Author: Bret Contreras, PhD, CSCS

As a strength coach, it pains me to walk into any commercial gym and see some skinny kid performing endless isolation movements. I want to pull him aside and teach him the ropes. I’d show him how to hit those deep squats, how to hammer out some deadlifts, and how to press, chin, dip and row. Surely this would enable him to finally start making some gains.

Small tweaks in exercise form can lead to large increases in gluteal muscle activation, and this increased glute activation will lead to greater growth and development. Most gym goers have to learn these tweaks the hard way over the course of many years. In this article, I hope to expedite your learning curve by teaching you the best ways to perform popular glute exercises.

Yoga and Pilates are excellent forms of exercise that have numerous health benefits. I encourage you to give each a try to see if you enjoy the training. This article does not attack Yoga and Pilates methodology, it attacks the marketing tactics used by some of their practitioners. I‘m sure you’ve heard the claims.

Ever since I started consuming fitness information over two decades ago, there’s been a myth that won’t ever seem to die. The myth states that lifting light weights for high reps will tone the muscles, whereas lifting heavy weights for lower reps will bulk the muscles.