+

Great
Glutes
Revealed

+
Glutes Demystified, Debunked,
and Re-Examined
By Bret Contreras, Kellie Davis, and Marianne Kane

www.getglutes.com

Our goal in this eBook is to help
you differentiate fact from fiction
when it comes to building great
glutes. As you train and improve
through fitness, it’s often hard to
step back and ask, “Why isn’t this
working?”
You often blame yourself for not
trying hard enough, or for having
plain ol’ bad genetics. Sadly, as
women we’ve been conditioned to
think this, but Bret and I are here
to challenge the way you view
training—especially training your
glutes.
Regardless if you are young or old,
an avid athlete or weekend warrior,
or have great or not-so-great glutes
naturally.
2
+ Preface:
By kellie davis
This book will change your
perspective and help you realize that
you can and will have a more
shapely, curvy, and stronger
backside now.
This eBook will teach you to stop
doing what the latest fads or gurus
tell you to do, and how to start
activating your glutes properly. It
will also teach you what exercises
work and which ones aren’t very
effective for glutes, as well as
address your nutritional needs when
it comes to building strong, healthy
muscle.
As a determined woman, you are
on a constant quest for a sexy, lean
physique. Glutes are likely at the
top of your list when it comes to
building the ultimate body. The
glutes are uniquely human in that
we require this particular muscle
group for spinal support so we can
stand and walk upright.
So, in a practical sense, you want
better glutes for stronger posture,
less back pain, and greater spinal
support. But, deep down inside
you want a sexier backside so you
look great and feel confident in
even the smallest shorts and
tightest jeans.
The information offered when it
comes to building glutes is enough
to make your head spin. Hundreds
of gimmicks flood the market by
those eager to leech onto the cash
that fills your wallet. From DVD
series to butt-toning shoes: you
name it, and it’s been done by
gurus and marketers alike.
All right, so how do you know
what information to trust? Who
can you turn to for real answers?
The only way to get the right
information is conducting
extensive research into all of these
glute-training methodologies,
dieting tricks, and gimmicking
products that entice you each day.
But, who has time for that?
You have a busy life. You care for
your family, work hard in your
career, and try to keep up with
your social life all while working
toward greater health and a killer
physique. The last thing you want
to do at the end of the day is sit
down at your computer and try to
figure out fact from fiction when it
comes to building your best butt.
It’s silly to think that building your The first step to finding the best
booty could be so complicated.
After all, it’s just another muscle
group, right? Activation is
Not exactly. key to great
The glutes are not only unique to glutes.
humans, but they are also unique in
+
how they activate. It’s not automatic
and your training may be ineffective
when it comes to using these
powerful muscles to their fullest
potential.
Worse yet, being inactive causes glutes starts with what’s
your glutes to go to sleep. No, not already out there. With
like when you sit too long and your years of exhaustive research
limbs go numb. They just stop behind him, Bret was able
working all together. They give up to come up with the 52
and decide to retire early. greatest myths known to
glutes.
It’s up to you to bring them out of
retirement and get them active
again. You can and will have build
your best butt by sculpting strong,
powerful glute muscles.
All you need to do is understand
what works and what doesn’t.
Rather than losing another night’s
sleep over this dilemma, we’ve
decided to take the top 52 myths
about glutes and pack them into a
these pages for you.
As two of The Glute Guy’s most
successful clients, Marianne and I
can assure you that Bret doesn’t cut
corners when it comes to research.
He devotes his life to finding and
developing the best exercises for
greater strength and development of
lean muscle mass.
It just so happens that his favorite
muscle group is the glutes, so a great
deal of his research is solely devoted
to finding and testing exercises that
relate to gluteal strength and
growth. I’ve been using his methods
for over a year now and can attest to
the fact that nothing works better.
exercises and methods for strong
3
 Disclaimer Build your
best body at
Please take note that the information in
any age.
this eBook, unless noted specifically,
has not been verified or approved by
FDA. This eBook is intended for
educational purposes and does not
claim to offer medical advice.

Please seek a trained medical

professional when appropriate. We can
not and do not offer any guarantees and
you use any such information at your
sole discretion. We encourage you to
read our material then combine it with
knowledge you already know and seek
the help of a trained professional before
making any final decisions.

As always the choice of what you do

with your health and body rests with
you. All rights reserved.
Copyright 2011 by GetGlutes.com
We do wish you the best of health.

No part of this book may be

reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without
written permission from the
publisher.

