Glute activation during Squats and Leg Press

[RZRbrooks]

I feel like I am using mostly my quads wehn I squat and leg press.

how can i activate the glute muscles more?

I am going below paralell on squats, and on leg pres especially i cannot seem to feel it in my hamstrings or glutes...

my lower quad has lactic acid buildup (fatigue) no matter how i position my feet.


my quads are dominating as far as mass is concerned too, i have overbearing tear drops

[eedre]

Do you like to read?

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/we...ml#post5124176

Summary:

Low bar squat - <3cm below rear deltoid, works hammies and glutes more.
Wide stance - ditto.

My suggestion is to sit back as much as possible when you squat and push through your heels.

Also, try using high foot placement on the leg press and, again, pushing with the heels as opposed to the balls of your feet.

[thewhiz7]

On both excercises you need to focus on pushing with the middle to heel of your foot. It is common to lean foward while squating and to push with the ball of the foot when doing leg press. Focus on shifting the weight futher back on your foot and it will activate the glute/ham more.

[FenrisWolf]

good advice so far....also, when doing leg presses, the higher up you place your feet, the more glute activation you'll get

[pFuzzz]

try box squats for a while. they'll force you to push from your hips to push your upper body upright, instead of pulling with your quads to straighten your knees. Subtle difference, but the adaptation will carry over once you lose the box and go back to normal squats.

Also try sumo deads

[dkfan9]

^^Sumo Deads are great at activating glutes.

[RZRbrooks]

thanks for the help guys!

i was afraid to put my feet off the top edge of the leg press platform, but i was trying to get them as high as i could to use my heels to drive more than the balls of my feet.

also, on squats, i do use the balls of my feet somewhat, but i don't lean forward at an unsafe angle.. i find that i can use my heels more when i angle my feet out like this \ / instead of | | like it should be.

ill definitely check my foot placement.

[Mikael92]

if you want to activate your glutes, so they are working when you squat...you can do some supine bridges, single leg supine bridges, side steps with bands on your ankles, bird dogs...that will actually turn your glutes on before you do your movements.

[khajja]

rzr, your feet don't have to be parallel when you squat. point your feet wherever is comfortable-as long as your knees track with your toes, you're fine.

also, eedre, in my experience, a wide stance promotes squatting between the legs, while a narrow stance promotes squatting behind the legs. so reccomending a wide stance and sitting back seems kinda awkward to me, YMMV.

[B.O.L.A.]

Use standard feet placement, focus on bearing more weight on your heel instead of your forefoot. It is just that simple. Don't resort to awkward stances or equipment, just focus more on your center of gravity.

And you will get a far better hamstring workout from straight leg dead lifts than any form of squats. Don't rely on squats for hamstring work.

[imasavage]

Some great stuff up there. Recap.

-Wider stance
-Higher feet placement on leg press
-Consciously squeezing glutes
-ATG squats
-Push with heels.

[Erganomicz]

Just reinforcing what's already been said...

Higher placement on Presses, wider Squat stance, and push through your heels on both exercises. It's just like any muscle, where you need to make that mental connection during the lift of squeezing and pumping blood into it.

[Davinci515]

Also for at least the leg press, your glutes will activate more the further your toes are pointed out.

[FAT40]

bulgarian split squats always hit my glutes.