Round buttocks are hip these days. On social media, TV, and in magazines, you see women with beautiful, round, firm buttocks everywhere. Often accompanied by captions like "oh she squats." Women, but men too of course, are said to get those beautiful, round buttocks by squatting. Is this exercise actually the most suitable?
Photoshop
Before we delve into that further, it is good to know that all those ladies (and gentlemen) in those beautiful, perfect pictures are usually helped by something we call Photoshop and are blessed with good genes. The shape of our buttocks and the ability to make them rounder is largely genetically determined. Just as is the case for a toned stomach with a six-pack. This does not mean that you cannot change anything about it.
Sitting too much
Besides the aesthetic aspect, it is also for us daily life important to have strong glutes. Nowadays, we sit on our buttocks more than we make them work. Strong glutes ensure powerful, stable hips, which in turn contribute to, among other things, reducing and preventing back or knee problems. Strong gluteal muscles also contribute to, for example, a more efficient gait in runners.
Buttock training
So, how do we best train those glutes? Although it is widely said that the squat creates round buttocks, it is not the most efficient exercise for the buttocks. The squat is an exercise that is primarily knee-dominant. This means that the movement originates mainly from the knees. For this, you use the muscles on the front of the thighs the most. So, what are good exercises for the glutes? Exercises that start from your hips (hip-dominant) and require you to extend your hips against resistance are the ultimate
exercises for those strong and round buttocks.
Exercises such as:
* deadlift
hipbridge
* hip thruster
* (cable) pull-through
* kettlebell swings
are highly suitable for training the glutes. You can, of course, also find these exercises, with many variations, in the exercise list on your portal.
Assignment:
Do you want nicer, rounder, or simply stronger buttocks? Then schedule a selection (1 to 3 of the above exercises) into your training routine 2 to 3 times a week. Perform 2 to 4 sets of these exercises.
Make sure you challenge yourself during these sets, which means training to muscle failure. Muscle failure is the point during a set where you are no longer able to perform the exercise fully and correctly on your own.
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