. Just be present in your daily life.
Presence is what we are all missing. Never once do I remember my grandmother not hearing my voice because her mind focused on something arbitrary (she wasn’t around when Facebook and Pinterest launched). She was always there with us in that moment. She never talked about all that she had to get done. She just did things, and if she didn’t finish she did them the next day.
When I talk about presence it means to tune out the part of your life that is not actually happening and tune into what surrounds you. Sounds a bit archaic, huh?
So, going back to faddy diets and fears that muscles aren’t feminine have left modern women weaker.
That’s just our excuse to live in this alter state of reality. To think about how doing these certain things will change our perception of an ideal body.
How we don’t want to do these things because we don’t want the perceived results. If this is so, then don’t do those things. Do other things. No one is saying that you have to deadlift or eat skirt steak. Yes, these two activities rank right up there with finding out Mark Cuban left you a fraction of his estate, but they aren’t for everyone.
That doesn’t mean you should sit in a stinking heap of fear either. Look where that’s getting you—smack in the headlines of a news article that goes on to talk about how you can’t even whisk an egg without hurting yourself.
Is that the legacy you want to leave in this world? Is this what you want your granddaughter to write about on the Internet 30 years from now?
I write all of this not to point a finger at society. I am just as guilty when it comes to not being present in my life at times. I’ve mastered the art of ignoring the world around me by shoving my face into a handheld device or opting out of a weekend activity because I downloaded 3 seasons of Boardwalk Empire.
I write all of this to evoke change within us. All women, including myself. May we finally adopt those skills our grandmothers and great-grandmothers tried to instill in us. A sense of pride in our homes, our bodies, and our lives.
If we take this back and own it, strong will always be sexy.
Author’s Bio
Kellie Davis is a freelance writer and blogger turned fitness coach living in Northern California. She published short fiction and essays in anthologies and literary magazines before starting a full time career as a health and fitness writer. She currently works as a contributing author to several online fitness publications including Greatist and Bodybuilding.com, and also runs corporate health blogs.
Living in a pretty historical, cultural, and overall kick-ass city (Boston), Lisa and I like to spend our weekends walking around to the various neighborhoods to take in all the sights and sounds that they have to offer. Whether it’s heading to the North End to eat a quaint italian restaurant, walking through Boston Common and then down Newbury St. to look at all the shiny things we can’t afford, or just chilling in our own neighborhood – Coolidge Corner – we can always find something fun or interesting to do.
Another one of our favorite areas to frequent is the South End.
The South End is considered the “trendy” part of the city teaming with hip restaurants, cafes, shops, and boutiques. It’s ubiquitously fabulous in every shape, way, and form.
Even more fabulous than this commercial: JAZZ HANDS!!!!!
Additionally, and not surprisingly, the South End is also known for its fashion sense. Now, fashion is not my forte. You’re reading a guy’s blog who’s idea of dressing up is a pair of jeans with a GI-Joe t-shirt. Worse, I wear white after Labor Day. Oh, the horror!!!!!
Whenever I’m in the South End with Lisa and we walk into some clothing store, she’ll inevitably go into fashionista mode and start conversing with the sales lady person. Hem line this, v-neck that. Blibbidy blah, blibbidy bloo.
They might as well be speaking Klingon.
I usually just zone out and stand there like a zombie or go light my face on fire to help pass the time.
But recently something caught my attention. Well, two things actually.
1. At one store we were in, the sales lady person said something along the lines of “brown is the new black,” alluding that brown (and all it’s various shades) are now “in,” and that this season brown is all the rage.
I thought this was interesting, and something that will make a little more sense in a few seconds once I tie this into the actual purpose/title of this post.
2. Even more intriguing to me was how much money people would spend for a pair of jeans and yet have no ass to show for it. It was amazing.
Men and women alike. No asses. Anywhere.
Maybe I’m missing something, but it doesn’t make much sense to me to buy a pair jeans that’s equivalent to a car payment and have no ass to show of it.
Sure I saw some flat stomachs on the ladies, and many of the guys walking around had biceps. But no where to be seen was a nice, plump, round tush/bum/butt/ass/derriere/badonkadonk/whatever your term of choice.
Honestly, though, it isn’t even limited to that one instance or point in time. Rarely (if ever) do I see a well-rounded backside.
I was in a 7 Eleven not too long ago getting my caffeine fix when I saw two bodybuilder type guys walk up from behind me to pay for their things at the cashier counter. Both were really tan and had on skin tight shirts and for all intents and purposes were two really built dudes.
But neither of them had an ass.
Judge me as you will – yes, I looked at two guys’ backsides and noticed they didn’t have one. Don’t kid yourself, you do it too! We ALL judge others and give everyone the once over. Guys and girls alike.
Guys look at other guys and judge whether or not they can take them in a fight.
Girls look at other girls and judge whether or not they can take them in a fight (or if they’re an uppity skank). This is especially true if two women are wearing the same outfit.
It’s a two-way street.
Either way, when I saw a 2×4 in place of where their ass should be, I knew the two guys in question were suffering from what I call Noassitis. Get it? No-ass-itis!!!
Note: giving credit – I think Mike Boyle originally coined the term, but he may have called it something else.
Nevertheless, it’s a growing problem and it’s what spurned this post.
Much like brown is the new black in the fashion world, in the strength and conditioning world glutes are the new biceps.
