A workout for the glutes and hamstrings should be hard, honest work.
And if you are looking for a true challenge, doing glutes and hamstrings as part of a superset really ups the ante.
Supersets are definitely one of my favorite training methods.
Supersets are devastatingly effective for building muscle. They add real intensity to the training session and more importantly they reveal a lifters’ character during the workout.
Most lifters do 1 set of an exercise and then waste the next 5-10 minutes on social media before getting back into another set of “work.”
If these same lifters started to do supersets and get uncomfortable, they would finally begin to see some progress.
There is no value in going to the gym for years only to have a body and a performance that looks like you are still on day 1.
Super
For the uninitiated, a typical superset is when you perform an exercise directly followed by another exercise.
This is done either immediately with virtually no rest or with a short rest (typically 10-30 seconds) between the movements.
Most isolation movements like incline dumbbell curls and dumbbell skullcrushers can be performed back to back with almost no rest.
However, if you are performing a superset using compound movements, the rest will have to be longer.
You will be considerably more gassed doing a superset of RDLs and barbell hip thrusts vs. doing lateral raises and rear delt raises.
You might creep into the 45-90 second rest range based on your rep range.
Sidenote:
• If you are gassed (in the heart, not the delts) during a superset of lateral raises and rear delt raises, you are remarkably out of shape.
• It’s time to look in the mirror, assess your “training program”, and start to use a real training system that keeps you accountable.
Fake Hustle Supersets
Most of the training that is performed within the confines of The Fitman Performance Center involves super setting.
We are not referencing the fake hustle “supersets” you see in commercial gyms, performed by the infamous Phit Vixens of Instagram.
Phit Vixens are easy on the eyes. That is the primary reason they are so popular on social media.
But looking good in spandex, taking selfies, and selling snake oil supplements does not make you an expert in this iron game. Especially not to a seasoned veteran like myself.
You see, your input determines your output.
Many Phit Vixens have the look of someone who actually trains hard, but in reality their workouts are completely blasphemous.
You will never be able to sell me that bodyweight glute bridges with bands, air squats with bands, squat jumps with bands, donkey kicks with bands, and monster walks alone will take you to the hallowed glute promised land.
Those moves are great for warming up and activating the glutes.
But by no available metric are they considered a real glutes and hamstrings workout.
Most of those Phit Vixens who have that curvaceous look without putting in any real work are either:
• Doing steroids or taking pro-hormones.
• Had a butt augmentation surgery (fat transfer or implants).
• Are wearing super spanx in every video or photo.
• Are heavily photoshopping their pictures to create the “look.”
• Have simply won the genetic lottery and had the “got it from her mama” big booty genetics passed down to her. She didn’t have to train in order to build that donk!
There has even been a well-known Phit Vixen (and probably more who I don’t know of yet) who was publicly exposed.
She had surgical procedures done to her backside, all while claiming to have “worked hard” for it through training.
The sad part is that many naive people actually bought her snake oil. People like her are the definition of charlatans.
[bctt tweet=”Phit Vixens are easy on the eyes. That is the primary reason they are so popular on social media. But looking good in spandex does not make you an expert in this iron game.” username=”fitman83″]Real Glutes And Hamstrings Workout
Real compound supersets are tough and can make you question why you even lift. They are hard like vibranium.
The benefits of the barbell hip thrust and the Romanian deadlift (RDL) are well-known.
Both movements are staples in the iron game. They are the two most powerful barbell movements you can use to build your backside.
But what is not well-known is using these two compound movements as a superset.
This is one of the hardest supersets a lifter can do, as your mental and physical toughness will be tremendously tested.
But doing this superset with regularity will allow you to take your posterior chain development to the next level.
Unfortunately, many trainees today rely on flashy machines and then try to use gimmick training programs to build their glutes.
But the truth is that no machine ever made will hit your glutes as hard as this classic barbell superset.
This glute/ham workout is unforgiving like The Terminator.
There is no easy part of this workout, but doing it consistently will take you to the glute promised land.
When you try this workout do not cheat yourself either.
I’ve seen lifters do hard workouts and then say “that was easy.” But these lifters have left out the actual truth of what they actually did.
Of course it was easy when they used super light weights, extra long rest periods, and a lousy, partial range of motion on the exercises.
All of that is the definition of fake hustle.
Before you get into the workout, get your form right in the RDL and the barbell hip thrust by reading the articles below:
• How To Do Barbell Hip Thrusts
Real Glutes And Hamstrings Superset Workout
1) Warm-Up
2) RDL SS Barbell Hip Thrust 4 x 8
Notes:
• You will warm up by doing a dynamic warm up or by doing multiple sets of RDLs and hip thrusts.
• For example if you are going to use 225lbs in the RDL and 315lbs in the hip thrust you could do 3-5 x 5 for the warm-up sets
• You would do these warm-ups sets with a lighter weight than what you will use during your work set. Ascend up in weight each set during the warm-ups.
• Rest 45-90 seconds between moves.
• The amount of weight you use will determine your rest period.
• The heavier the weight you use, the more rest you will need.
• Rest 2:30 to 3 minutes between rounds.
• Use constant tension reps to maximize the pump.
• Don’t use a weight that makes the workout embarrassingly easy. Put some good weight on the bar and challenge yourself.
Conclusion
This is a championship level workout for your glutes and hamstrings.
If you want superior glutes and hamstrings, you have to do what the average contenders are not willing to do.
By performing this workout consistently, you will build the bigger and stronger glutes that you are looking to acquire.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
