Booty Call
A Glute-Dominant Workout for Increased Strength
by John Romaniello

What do T-mag
assistant editor Chris Shugart and Jean Claude Van Damme have in
common? Aside from wacky accents and constantly having to save their
families from drug dealers and terrorists, both of them have, at one
time or another, claimed to be able to crack walnuts with their
respective butts. I don't know whether that claim is true and frankly,
I don't want to find out. I even heard there's a video of some
"competition" they had, which is currently floating around on the
Internet, but I have no plans to download that particular clip!
Whatever
the circumstances surrounding that rumor, it's pretty clear that both
men have a lot of confidence in their backsides. And with good reason —
they have strong glutes. You can be sure that walnut crackin' ass
cheeks are the result of years of heavy, rigorous training, but there
are reasons above and beyond this somewhat dubious party trick to add
some glute-specific work to your training program.

Why train the glutes?
Lots of reasons! 1)
The glutes are hit in a variety of exercises, but few people perform
direct glute training. Isolation work is done for the hamstrings, lats,
traps, and spinal erectors; however, the gluteus muscles are often
overlooked. Even if you utilize primarily multi-joint compound movements which involve
the glutes, it's possible to create an imbalance in the posterior chain
if you perform a lot of isolation movements for other muscles. Clearly,
this isn't optimal and should be avoided. Training the glutes directly
can help minimize the risk of such an imbalance occurring.2)
Obviously, one of the main reasons to train the glutes in a relatively
specific manner is for increased strength, which is the primary goal of
this program. As part of your posterior chain, the gluteus maximus acts
as an important mover in both Olympic and power lifts. (2,5,9,13,15)
Increasing glute strength can lead to increased poundages in the squat,
deadlift, snatch, and so forth. For example, the glutes are recruited
more heavily as squat depth increases. (2,15) As such, we can assume
that increased glute strength will allow you to move more weight from
the "basement" of a squat.3) The
glutes are also involved in any hamstring exercise that involves trunk
flexion/extension. (3,11,16) This includes the stiff-legged deadlift,
good mornings, and any variation of either. It's also been shown that
as load in these movements increases, the greater the glute involvement
becomes. (3) This is something to take into account when considering
glute training. As glute strength grows, more weight can be used during
trunk flexion/extension exercises. Hamstring strength, resultantly,
will also increase, with respect to these movements. It should
also be noted that this may help to indirectly increase your squat, as
the hamstrings will play a larger role in the squat as load
increases.(9) As a result of these factors, greater overall lower body
development seems possible.4)
Athletes involved in any dynamic sport should also consider glute
training as there's substantial involvement of the gluteal muscles in
both jumping and sprinting, especially in the initial explosion of
either. (1,4) From this we can infer that increased strength may lead
to increased initial power output, having great carryover to sports.
The benefits of such training would also obviously apply to anyone who
uses sprinting routines such as HIIT as their mode of cardiovascular
activity.5) As with any other
aspect of bodybuilding, the scope of training this particular body part
goes beyond functionality and strength to fully encompass aesthetics.
Although it's occasionally debated, there seems to be a positive
relationship between heavy strength training and both neurogenic and
myogenic tones. (6,7,8,12,14) That is, training heavy will increase
both. Due to this, you'll see increased density, tone, and all
of the other benefits of such training. This matters for one very
simple reason: chicks dig a hard butt. (10)(For more information on the effects of strength training on neurogenic and myogenic tone, check out Joel Marion's Ripped, Rugged and Dense program.)6) Walnuts, baby. Walnuts.

