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| 2. Push with your heels The transmission of force and tension from your foot through your leg and glute can be altered by where you put the tension on your foot. If you push with the balls of your feet (the forefoot area), more tension will be placed on the frontal thigh (the quadriceps). If you focus on pushing more with your heels, more tension will go through the back of the thighs and to your glutes. By pushing with your heels, you can take FULL advantage of this force/tension relationship. For example, when you're doing lunges, try to raise the toes of your front foot off the ground. This removes tension from the front and focuses more on the heel. This will, in turn, send more tension to the glutes, making them work harder. There are several practical techniques you can use to really force the heel push. For example, on lunges, do them with your heel on the edge of a stair or Step platform. Place ONLY your heel on the surface and do the lunge from there (be careful of your balance on this, however, as your base of support is decreased with this technique). If you're doing the leg press, you can focus on the glutes by placing your heels on the top edge of the foot plate (the rest of your feet surface will be off the top and not pushing on anything). When doing squats, simply raise your toes up in your shoes to achieve a similar effect. |
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| 3. Visualize "sitting back" when you're doing your glute exercises This idea is similar to the concept of pushing with your heels above. When you "sit back," more tension will be sent through the back of the thighs and the glutes. If you lean forward (the opposite of the "sitting back"), you will tend to throw more tension on the quadriceps (the front of the thighs). We can use both the squat and the lunge as examples of this. When doing the lunge, don't let your torso angle forward while you're performing the movement. This will throw more tension on the quads. Visualize yourself "sitting back" into the movement. Your body won't let you lean back far enough to fall over but this "lean-back" will put more tension on the glutes immediately. This is something you can try at home right now and feel the difference right away. |
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| If, when you're doing squats, you don't normally feel the glutes working very strongly, you could very well be leaning too far forward as you squat. This throws more tension onto the quads and lower back. This problem is often caused by a lack of flexibility in the calves. To fix this, stretch the calves for at least 5 minutes before doing any squat exercise. You will soon find you're able to sit back more and maintain a better body position (more upright torso). This will turn the squat into a great glute-builder for you. |
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