4
Training Myths
The glutes get shaped sufficiently through cardio

Cardio does not activate the glutes sufficiently for meaningful muscle growth. The very
genetically luck girl might be able to get away with just doing cardio for amazing glute
development, but 99% of us “average folks” need to do shaping exercises.

A 2007 study at the Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital found the following results in terms of
glute muscle activation from typical cardio activities:

Cardio Method Gluteus Maximus Activation

Treadmill (jogging) 48.9%
Elliptical 32.6%
Treadmill (walking) 24.3%
StairMaster 24.0%
Recumbent Bike 6.0%

These levels of activity are not sufficient for glute hypertrophy.

5
 Traditional bodyweight
circuits can shape the glutes
sufficiently
Bodyweight circuits can be good for
beginners as bodyweight provides a
huge stimulus for muscular
adaptation in novices. However, as
individuals gain fitness, they need
to progressively overload the glutes
in order to stimulate further gains.
As you progress, add in more
challenging exercises that include
the use of weight to stimulate
muscle growth.
6
Squats are the best glute
exercise
This may be the biggest myth of all
in regards to the glutes. A
bodyweight squat is amazing for
the quads – activating around 70%
of MVC. But a bodyweight squat
only activates around 10% of MVC
for the glutes.
Adding in a ton of resistence still
only stimulates the glutes to
around 30-40% MVC.
You’re glutes need more than just
squats.
Glute/ham raises work the
glutes very well
Put “glute” in the name of an
exercise and it has to work the
glutes well, right? Wrong! All the
glutes have to do in a glute/ham
raise is keep the torso upright. This
is not a very challenging task. The
glute ham raise works on knee
flexion, with some hip extension,
which is carried out mostly by the
hamstrings. Hamstring activation
reaches around 65% of MVC, but
glute activation is just around 5%.
Your glutes do much more when
just walking than when doing a
glute ham raise!
+ Walking will help shape the backside
Many women like to race-walk or just walk fast in order to get their buns in gear. While
levels will reach around 20-25% of MVC for this task, it’s just not sufficient for glute
shaping. There’s nothing wrong with walking, but don’t expect to wake up one day and
possess amazing glutes from walking around all day long.

Pull throughs are the best glute exercise

While cable pull throughs are an amazing glute exercise, they possess
one inherent flaw: instability as the loads get heavier. Due to
phenomenon, maximal loading cannot be used and the glutes fail to
receive an optimal stimulus. They are still an amazing glute exercise but
they’re not the best.

Rocker shoes help tone the glutes

In 2010 the American Council on Exercise actually looked at three types

or rocker shoes – MBT, Skechers, and Easytone, and compared them to
regular running shoes during walking at 3.0 mph, 3.5 mph, and 3.5 mph
at a 5% incline. In every circumstance glute activation fell between 20
and 30% of MVC for the gluteus maximus and there were no significant
differences. If you want great glutes you need to do more than buy a pair
of silly shoes!

Standing exercises activate the glutes the best

A study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) conducted in 2006

showed that a simple bodyweight quadruped hip extension activated
more gluteus maximus and medius muscle than a max squat. This
exercise is performed by getting on the ground on all fours and extending
one bent leg rearward. It also outperformed the lunge, step up, and
single leg squat exercise.

Everyone’s glutes will respond the same to exercise

Genetics is very important when it comes to glute shape and training

adaptations. One client of mine completely transformed her glutes in 6
workouts spanning over 2 weeks, while another’s only changed subtly
over a one-year period while training three days per week. However,
everyone’s glutes can and will look better through sound training.

7
 Deadlifts are the best glute
The glutes have one role: to The gluteus maximus tenses the
exercise
extend the hip thoracolumbar fascia, which aids in
limb rotation during gait while
The deadlift might be the king of
The gluteus maximus functions stabilizing the torso, and provide
all exercises and may be one of
as a hip extensor, a hip abductor, shear protection during spinal
the best glute exercises in
and a hip external rotator. This flexion-extension tasks. Finally the
existence, but EMG shows that it
means that it moves the thigh gluteus maximus initiates foot
fails to provide maximal
rearward or raises the trunk, rocker action during gait. The
activation for the gluteus
moves the thigh laterally, and gluteus medius and minimus have
maximus. If you could only do
rotates the trunk or leg multiple roles as well. Beck et al.
one exercise for the rest of your
depending on whether the task is (2000) found that the gluteus
life, then deadlifts would be
open or closed chain. The gluteus minimis acts as a flexor and an
golden. But luckily we don’t have
maximus stabilizes the SI Joint abductor as well as an internal or
to choose just one and can target
through its attachment at the external rotator depending on the
our gluteus maximus with
sacrotuberous ligament and can active portion of the muscle and
specialized exercises if we so
initiate knee extension via its the position of the femur relative to
desire.
attachments through the IT the hip.
Band.
In short, your glutes have a big job.
How else would you be capable of
standing upright?

