We all know and love the standard lower body exercises: squats, lunges, deadlifts and all the variations of those. All of those long-standing exercises have been proven to build and sculpt the elusive booty that all women want.
I personally use these exercises on a daily basis, but today I want to offer some perspective and coaching on one of my other favorite booty sculpting, muscle building exercises for the lower body. This is one that a lot of women avoid, because they aren’t sure how to set it up and perform it correctly. It also looks a bit intimidating, but once you learn the proper set up and technique, it will become a staple in your program, guaranteed.
The exercise I want to bring to you today is the Barbell Glute Bridge. There are several ways to set this exercise up, including placing your upper back on a bench, but for the sake of this article and learning the movement with more confidence, I want you to perform the exercise from the floor.
The Barbell Glute Bridge will work the glutes, hamstrings and core. The goal of this exercise is to bridge up as high as possible, push through the heels as you lift and contract your glutes and hamstrings hard at the top of the bridge.
You can use this exercise as a main lift on your lower body day and work heavy sets of 5-8, or add it as an accessory lift, working sets of 10-20 for more muscular hypertrophy and endurance.
Challenge yourself on the weight, but make sure that you feel stable, secure and strong on each lift. For most women in our gym, we start them at anywhere between 75 and 95 pounds to get comfortable. The build up is pretty rapid for this movement.
A Few Notes
– In the video, you will see me using an Airex pad for padding against my hips. You can also use a towel or a bar pad that you’ll find in most gyms.
– You will also want to use bumper plates if you have access, because they make it easier to roll the bar up your quads. If you don’t have bumper plates, that’s okay, you will just have to shimmy the bar up a little bit but it is definitely doable. Once you get up to using 45-pound plates on each side, the bar will be off the ground at a nice level.
– If you have a training partner, you can have them help you roll the bar up.
How To…
• Sit on the floor with the bar in front of your legs
• Place the pad on your midsection or wrap the towel around the bar
• Reach for the bar and roll it up so that it sits on your hip bones
• Lay back and bend your knees so you are in a bridge position
• Drive your heels into the floor and lift your hips off the ground aggressively
• Squeeze and hold at the top of the bridge for 2 seconds
• Lower down and repeat for the prescribed reps
Here’s a brief video where I demonstrate the technique of the Barbell Glute Bridge. Give this exercise a try and leave a comment on how it went for you.
