When you think about runners, the kind of body type that probably automatically comes to mind is slender and thin, and you may not imagine them having many curves. But Michael Olzinski, MSc, Purplepatch endurance coach and Equinox run coach, wants you to rethink that stereotype, because running regularly is actually one of the most effective ways to strengthen your glute muscles and build your booty.
“The glutes control a tremendous amount of movement or stabilization of movement in the body and around the pelvis,” Mike told POPSUGAR. “It’s pretty well-known that the entire glute complex is the largest and most powerful group of muscles in the body, and to complement that, running can be the of the most complex and explosive exercises to trigger that function of the glutes.”
It may not be a widely known fact, but “the glutes are likely the most important muscle group in proper running.” They are what extend the hips, control rotation at the hip socket, and stabilize you “during a free-falling motion” (which is basically what running is). In short, your butt is more than something pretty to look at (or something juicy to grab) – it’s the very thing that helps your body powerfully soar through the air and quickly move from one place to the next. So the more you train it to do this kind of movement, the bigger it will get.
Before you decide to run a 5K every single morning, though, in an attempt to build a booty, Mike wants you to know this: “Not all running would lead to muscle degradation and then growth (or hypertrophy), just like every strength exercise would not induce that response. We can figure that out by doing some very balanced and power-driven single-leg exercises that you might see in a sprinter’s program.”
Which is exactly why Allyson Felix, field and track sprinter and Olympic gold medalist, has a very bodacious booty, indeed.
So if you want to switch up your cardio game to match your glute goals, opt in for a sprinting or interval workout rather than a long-distance, LISS-focused run. Unfortunately, Mike says he sees the majority of people training for endurance “and not the power-based sprinter style.” This “will never really trigger hypertrophy in the hips, nor anywhere, for that matter.”
“If you want…
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