8
+ Back extensions work the back and not the glutes
This is a very common misconception. Because of the name – “back” extensions – people think that
the exercise is supposed to work the erector spinae dynamically so they end up flexing and
extending their spines when they perform the lift. However, it is possible to perform the movement
solely at the hips, so the erectors function as stabilizers and the hip extensors produce the
movement. For this reason the back extension, done properly, is an amazing glute exercise.

The glutes should only be trained once per week for maximum
shaping

The gluteus maximus is an incredible muscle, which is capable of

outrageous performances if given a chance. It can and should be trained
heavily on multiple days of the week. For optimal results, I believe that
training the muscle four times per week is required.

The glutes have to work hard during movement

Research shows that the glutes are not highly active in daily tasks such as
during walking, stair stepping, or getting up from a chair. It is thought
that this phenomenon is due to an evolutionary mechanism that spared
metabolic cost by failing to engage the large gluteus maximus muscle and
instead relying on the more elastic and metabolically efficient hamstring
musculature for hip extension.

Only heavy strength training needs to be performed for

optimal glute shaping

There are plenty of type I gluteus maximus fibers. For this reason, cardio
and lighter loads may be of benefit for glute shaping. Though heavy work
should activate all the fibers, research suggests that higher reps and
higher volumes in typical bodybuilding routines can lead to higher
increases in type I muscle fiber hypertrophy.

Furthermore, it has been shown that women often have larger type I
fibers than type II fibers. For this reason, it’s important to in
lude some cardio and lower load/higher rep training in order to ensure
maximum glute shaping.

9
 For great glutes it’s only
necessary to get really good
at one or two exercises
The glutes have multiple
subdivisions and functions, and
it’s therefore necessary to
perform a variety of glute
exercises in order to maximize
activation and muscular shape
throughout the entire gluteus
maximus. Varying types of hip
extension exercises, such as knee
dominant hip extension exercises,
hip dominant hip extension
exercises, bent leg hip extension
exercises, as well as abduction
and external rotation exercises,
should be blended together in
order to maximize glute shape.
10
Simple bodyweight exercises
are no longer important for
glute shaping once you get
strong
The glutes seem to want to shut
down. Quit using them and you’ll
lose them. When load gets very
heavy, quite often individuals
compensate by substituting other
muscles to do the job that the
glutes are supposed to do. By
performing simple low load
exercises that engage the glutes,
you’ll keep them firing which will
blend its way into heavy and
explosive training to ensure that
they activate easily.
The direction of the resistance
doesn’t have anything to do
with how well the glutes get
worked
From a standing position, loads
produce axial forces on the human
body. Studies indicate that axial
loading fails to maximally target
the gluteus maximus. When lying
on the back, loads produce
anteroposterior forces on the
human body. These horizontal
loads have been shown to
maximize gluteus maximus
activation and are critical for the
development of great glutes.
+ Specialized-glute training isn’t necessary; they get worked fine
from quad and ham training
Women usually don’t do well developing glutes by pureley performing squats and
deadlifts. This can cause quads and hamstrings to overpower glutes aesthetically, which
results is loss of that desired curvy, feminine shape. For this reason, specialized glute
training is a must!

Bodybuilding training is best for the glute development

Bodybuilders are the masters of hypertrophy, but they don’t typically

train the glutes frequently enough and don’t typically perform the best
glute exercises for maximum development. Their leg workouts usually
consist of squats, leg presses, hack squats, leg extensions, straight leg
deadlifts, and types of leg curls. These exercises hammer the quads
and hamstrings but leave room on the table for the glutes.

Powerlifting training is best for glute development

Powerlifters are the masters of strength, but they don’t always train in
high enough rep ranges in order to maximize glute development. Some
powerlifters train the glutes optimally but many fail to perform the best
assistance exercises for their glutes and rely on mostly squats and
deadlifts with the occasional glute ham raise or good morning. This
leaves some room on the table for optimal glute development.

Athletic training is best for the glute development

Athletes often perform the best exercises for glute development, but they
usually aim for low rep ranges or explosive tempos, which fail to take
advantage of “the pump” – a mechanism that has proven itself quite
useful for hypertrophy purposes.

