Thrust-Focused Glute Workout

Introduction

For this workout, we will present to you a glute-focused workout, that emphasizes on thrusting movements, which, in our book are the number one glute builder. After working our way up to higher intensity with 3 basic exercises, we reach the barbell hip thrust, where we have to go ALL-OUT.

The exercise consists of 7 sets. On each set, up until the last two, we have to be very close to failure. Once we are past the 5^th set, we can up the weights further and reach classical failure.

The workout ends with a back-off cable exercise, that will allow us to focus on optimal, well-paced muscle contraction, under moderate intensity.

During the first 3 exercises, it is recommended to stay away from failure and keep a moderate pace and full range of motion. This will allow you to work the muscles in and prepare them for the extreme intensity, where the vital energetic substances in the muscle will be depleted.

Workout Priorities

The workout prioritizes the development of the glutes, with the most effort being put in the barbell hip thrust exercise, where we have an increased volume, followed by increased intensity and classical failure.

This will ultimately allow for new muscle growth and more strength, considering the workout is matched with the rest of the training days and is done consistently over time.

Exercises

Exercise Map

Body-Weight Squats

Execution

• Stand up straight with feet at shoulder width and toes pointing out slightly
• Bend knees slightly and out of lockout
• Keeping your torso straight, raise your arms
• Go down slowly until your hamstrings are parallel to the ground
• Move up to the initial position (no knee lockout), while also maintaining constant tension on the quads

Close Hack Squats

Execution

• Get under the pads, tucking your shoulders well and resting your back and butt on the backrest
• Keep your head rested as well and place your feet on the platform, close to one another
• Squat down slowly, until your hamstrings are parallel to the platform
• Move up slowly, contracting the quads and glutes without locking out the knees

Body-Weight Hip Thrust

Execution

• Lie down on the top of your back on the side of a bench
• Place your legs forward and slightly apart
• Let your hips hang
• Thrust up slowly, contracting the glutes
• Hold the contraction briefly and go down slowly

Barbell Hip Thrusts

Execution

• Place the barbell by the side of the bench and put a protective pad on it
• Get under the barbell so that it is at hip level
• Lie on the side of the bench with your upper back
• Place your feet forward and slightly apart
• Lift off the barbell slightly, so that it’s not on the ground
• Thrust up explosively, contracting the glutes
• Hold the contraction briefly and go down, without letting the barbell touch the ground

Cable Pull Through

Execution

• Put the rope on the lower cable of the cable machine
• With your back against the cable machine, step so that the rope is between your legs
• Bend over with your torso straight and knees bent slightly
• Grab the rope with an overhand grip
• Extend up, contracting the glutes

Workout tips

• Rest times in-between workouts:
  As this is a fairly heavy workout, it would be best to allow your muscles to recover and reach the state of hyper-recovery, before training them again. 

  That is to say that this workout should be done no more than twice a week, taking a rest time between workouts of up to 96 hours. This will allow for optimal recovery and therefore muscle and strength gains.

• Rest times in-between sets:
  Rest times between sets are crucial, as they are what will determine whether or not you are ready, energy-wise, for the next set. We advise you to keep your rest up to 60 seconds for the lighter sets and at least 90 seconds between heavier sets and sets until failure. 

  This will allow your energetic reserves to replenish and ultimately, help you get through the next set easier.

• Carbohydrates:
  Heavy workouts require energy. For us human, that muscle energy comes from carbohydrates. It would be adequate to NOT deplete yourself of carbs, when you have days with heavy workouts and high intensity.

  Make sure to properly load on energy a couple of hours prior to each workout, by consuming foods rich in carbohydrates, such as white rice, brown rice, oats and whole grains. The carbohydrates will fill up your muscles with energetic substances and will therefore help you get through the workouts easier.

• Water loading before workout:
  Have you ever felt really, really thirsty just a few minutes into a workout? Well, that is probably because you didn’t drink enough water before the workout. By water loading 500~700 ml of water over the last 70-80 minutes before a workout, you will be able to minimize thirst during a workout. 

  Your mouth may get dry but you will definitely need just a sip or two to moisturize it, instead of bashing half a bottle into your body. A thrust focused workout shall not be a thirst focused one! 🙂

Conclusion

This thrust-focused glute workout will allow us to develop our glutes while also making them stronger. Of course, strength is not the main priority here but it is not on the low side as well, as we have two low-rep sets, during which, we reach failure.

These sets however, require a bit more rest time in-between, which allows the energetic structures to recover. That of course, ultimately helps us get through the next set easier. These energetic structures need to be filled in with a solid amount of carbohydrates, hours prior to the workout.

It is also recommended to water load an hour before each workout, in order to avoid drinking water during the workout itself. Ultimately, we should aim to work every muscle group every ~72-96 hours, during the peak of the hyper-recovery phase, to allow for further growth and development.