Hypertrophy Past and Present 043 How to design the ultimate glute program
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Mar 16, 2026 They dig into a rare 1940s lower‑body routine and translate its lifts to modern glute work. Anatomy comes up with a clear upper vs lower glute split and why seated hip abduction hits the upper glute. They compare hip thrusts, glute bridges, squats, leg presses and single‑leg options. A simple three‑exercise framework, volume tips, and programming tweaks for maximal glute growth are outlined.
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Glute Bridge Often Activates Glutes More Than Hip Thrust
- Glute peak leverage occurs near full hip extension so glute bridges often produce higher glute activation than hip thrusts.
- Hip thrusts recruit more quads (larger knee extension moment) which can reduce available central drive to the glutes.
Experiment With External Rotation To Shift Activation
- Try slight hip abduction or external rotation during bridges/thrusts to bias more glute and less quad activation, but use it sparingly and monitor electrode/EMG placement caveats.
- Keep a standard shoulder-width foot placement first; vary later as a tweak.
Length Tension Plateau Moves With Habitual Activation
- The glute's active length–tension plateau migrates toward the joint angle you habitually train (neuromechanical matching), so contracted-position training moves the plateau to extension.
- Sarcomerogenesis can still occur if you consistently activate the muscle off the existing plateau.