THE BEST WAY TO BUILD YOUR BOTTOM

Lifting Heavy Is A Must

by: Leslie Dobbins

Do these make my butt look big?” This question, uttered by countless women throughout the years, has struck terror in the hearts of those being asked. Who would have thought that a girl would love to hear, “Yes, babe, it sure does!” The bubble butt is now a fitness goal for many women, but how can it be achieved? Unfortunately, genetics does play a role in the shape of one’s backside. Yet there are several glute building exercises that can be done to help shape, lift and firm the rear.

Progressive Strength Training

Keep in mind if you are looking to build tone in the derriere, heavy weight must be used. Your goal should be to gradually build your strength so you can lift heavy. Use a progessive strength routine. Start light and then add weight each day. Each session add a small percentage of weight. Have you heard of Greek mythology’s Milo of Croton? According to legend, Milo trained by carrying a calf daily from its birth until it became a full-sized ox. So gradually as the ox grew, so did his strength.

FEWER REPS, HEAVIER WEIGHT

Instead of going through a usual weight routine of 3 sets of 10-12, do 5 sets of 5. The 5th repetition should not be easy and push you to your limit. Going heavy will not be easy if you’re not used to it. But more and more evidence is pointing towards the significant advantages that come from lifting heavy. It’s not just for men, but women as well.

Stick To Fundamental Lifts

No need to waste too much time on gym machines. While they’re fine to supplement in, your lifts should revolve around the old-school basics. For your lower body, the 3 best lifts are squats, deadlifts and glute bridges. These exercises work so many muscles that really tax your body. Like all exercises, proper form is key. You have to have correct form especially when lifting heavy. Here’s what you need to know about each, keeping in mind, in all glute exercise your abs should be engaged and tightened.

SQUATS

1) Place a weighted bar on the meaty part of your back. 2) Feet slightly wider than hips, with toes slightly turned out. 3) With your weight in your heels, Sit down as if you are sitting in a chair. Booty down, back straight, knees tracking in line with your middle toes, chest lifted, belly in and abs braced. 4) Booty stops at knee level, pressing through heels, squeezing your booty on the way to the top.

Deadlifts

1) Grab your weighted bar thumb distance from your thighs, heels under hips, toes turned slightly out and knees soft. 2) Tip from the hip with a long spine squeezing a lemon in between your shoulder blades and elbows to the back of the room. 3) Act as if you are trying to shut a kitchen drawer with your backside making sure you squeeze your backside on the way to the top.

GLUTE BRIDGES (ADVANCED)

1) Facing up, position your shoulder blades perpendicular on a bench. Your feet flat on the floor with your knees bent. 2) Place desired weight on your hips, keeping it in place with your hands. 3) From a cocked position, lift your hips up. Squeeze your glutes and abs and drive your heels through the floor until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. 4) Pause and squeeze your glutes at the top then slowly return to the starting position. (This can be done with zero equipment, a dumbbell/plate on top of your thighs or a resistance band around your thighs.)

Dieting

by: Megan Underwood (self described Diet Addict)

ARE YOU PROUD OF YOUR AGE?

I turned 40 last October, finally. It felt like it would never get here. I had heard so much about turning forty, being forty, feeling forty, the hill and being “over it” - like the entirety of my life was one big anticipation of this year, this age, and as soon as that 3-9 rolled over to 4-0, I would throat-punch feel it.

I sure do feel it. And I could not love it more. I want to be asked how old I am. Make assumptions and give me the chance to blow your mind - not because I might look a certain way, but because I feel a certain way - proud. I’m proud to be a part of this adult club. I’m proud to catalogue the experiences, log the stories, bear the beauty marks, skim the scars, and glean the goodness. This forty-year-old me is the best me. 2023 is the best me. I have decided what I’ll hold on to, and what I will release.

• I will hold onto listening to my body. I will take more days off, and rest more. I will stretch and massage and tend. I will let myself heal and recover, knowing I will feel better for it, head to toe.

• I will stop looking at my activity tracker so much. What does it even know about me, anyway?! I will be more focused on an active life, rather than a high-calorie-burn gym session. I will get outside more, with my kids and dogs, and live my life more physically.

• I will quit counting calories (mostly). I will fuel my body to perform the way I need and want it to.

• I will loosen the alcohol-consumption reigns. I will allow myself to libate with consideration, in moderation, or maybe not at all.

• I will hold onto an open mind and fluid nutrition “plan”. I will continue to try different trends and ideas if they seem interesting to me, and I will not feel bad or weird for it.

• I will hold onto this new appreciation and awe of my whole self - body, soul, and spirit. I will recall and recite more of the wonders of my physical body - its beauty and accomplishments, and less of the areas that need for improvement. I will embrace the eccentricities of my heart and mind that are my magic. I will live me proudly, maybe sometimes loudly, but certainly with all the quiet confidence - fueled and forged by this now-unconditional love-force that surges and seeps from the core-est of my core.

I’m so glad to be over that daggum hill. The climb was a journey - I’ve got stories for days. The back side, I’ve learned, is where the glory lies.