The butt muscles, or the gluteus maximus and minimus for you latin types, are some of the strongest muscles in the body. Unfortunately, because of our modern lifestyle they don’t get worked out as often as they normally would. Also, since they are so strong, it becomes harder to actually make them work. All our normal daily activities are too easy for them.
Well, If you want to make them stronger, firmer and bigger, try adding deadlifts into your workout. Since I’ve started using deadlifts to rehab my back, my butt has actually become firmer and a bit bigger. Now, my deadlift is far from impressive, last week I did an easy triple with 90 pounds. That’s a personal record for me. I also take it easy with the deadlift. After all I’m trying to rehab and get stronger, not set a deadlift world record.
Let me tell you, when I lifted that 90# barbell off the floor, for the first time, I felt those glutes working. They really needed to come into play to help lift that weight up off the ground. It felt awesome. As the weight goes up I’m sure they’ll get even more firm. Let’s not forget the thighs. The deadlift also requires strong quads and hamstrings.
I prefer the deadlift to squats as you don’t need a squat rack to perform them. I also don’t want bigger thighs. If I just look at a flight of stairs my thighs get bigger. I like them the way they are. Deadlifts have made them a lot more solid, but I haven’t really gained much size. That’s actually what I’m after.
If you’ve never done deadlifts before, make sure you learn the correct form and keep your back straight. Start off light until you get the hang of it.
There are a few different set and rep combinations you can use. There’s the 5×5, 3×3, 5×2, and singles. Since the deadlift is a full body exercise and really works the central nervous system (CNS) I like to keep my reps low. I’ll normally do 4-5 warmup sets of 1-5 reps until I reach my working weight and then do 2-5 reps. I have been thinking about switching to light singles, and might give those a try to see how it goes.
The deadlift is one of the most functional exercises available. How many times do you pick something off of the floor on a daily basis? I know I do everyday. So getting stronger in this position, I feel is a necessity; a firmer butt is a bonus.
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