The best style of training for the glutes borrows from each of
these fields – bodybuilding, powerlifting, and athletic training
– in order to maximize the stimuli on the glutes.
The adductor machine hits the glutes well

The adductor machine works the inner thighs, not the gluteus
maximus. Even the lower glute fibers do not get worked during this
exercise.

11
 Infomercial products work
the glutes well
Most infomercial products work
far better on t.v. than they do in
reality. There are certain
infomercial products that are not
effective glute shapers because
they fail in either using sufficient
range of motion or resistance.
Some of them involve abduction
and adduction motions, which
don’t involve much glute activity.
12
Machines don’t help build
glutes
As you recall, the glutes are
highly active in all three planes
so they benefit from free weight
movement. But, ff all you ever
performed were lever machine
squats, hammer strength
deadlifts and lunges, the four-
way hip extension machine or
butt blaster, seated abductor
machine, bodymasters low back
machine, and exercises like the
pendulum quadruped hip
extension and reverse hyper,
your glutes would look just fine!
Things don’t have to be black or
white; there’s a lot of gray area in
strength & conditioning.
Unilateral exercises are better
than bilateral exercises for
glute development
Unilateral exercises are amazing
for glute development, but bilateral
have a slight edge due to increased
stability. It is true that single-leg
work, such as lunges, can induce
much glute soreness.
However, activation levels on
bilateral exercises such as barbell
glute bridges and hip thrusts far
exceed levels seen in the lunge.
+ Unstable training is the best glute-building tool

Unstable training may work well for some muscle groups, but that doesn’t hold true for
glutes. Glute activation is much lower during unstable training because your glutes are like
a canon trying to fire out of a canoe. Not much force can be created due to the instability.
The glutes prefer a nice, stable environment if they’re going to fire maximally.

Kettlebells are the best glute building tool

There are plenty of great kettlebell exercises for the glutes, including
swings, cleans, snatches, push press, goblet squats, walking lunges, and
Turkish get ups. And although these are indeed great glute exercises,
they’re not the best glute exercises in existence. The best glute exercises
keep the knee bent so they glutes have to do more work, and they’re
maximally stable to allow use with the heaviest load.

Core and abdominal strength is not related to glute

development

Core stability is very important for glute development. Many exercises

require a very stiff core in order to transfer kinetic energy from the
upper body to the lower body and vice versa. If there’s a weak link in the
chain in the core region, then the stimulus to the glutes will be
diminished until the link is strengthened and brought up to speed.

For maximum results I need to be doing heavy strength

training, stretching, cardio, high-intensity interval training,
plyos, yoga, pilates, and zumba.

Many women believe in the shotgun approach and fail to realize that
signaling from various forms of exercise can interfere with each other
and yield suboptimal results. Many are superstitious and have serious
misconceptions. For example,the thought that plyos “get their legs
shredded.” What this fails to address is that plyometrics is a form of
exercise aimed at increasing the elastic strength of the tendons and other
connective tissues surrounding the muscles.

There aren’t any secret fat burning properties to plyometrics, and you
don’t have to train for 4 hours a day to see excellent results. All you need
to do is some general strength training and a little bit of cardio for
fantastic results.

13
 If I walk on an incline
treadmill or do the
stairstepper I’ll strip fat off
my glutes

The myth of “spot-reduction” has

been around for ages, and despite
the fact that it’s been debunked, it
still prevails. Working your buns
will not cause localized fat
storages at the glutes to melt
away. Instead, fat from the entire
body will be used for energy
production.

14
Physiological Myths
The glutes are a fast-twitch muscle group

A study by Sirca and Susec-Michieli in 1980 involving 21 glutei maximi showed that although
there was considerable variability from one person to the next, the number of slow twitch
fibers always exceeded the number of fast twitch fibers. On average, the gluteus maximus
contained 68% slow twitch fibers and only 32% fast twitch fibers.

However, these results differ slightly from a study by Johnson et al. in 1973 where 36 autopsy
samples showed that on average the gluteus maximus contained 52% slow twitch fibers and
48% fast twitch fibers.

15
 + Knee pain has nothing to do with the glutes
If you watch people squat, climb, or jump, often you’ll see their knees cave in. This is
called, “valgus collapse” and is associated with weak upper glutes. In order to keep the
knees out, you need strong upper glutei maximi, strong glutei medii, and strong hip
external rotators. This will prevent knee injury and allow for pain-free lifting.

