Bootylicious

It has been a while since I last posted, and I apologize. Things have been a little crazy with transferring to Rutgers and work and all, but luckily I am getting back in the swing of things. 
I wanted to do a post mainly for the ladies. This post does not exclude the guys by all means, but I feel like having a nice looking backside isn't a mans first priority. 
Your gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your body, therefore it puts off the most amount of force and it is one we are constantly using. Whether we are using it to stand, run, or sit we like to know that it looks good while we are "working it". 
Here are a couple of ideas to help shape up the booty without the gym. 

Single leg squats done in sets of ten. You want to try and keep you front knee from leaning over your toes and drop down to a 90 degree angle. I could have dropped down a little bit farther. This can also be done with dumbbells in each hand. If you don't have any at home try holding a jug of milk or a laundry detergent container. 

Box squat (another form of a single leg squat) should NOT be done on the edge of a bed like shown. These should be performed on a sturdy surface, such as a coffee table. The idea is to squat down as low as possible. The lower you drop the more this will target your butt as apposed to your quads. I have seen people go as far as touching their butt to their heel and coming back up. It is best to face the wall when starting out so that you have something to steady yourself with. These can also be done with weights. I do mine in sets of 5. 

Glute Bridges can be done in two ways. First you can simply drive your heels into the ground and hold the position seen in the second picture or by dropping your butt to the ground and pushing back up as high as possible. You can also hold a barbell or dumbbells on your hip bones while you do this.  

Single Leg Glute Bridge basically the same thing as above only with one leg in the air. 

Lunges are so great because there are so many ways to perform them. Here are a few things to think about when doing lunges. One: never put your knee on the ground doing so lets your glute muscles relax and defeats the purpose of the exercise. Two: you don't want your front knee to go over your toes it can be very hard on your knees. Three: when doing a walking lunge people tend to want to push off of their back leg which causes them to glide through to the next step instead of using your glute muscles. When standing from the lunge position you should always drive your front heel into the ground and almost solely use your front leg to stand. 
As far as versatility you can lunge down and hold that position like in the picture. You can jump up and switch legs, and even treat it as a single leg squat and do reps. 
One last thing about lunges; I see a lot of people at the gym doing walking lunges with dumbbells at their side. When they go to stand up they swing the dumbbells forward and use that momentum to help them stand. This is very bad; it puts you in a bad position and you use more shoulder muscles then leg muscles. Try instead putting a barbell across your shoulders; doing so forces you to stay in position and really drive with the legs. If done correctly this will have your booty burning for days. 

Well I hope that this helps you get the lift you have always wanted! If you want to know about any other muscle group or just plain health questions give me a holler! 

Drive through the pain. 

-Sonya