9 Things You Didn't Know About Your Glutes

9 Things You Didn't Know About Your Glutes
, your glutes are loaded with muscles that are capable of growing larger, so you can score the curvy butt of your dreams. Obviously, if you want those muscles to grow, you need to work them, says , a certified personal trainer and strength and conditioning specialist, and co-founder of Cressey Performance in Hudson, Massachusetts. To score a bigger booty, he says to start by doing glutes-focused exercises, like the and squats, while progressively adding more weight. (Gentilcore says you can do this by holding a barbell or dumbbells on your hips for the glute bridge and by holding a dumbbell in each hand for the squats.) One of the biggest glutes-toning mistakes people make is relying on weight machines to tone their butts, says Metzl. Instead, try functional bodyweight training exercises like those squats and bridges we mentioned before. These moves are more effective at strengthening the layers of muscle in your glutes, he says—weight machines, on the other hand, isolate a single layer. Your standard lunge does a nice job of making your derriere stronger, but to get glutes that function at their best, you need to start moving sideways, too. You see, when you do a side lunge or skaters, for example, you strengthen muscles in your outer hips. And strong outer hips can help you steer clear knee injuries. Plus, the sideways moves engage glute muscles so they can reap all the benefits of lower-body exercises. Not sure where to start? These exercises will help inspire you to work your glutes at a new angle. Elsa Pataky's trainer, Fernando Sartorius, says that focusing on squeezing your glutes while performing a booty-blasting exercise allows you to activate the muscle group to their maximum potential. Cameron Diaz's trainer, Teddy Bass, founder of the trademarked booty-sculpting program called Rock Bottom Body, says you should get into a bridge position and memorize what it feels like to really engage your buns—and then try to feel that burn every time you work your butt. The point: Thinking about squeezing your glutes (and actually squeezing them) while strength-training helps you work the muscles in your butt harder. Original article and pictures take http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/facts-about-glutes/slide/8 site