Hip pain has nothing to do with the glutes

The gluteus maximus controls the way the head of the femur tracks
inside the acetabulum (hip socket). If the gluteus maximus is weak, the
femur will jam forward in the socket and create anterior hip pain. If the
gluteus maximus is strong, it will exert a rearward pull on the femur and
prevent insults to the anterior hip from occurring.

The glutes aren’t as important as the hamstrings or quads in

sprinting and jumping

Though you may feel the quads working the most when you jump and
the hamstrings working the most when you sprint – assuming you run
for long enough distances – the glutes are critical for explosive tasks as
they are very large muscles that can contribute considerably to
propulsion. More important, the glutes keep the quads and hamstrings
healthy by bearing a large brunt of the load during movement, which
prolongs productive training and prevents injury.

The glutes function just fine after typical injuries

Following lower body injury, the glutes will be inhibited. Different

receptors pick up signals and inform the glutes to chill out. This serves as
a protective mechanism and prevents the glutes from maximally firing
which could reinjure the afflicted area. As you rehabilitate the injury,
special care needs to be taken to rejuvenate glute activation so power and
strength levels can return to normal.

What the knee does during exercise has nothing to do with the
glutes

When the knees stay bent, the hamstrings are placed in “active
insufficiency,” which means that they’re shortened and cannot contract
with maximal force. Since the hamstrings can’t produce sufficient force,
more work is placed upon the glutes to get the job done. This is why bent
legged hip extension exercises such as bridge patterns work so well in
hammering the glutes.
16
All regions of the glutes fire
uniformly
A study by McAndrew et al. in
2006 eloquently showed that the
gluteus maximus consists of cranial
(upper), middle, and caudal
(lower) sections and that each of
these sections fire differently. My
EMG experiments show the same.
Research by O’Sullivan et al.
(2010) and O’Dwyer et al. (2011)
showed that the gluteus medius
contained posterior, middle, and
anterior subdivisions, which
function differently than one
another.
The glutes are easily activated
Many individuals use their
and everyone’s work just fine
synergists to produce movement
and rely mostly on their quads
A nationwide epidemic known as when they squat or lunge and their
“gluteal amnesia” has ensued, and hamstrings or spinal erectors when
people just aren’t activating their they deadlift. Proper form and
glutes sufficiently. You can palpate progression is critical for optimal
people’s glutes when they squat, glute development.
lunge, and bridge, and quite often
you’ll find a flimsy little muscle
that barely activates.
Furthermore, research has shown
that ankle sprains, stubbed toes,
and low back pain impair glute
function and prevent maximum
stimulation. People need to restore
glute function by learning how to
sufficiently activate their glutes and
form an intense mind-muscle
connection while they exercise,
thereby ensuring that their glutes
contribute heavily toward the
movement pattern.
17
 + Getting stronger isn’t that important for nice glutes
Strength is an absolutely critical component to glute shaping. If you don’t have a nice set of
glutes and you don’t have good genetics in terms of glute shape, then your only hope in
ever getting a round, sexy booty is to get way stronger at a variety of effective glute
exercises.

Flexibility has nothing to do with how well the glutes work

If hip mobility is impaired, then the glutes will not be able to do their
thing. When the hips are tight the spine ends up performing the intended
movement. For example, let’s say someone’s hamstrings are tight and
they can’t bend over at the hips (aka hip flexion). In this situation, the
spine will round in order to get the person to where they need to be. If
the hips can’t rotate, the spine will just rotate in order to make up the
difference. If the hip flexors are tight and the hips can’t extend rearward,
then the lumbar spine will just hyperextend to get you from point A to
point B. This creates extra burden on the low back which creates pain
and further inhibits the glutes, which are already mechanically inhibited
and inhibited by reciprocal inhibition; a fancy term for the shutting down
of opposing – or antagonist – muscles due to a neurological
phenomenon. Great glutes require sufficient hip mobility.

Age, pregnancy, and desk jobs make it impossible to have nice

glutes

None of these things are relative to having or not having great glutes.
You can get in shape at any age, with any job, after having any number of
children. The golden rules with glutes is if you use them you’ll keep
them, but if you quit using them you’ll not only lose them but
you’ll cause them to forget how to fire properly.

Pregnant women can continue to do various glute exercises literally up

until the day of their pregnancy. Sure some exercises need to be avoided,
but plenty of effective glute exercises can be performed safely during
pregnancy. Those with desk jobs can always find time to train the glutes.
Great glutes are a product of consistency, and you don’t need to train for
an hour every day in order to see good results. You could train hard for
twenty minutes five days per week and see excellent results with your
booty.

