So , I have started doing hip adductions and it has made a HUGE difference. I cannot get over how effective this machine has been for me.
I have seen the top part and side of my glutes growing first with my inner butt (lol near my …) taking longer.
Sorry dont know how else to explain that.
Is this normal I’m guessing and with more squats this area will start firming up too?
Ass development doesn’t work solely like that. Short answer: You need a medley of fairly efficient compound movements, along with different rep and set schemes, and varying intensity.
glutes are strong, so heavier compound movements tend to be the most effective to train them. It’s hard to isolate them and really see great results. Also, isolation WITHOUT also incorporating full body/leg training can lead to hip problems and imbalances down the road. It’s never really safe or effective to be laser-focused on one body part. I’d definitely recommend a lot of squats and deadlifts for best results.
I’d kinda thought based on the profile picture this was maybe a troll.
If not, @flattassmcghee , I’ve done some high rep sets of lunges lately and they would destroy my butt.
EDIT: Destroy my glutes. Destroying my butt doesn’t sound like what I want it to.
I am more tha. Positive I had really weak adductors and that’s why I couldnt grow my glutes at all before even though I was doing deadlifts , squats, and lunges.
I am definitely going to start doing those again.
how do you know this?
Are you sure you don’t mean abductors? Abduction is pushing out, adduction is squeezing in. I think you might have them mixed up.
Even if that were the case, it still isn’t the SOLE reason why you didn’t see progress. You might also be confusing adductors with abductors as @flappinit has clearly stated. Even if either of those stabilizers were not up to snuff concerning their strength, they’re only pieces that make up the larger portion of your butt.
From assumption on my behalf, I’m under the impression that you’ve been mostly using isolation movements to grow the glutes. Flip made a very good point as to why you shouldn’t do that.
If anything, despite you stating that you were doing compound movements, I guarantee you aren’t implementing efficient amounts of intensity, frequency, and volume. It’s easy to do a bunch of squats, deads, and thrusts that your body has adapted to.
For example I always see ladies doing that typical 3-4x12 squat scheme, which isn’t bad per say, but that’s all they will do with something less than 185 or 135 on the bar, then head over to doing some isolation movements with bands or body weight. It’s EASY to adapt to that. Too easy, in my opinion. Instead of going progressively heavier, they jack up the volume, but by then they’re doing damn near over 100 reps worth of work, but using the same weight.
Personally, I’m obsessed with squatting to the point where I currently have myself moving heavy weight for ridiculous amounts of volume. But that’s not the only thing I do for my glutes, and that’s not the only thing I do concerning rep/set setup nor intensity. I mix and match a few favorites, and implement movements that help me stabilize, and also feed my inner pump monster. But again, that’s just what I do, but I still follow the principle of the compound movements being priority, followed by supplementary movements and re-hab/stability stuff.
As should you.
As has been mentioned, I’m pretty sure you’re doing abductions, which would be the “bad girl” machine. This is important because different fibres of the glutes actually have different actions.
ABduction = moving AWAY from midline
ADduction = moving TOWARD midline
Whilst the upper and outer part of the glute (which you report to be “firmer”) is an ABductor, and is therefore effectively trained by the bad-girl machine, the lower and inner part of the glute is an ADductor, and is therefore trained by the good-girl machine. That said, to properly get a low/inner glute contraction, you’ll need hip extension (straightening the hip) combined with adduction.
This basically leaves you with something like a hip thrust, which you could make better (for low-inner glutes) by having to squeeze something like a foam roller between your thighs. Another option to combine hip extension + adduction is a squat.
Moral of the story, the basics work no matter how much you want to dissect the anatomy. As your results have shown, doing a lot of isolation work may lead to “imbalances,” even within a single muscle, showing us just how important “big” compound exercises are
If isolation exercises work better for me and I see results (which I definitely do ) I dont understand why I cant keep doing that though. Surely my every day job (bending and squatting quite a bit) would add to what I already do at the gym .
Sorry just ignorant
Thank you for your feedback!
No-one is saying you can’t, a lot of the strongest/best looking people on Earth do isolation work, but isolation exercises should not be the bread-and-butter of your program.
Unfortunately not. Eventually, your body adapts to the bending and squatting you do at your job. Once your body has adapted to those loads, it no longer sees any need to grow/strengthen more than what’s required for your job.
The human body is amazingly adaptable, but unfortunately this means that to get bigger and stronger, we have to expose it to greater and greater demands. Therefore, the bending and squatting you do at work isn’t going to have a big difference on your physique/training in the long-term.
Side-note, this is the reason why things like “100 squats/crunches/push-ups etc every day” stop delivering results after about a month, the body has adapted to that load, and therefore sees no need to get stonger/leaner/more muscular
How long have you been training? Like entirely?
@j4gga2 explained perfectly why that doesn’t mean anything. My husband is rather chubby and works a very demanding job, and is still chubby.