Why you're struggling to build a booty
With health and fitness Instagrammers who boast amazingly toned bums flooding our feeds, it's hard not to feel inspired to build a booty yourself. And it's what many women who regularly weight train are working towards.
But here's the thing: it doesn't always work, and there's a very good reason why. 'Sleepy butt syndrome' is the cause of most people's lack of muscle-building progression in the posterior, and it can be hard to know you're suffering from it.
Chris Magee, Head of Yoga at London gym Another_Space, told Cosmopolitan UK just how Sleepy butt syndrome affects your glutes - the muscles you target when working on your bum in the gym.
"‘Sleepy butt syndrome’ is a term that refers to inactive, or often, misfiring glutes," he said. Effectively, Magee explained, your glutes can just "turn off", meaning they "don't respond effectively when required for exercise." If this is the case, you could do all the lunges in the world but you won't see much improvement, because your glutes just aren't engaging.
The yoga expert went on to say that this kind of issue often occurs as a result of a predominantly sedentary lifestyle. People in an office job, for example, who they spend the majority of the day with their arses firmly placed on a seat, are therefore most likely to be affected.
So how do you know for sure if this is the cause of your booty-building struggles? "Ask yourself if you can feel the muscle working when exercising," said Magee. "Next time you squat, for example, slow the movement right the way down and feel the body working. If you are moving deep enough into the squat, you will feel the glutes activate to help lift you back to standing. If you can’t feel it then you may have some prep work to do before you train," he advised.
The good news is there's definitely a way to 'wake up' your glutes. "Incorporate glute activation drills into your warm up," suggests the yoga expert. "Mini resistance bands are very popular at the moment, so try walking lateral steps or a glute clam drill.
"Another way is to strengthen the mind/muscle connection by performing slow repetitions of a full squeeze and control of the glutes. As time goes on, the connection will get stronger and you will have to do less prep to get the muscles active."
And Magee had one more tip for anyone struggling with their bum progression. "Ensure you've got a variety in your workout. It's key to ensuring you’re shocking the body and maximising strength and growth of the muscles."
Armed with this knowledge, just think of the booty you could build...
[H/T Women's Health]
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