18
My glutes just won’t grow
You may indeed have sluggish
glutes, but everyone’s glutes can
and will grow if you train
properly. This means ensuring
proper levels of mobility, stability,
and motor control. It means
starting off at a reasonable level
of difficulty and gradually
progressing. And it means using
correct biomechanics on every
exercise.
My backside will get much
bigger from lifting
weights
This is a common fear in women.
They look in the mirror and see
this big old butt staring back at
them. The problem is that their
butts are wide due to fat
accumulation. Strip this fat down
and there’s not much muscle or
shape to speak of. The process of
getting more fit, stronger, and
more athletic ensures that you’re
transforming your glutes because
while you strip off the fat you’re
building sexy shape to take its
place. The result is a sexy, curvy
backside that is perky, round,
and 3-dimensional rather than
flat, wide, saggy, and 2-
dimensional.
Back pain has nothing to do
with the glutes
Many people use their back to lift
objects. You watch them pick
something up off the ground and
they round their backs and then
extend them in order to complete
the task. If you look closely at their
glutes while they do this you’ll
notice that they barely contract.
This often leads to back pain, and
then back pain inhibits the glutes,
which creates a vicious cycle.
Proper hip hinge technique is
critical in eliminating back pain
and shaping the backside to
perfection.
19
 + Glute strength is symmetrical from one side to the other
Usually individuals have one glute that is stronger than the other. Asymmetric glute
strength is very common and should be ironed-out as soon as training commences. If left
unchecked it could result in injury over time.

If I workout like (insert favorite celebrity) my glutes will look

just like hers

Many female celebrities were born with great booties and don’t have to
work very hard to maintain them. These lucky women often have great
natural shape and therefore don’t have to build their glutes as they’re
already there. All they need to do is diet down and do some cardio and
light activity and their glutes look amazing. For the rest of us
“genetically-average” folks we need to build our glutes and work very
hard to maintain them through heavy strength training.

Just doing the right exercises will lead to great glutes

It’s not about “just going through the motions” and “just doing the
exercises.” It’s about getting much stronger while using perfect form
through a full range of motion. Each exercises has its own little rules and
strategies for maximizing glute involvement, and to develop your best
booty possible you need to learn those techiniques in order to optimally
activate the glutes during exercise.

20
 Nutritional Myths
I can’t eat carbs or fat if I want nice glutes
This misconception is absurd. A healthy balance is always the best approach and you can
always find ways to eat a little bit of what you want in life. We don’t need to torture ourselves
to look our best, and there are proper amounts of all macronutrients that will yield the best
results. These proportions can vary depending on your physiology and goals, but suffice to
say we all need certain things like essential amino and fatty acids, so protein and fat are a
must. But even carbs are useful especially during certain periods of the day such as right
upon waking and immediately following a workout.

21
 + Starvation will make my glutes look better

Starving yourself will drastically elevate cortisol levels, which will cause even more protein
breakdown to occur. This leads to a flat booty, which is not what you want. I’ve seen many
women go down this path and they’re never happy with the way their bodies look. You
need to gradually diet down while increasing strength so you keep the muscle and lose the
fat.

If I just lose a bunch of fat my glutes will look fine

Many women look in the mirror and envision what their body would look
like if they lost all of their fat. Surely they’d look great! The problem is,
weight loss doesn’t work this way. The body usually loses around an
equal amount of fat and muscle for weight loss. This results in lost
muscular shape, which leaves behind a “skinny-fat” person who doesn’t
look that much better than she did before the weight loss. The truth is
that we need to do everything in our power to hold onto our muscular
shape when dieting down, which involves intense training.

22
 +
Great
Glutes
Revealed
Bret Contreras graduated Summa Cum Laude
with a Master’s from Arizona State University. Kellie
He holds certifications with CSCS and NSCA, Davis is a
and is currently working toward his PhD at sport
Auckland University of Technology in New nutrition
Zealand. and fitness
writer,
He is a partner in GetGlutes and owner of personal
BretContreras.com. trainer,
and a
Magna
Cum
Laude
graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University.
She is a partner in Getglutes and owner of
MotherFitness.com.

+
Marianne Kane is a cardiac nurse, and a
personal trainer with certificates in Extreme
Kettlebell Training and Olympic Weight-
Lifting.

She is a partner in GetGlutes and owner of

Myomytv.com.

www.getglutes.com