Glutes are the new biceps!!!!!!!!!
Yeah baby!!!
I’d be remiss not to give credit to the Glute Master himself – Bret Contreras – as he’s been championing this sentiment for years now.
Thanks to him the glutes are getting MUCH more attention, but no where near the amount of attention they should be getting.
There are still plenty of people (men AND women) who spend a vast majority of their time and energy training a muscle the size of a tennis ball (bicep), yet ignoring the largest and most powerful muscle in the body (the glutes).
Of course, I’m not insinuating that one should ignore their biceps. Trust me, I get it. That’s just looney talk. Most are going to train them no matter what I say, so there’s no point in wasting my breath.
All I’m suggesting is that a slight shift in training economy and priority is in order.
I’d argue that if you’re the type of person who places an emphasis on his or her glutes and includes more exercises into your repertoire that targets them, you’ll probably have decent sized arms anyways.
You’ll have biceps despite what you do.
As an example, look at Kellie Davis, model and co-author – along with Bret Contreras – of the upcoming book Strong Curves.
She glute bridges her ass off (or, more appropriately, on) and she still has shapely, “toned” arms that most women would kill for.
You think she’s performing tricep kickbacks and various bicep curl exercises to look like that?
Hell no!
Switching gears to those of us who pee standing up, and using myself as an example, I too have decent sized arms that most guys would like to have . I’m not saying this to brag, it’s just what I’ve been told.** Yet, despite the contrary, I don’t go out of my way to perform a lot of isolated bicep work.
Instead, the bulk of my upper body work consists of a healthy dose of row variations, chin-ups, and push-ups. But I also place a premium on things like deadlifts, squats, glute bridges, Prowler pushes, kettlebell swings and various single leg exercises – all of which hammer my posterior chain (and more specifically, my glutes).
I can probably count on one hand the total number of times I’ve gone out of my way to perform a bicep curl in the past year.
Likewise, I generally don’t go out of my way to program any “isolated” bicep work for the bulk of my athletes and clients. Sure, I’ll throw them a bone every now and then, but for the most part their training entails compound movements with an emphasis on their backside.
And, predictably, their biceps grow (or, in the case my female clients, they attain that “toned” look that’s so coveted). Go figure!
Again, this isn’t to suggest that I feel blasting the biceps isn’t warranted or that I never do it. I do. All I’m saying is that for most people, most of the time, they’d be much better off nixing the curls in favor of curing their Noassitis.
It’s not hard to walk into a gym and notice someone with sculpted arms or pecs that could stop a mack truck. What’s rare is seeing an impressive set of glutes. THAT’S what will separate you from the masses – and not coincidentally, make those designer jeans fit like a glove.
On that note, below are some instructional videos that will hopefully get the ball rolling and point people in the right direction. Train your glutes people!!!
Hip Thrust Instructional Video – Bret Contreras
NOTE: Also, I’d highly suggest reading THIS post by Kellie Davis on proper range of motion while performing hip thrusts/bridges.
Several month’s ago Adam Bornstein (yes, THAT Adam Bornstein) contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in submitting an ab routine for his upcoming book, The Women’s Health Big Book of Abs. Without blinking an eye I said yes, sent a little sumthin sumthin Adam’s way, and then completely forgot about it.
Just the other day he messages me and says, “dude, it’s available. Thanks for the help.”
As the title suggests, the book covers all the essential diet and fitness information one would need to get rid of that muffin top and attain lean, sexy abs. Cooler still is that the book contains contributions from a bunch of other peeps in the health and fitness world you may be familiar with: Bret Contreras, Jim Smith, PJ Striet, and God……so you know it’s legit.
Still a tad skeptical behind the power of the hip (or glute) barbell thrust? Still think it’s just a gimmicky exercise that has no merit? Well, in this post Kellie demonstrates that not only are you wrong, but that you’re missing out on some serious glute-licious development. Indeed!
It’s after reading articles like this that I REALLY wish I was somewhat (even remotely) proficient with PhotoShop. Not to diminish the actual content, Ben’s introductory title – The Lord of the Squats – was priceless!
Speaking of the content, this was an EXCELLENT article on the benefits of box squats. I’ve been a hyyyyyoge advocate of box squats for years, and it’s nice to see other coaches out there spreading the love, too.
Much like Ben, I feel box squats are a superb way to teach someone the proper hip hinge pattern as well as target an area that tends to be woefully weak for most individuals – the posterior chain. Additionally, box squats offer unique advantages for those with banged up knees (utilizes more of a vertical shin angle) and back (reduced spinal loading on L5-S1).
In short, they’re the bees knees and you should be doing them.
This is the product that initially launched the Muscle Imbalances Revealed series (I was involved with the Upper Body edition), and it’s recently been upgraded with a ton of great additions:
Corrective Exercises for Performance
DB Mobility Workout
Strategies for Hip and Ankle Mobility
Injury of the Month – Rick Kaselj’s fantastic monthly resource for fitness professionals
Lets say you bought the upper body edition (thank you by the way), and you loved it. It changed your life. Yet, you don’t have the lower body edition to compliment it. That’s like owning The Godfather Part II and not The Godfather (lets just pretend Part III didn’t happen). It’s a sin!
Lucky for you, MIRL is now on sale – for 31% off the original price – from now until the end of week. Holla!