Quick FAQBefore
we get into the training program, let me answer a few common concerns
many people have whenever the topic of glute training comes up.
Q: Will this program give me a big fat ass?A:
No. Even if you use the program for hypertrophy, you won't experience
enough growth to warrant the use of that term. Consider this: unless
you're genetically predisposed to having a very large tushie, your
growth will be fairly limited. If you are someone with a big bottom, then you'll obviously not use the program for hypertrophy. The
program outlined below is primarily for strength. If you're overly
concerned about increasing the size or your butt, simply don't use the
program in the presence of a caloric excess, without which growth can't
occur. Generally speaking, glute training changes the shape of your butt much more so than the size. If anything, it'll give your butt a rounder look.As
for fat, that's a fairly complicated issue. First off, no training
program creates fat; that's a function of a poor diet. We know that
women tend to hold fat in the thighs and buttocks, and this program
won't change that. It isn't designed for spot reduction either, but in
combination with the correct diet, it'll help improve the overall look
of the area.

Q: Does training the glutes make me gay?A: No, enjoying sex with other guys makes you gay. Training the glutes makes you strong.

Q: How do I fit this routine into my current training schedule? Does it replace leg days?A:
If you split your leg workouts into Ian King-style hip dominant and
quad dominant days, this program will fit in best on your hip dominant
leg day. If you only train legs once per week, alternate this routine
with your other, more traditional leg workout on a weekly basis.
Q: Can overtraining the glutes create an imbalance?A:
Yes, absolutely. The potential is there as much as it is with any other
muscle; however, it's highly unlikely with this program. Although the
glutes are the main muscle worked in most of the prescribed exercises,
all of the movements are compound. Keep in mind that glutes are
frequently neglected, and if anything this program may help correct any
already existing imbalances.

Q: How long should I stay on this program?A:
Like any other training program, I recommend this for anywhere from
four to eight weeks. If you choose the latter, you may want to switch
movements at the four week mark. At the end of eight weeks, you may
want to retest your 1RM for the full squat and deadlift.

Q: Is this gonna hurt?A: It's a training program, not an anal probe, you sissy. It may hurt at first; just suck it up.

The "Booty Call" ProgramThe
following program is designed to increase glute strength with the
eventual goal being increased lifts and greater development. While
there are certainly many exercises (or variations) other than the ones
below which involve the gluteus maximus, keep in mind that our goal
here is to select variations which focus on these muscles to the
greatest possible degree. Please don't bother to look for the
namby-pamby "glute raise" machine you find at your fitness center — you
know, the one that looks like you're doing some sort of donkey kick.
While the spandex-clad fitness bunnies may swear by it, I've seen these
same women perform the exercise using most of the weight stack. As
such, it very clearly will not allow for any appreciable load as far as
low rep strength training is concerned. That little detail out of the way, on to the fun:

A) Power Snatch
Sets: 3
Reps: 3-5 (use roughly 75% of 1 rep max or RM)
Tempo: Explode!The
power snatch is performed in the following manner: squat down and grab
the bar in an overhand grip with the arms out beyond shoulder width.
The first pulling motion is done entirely with the legs, bringing the
bar to your knees. The second pulling motion is explosive, with the bar
speeding to your hips with full extension of the body. As the
bar continues to travel, another explosive pull will bring your
outstretched arms overhead. The movement recruits the gluteus heavily
at the initial pull, and, like all Olympic lifts, the power snatch will
have excellent carryover to explosive power.

The Power Snatch. (Diagram provided by Christian Thibaudeau)

B1) Sumo Deadlift
Sets: 2
Reps: 3-5
Tempo: X3X1 (See FAQ section if you're not familiar with tempo prescriptions.) This
is performed much the same way as a regular deadlift but with two
differences. First, your legs are splayed wide, roughly 140% of
shoulder width. Secondly, because of this, you take hold of the bar
with your arms between your legs, rather than outside your knees as
with a conventional deadlift. This variation is much more heavily
dependent on the glutes. (5)
B2) Walking Lunge
Sets: 2
Reps: 6-8
Tempo: 311A
walking lunge looks like a regular lunge except instead of stepping
back to the starting position, you step forward with the back leg.
During the course of each set, you'll likely travel 15 to 25 feet. You
can use a barbell or dumbbells.