Happy Thursday to you,
When I reached 40 I realised I couldn’t workout the same way I used to.
If I tried to break lifting records I’d get injured. If I tried to exercise hard 4+ times a week I felt tired all the time.
Nowadays, at 47, I train with weights 3 times per week and that suits me perfectly. I still stay active: swimming, walking, rowing, yoga, boxing, playing sports etc.
More workouts do not mean more results!
If you are over 40 you should be thinking more about optimising your workout time and choosing quality over quantity.
To help you better understand, I’m sharing my own personal workout for January (see workout section)
Training Your Glutes
When I work with new clients there is one group of muscles that I always focus on first.
Spending time working on your Glutes (buttocks) will produce more overall results than any other muscle group.
Here are 7 reasons why:
#1 – Burns More Fat
Want to burn maximum calories and keep burning them after your workout?
The Glutes are the largest muscles in the body. Muscles require energy to work and to survive.
When you exercise your Glutes you not only use huge amounts of energy but you also increase their activity making them more energy expensive in the future.
#2 – Protects Your Knees
Have you ever watched a runner and seen their knees or ankles cave inwards with every step?
Your Glute muscles stabilise your hips and so keep your legs in correct alignment preventing knee and ankle injury.
#3 – Protects Your Lower Back
Do you suffer from lower back pain?
Strong Glutes help produce better movement at the hips and so prevent the lower back or hamstrings from overworking.
If you have lower back issues, then stronger Glutes will help.
#4 – Gain Super Strength
Want to improve your full body strength?
Not only are the Glutes the largest muscles in the body but they are also the strongest muscles too. All powerful athletes have well conditioned buttocks.
#5 – Improves Your Flexibility
Do you suffer with tight hamstrings?
Weak Glutes or mis-firing Glutes will heavily rely on the Hamstrings to extend the hip. As the hamstrings get overworked they tighten causing further compensations during movement.
#6 – Reduces Thigh Overuse
Do you suffer from over worked thighs or quads when you exercise?
If the Glutes are underused then the thighs take up the strain. Exercises like Squats can be thigh dominant rather than sharing the load with the Glutes.
#7 – Improves Your Looks
Want a sexy looking backside?
If you want a lifted, well shaped and pert backside then working on your Glutes is a must.
Best Glute Exercises
The most important exercises for improving your Glutes come from the hip hinge and knee bend movement patterns.
Here are the important Glute exercises:
If you find squats and lunges problematic then you can replace them with Step ups.
Quick Glute Activation Technique
If you want to supercharge your glutes then you can begin each workout with 10 butt clenches to help prime them ready.
My Own Personal Workout:
- Horizontal Cable Pull – 10 each side
- Kettlebell Deadlift – 6 each side
- Horizontal Cable Push – 10 each side
- Kettlebell Forward Lunge – 10 each side
- Hanging Knee Raise – 6 reps
The above workout is what I am using for the month of January.
I perform the workout 3 times per week and for 3 sets with a 60 – 90 rest between rounds. I do not rest in between exercises.
You will notice that I use a Pull, Hip Hinge, Push, Knee Bend and Core exercise to cover all 5 movement patterns.
The Cable pull and push require huge core activation due to the anti-rotational movements.
The forward lunges I perform onto a raised pad to increase the depth and activation of the movement.
You can easily replace the cable exercises with rows and push ups, and the hanging knee raises for planks, slow mountain climbers or dead bugs.
Next month my workout will be totally different but to kick off January this year I’ve kept it super simple.
Want more ready-made workouts? See my latest programs here
This weeks question:
Q. “How do I strengthen my upper back without using any equipment?”
A. The upper back is one area that can be hard to target without any equipment but you can use the cross activation exercise to work into this area.
Stand with your arms out and thumbs up then squeeze your shoulder blades as tight as possible for as long as possible, usually 20 – 30 seconds.
If you have a simple resistance band you can pull this apart to activate the upper back muscles or using a bar you can perform bodyweight rows or chin ups.
I hope this helps.
Take care,
Greg
P.S. Want more ready-made workouts? See my latest programs here