Are you an expat living in Rijswijk and surrounding cities and do you ever ask yourself the above question, then read on.
Nowadays round buttocks are hip. On social media, TV, and in magazines, everywhere you see women with beautiful round, tight buttocks. Often accompanied by texts such as: oh she squats. Women, but also men, of course, would get those beautiful, round buttocks by squatting. But is this exercise also the most suitable?
Photoshop or just good genes?
Before we go into that further, it is good to know that many of those ladies (and gentlemen) in those beautiful, perfect pictures, can be helped by something we call photoshop or they are blessed with extremely good genes. The shape of our buttocks and the ability to make them rounder is largely determined genetically. Just like that applies to a tight stomach with six-pack. Of course, this does not mean that you cannot change anything about it.
Sitting too much
In addition to the aesthetic picture, it is also important for our daily lives to have strong buttocks. Nowadays we sit on our buttocks much more than we let them work. Strong buttocks ensure powerful, stable hips, which in turn contribute to, among other things, reducing and preventing back or knee complaints. Strong gluteal muscles also contribute to, for example, a more efficient running pattern for runners, football players, tennis players, and all other sports where a more efficient running pattern is important.
Glutes training
What is the best way to train your glutes? Even though it is said everywhere that squats ensure round buttocks, this is not the most efficient exercise to train your buttocks. The squat is an exercise that is mainly knee-dominant. This means that the movement mainly comes from the knees. For this, you use the muscles at the front of the thighs the most and the gluteal muscles help out. In our opinion, you should not stop doing squats, so keep adding them to your program. But what are better exercises to train your gluteal muscles? Exercises that you start from your hip (hip dominant) and where you have to stretch your hips against resistance are the ultimate exercises for those strong and round buttocks.
Exercises to train the glutes are:
- Romanian deadlift
- Back squat
- Seated hip abductor machine
- Bulgarian split squat
- Hip thruster
- Cable kickback
- Kettlebell swings
The above exercises are extremely suitable for training your glutes. These exercises, with many variations, can also be found in our online training software.
Do you want nicer, rounder, or simply stronger glutes?
Our advice is to do exercises that are specifically aimed at the glutes, as indicated above. Add a selection (at least 2 exercises) of the above exercises to your training schedule 2 to 3 times a week. It is also important to gradually increase the training load to (continue to) make progress and to continue to challenge the muscles. Also, don’t forget to take enough rest and recovery time between training sessions to prevent injuries and give your muscles a chance to recover and grow. Good luck with strengthening your glutes!
If you have any questions, the Expats personal trainers will be happy to help you. Our beautiful private gym is located opposite the EPO (European Patent Office) – The Hague!