August 3, 2021
1608: How to Wake Up a Butt That Refuses to Grow, the Best Exercises to Blow Up Your Forearms, How to Add Shape to the Shoulders & More | Mind Pump
Key Takeaways
- Overcome “lazy glutes” prime with isolation exercises to activate the glutes such as donkey kicks, hip thrusts, loop walks – and practice flexing the glutes without any weight
- If you want to prioritize building the butt muscles, do those exercises first and be sure to include heavy hip thrusts in the rotation
- For stronger forearms: ditch the wrist straps and work on heavy deadlifts, and farmer carries which will force grip strength and forearm strength to increase as you progress weights
- Do non-pressing exercises to build better shoulders: focus on rear deltoids, upright rows, high pull, suspension trainer Ws, and dumbbell reverse fly
- DHEA is not an effective way to increase testosterone in men
Introduction
Mind Pump consists of Sal Di Stefano (IG: @mindpumpsal), Adam Schafer (IG: @mindpumpadam), and Justin Andrews (IG: @mindpumpjustin)
In this episode of Mind Pump, the guys host a Q&A and answer listeners’ questions about building stubborn butt muscles, exercises for bigger, stronger forearms, and how to add shape to shoulders.
How To Wake Up “Lazy” Glutes
- “Lazy” glutes is when you don’t feel the exercise in the target muscle (glutes) and instead feel and develop them elsewhere, usually the quads
- When lazy glutes happen you need to change the muscle recruitment pattern
- How to overcome lazy glutes: prime with isolation exercise to activate glutes prior to exercise by doing hip thrusts, donkey kickback, loop walks, and practice flexing glutes without any weights
- To get any “lazy” muscles to turn on, it takes a lot of repetition and consistency because you’re working against what your body has become accustomed
- You want to consciously feel a muscle enough to actively squeeze it during movement
- Muscles on the backside of the body are generally toughest to activate because you can’t see them – focus on squeezing those muscles and even touch with a pencil or hold so you can connect the feeling more
- To prioritize building butt muscles: do butt exercises first before other quad or lower body exercises
- Weighted hip thrusts with barbell should definitely be in the rotation
Build Bigger Forearms
- Forearms are just like every other muscle – you want to train through a full range of motion
- Forearm exercises: reverse curls – going light at first, supinated curls
- Often doing heavy deadlifts and farmer carries will build bigger forearms because of grip strength needed as you progress weights on those moves
- Wrist straps can hinder forearm growth because you aren’t having to engage and the muscles to keep up with the movement
How To Add Shape To Shoulders Without Presses
- Non-pressing exercises: upright row, high pull, suspension trainer Ws, DB reverse fly
- The rear deltoid is what gives you the look people want – not the side deltoid
- The shoulder is a complex joint so be sure to work up to a full range of motion and stability to get the most out of shoulder exercises
- Tip for laterals and rear flys: to isolate the muscles, disengage or lock scapula depending on target – start with lightweight and “fly out and not back”
Supplementing With DHEA For Testosterone Boost
- DHEA is a few steps away from testosterone and can just as easily get converted to estrogen and estradiol
- The body has safeguards against producing too much testosterone
- Often you’ll see higher levels of estrogen or estradiol in males who supplement with DHEA
- Exception: if you’re low on DHEA, then supplementing with DHEA to increase testosterone may help
