With the rise of powerlifting and maximal strength training, the use of machines in the gym has fallen somewhat into oblivion and has even come to be considered “not very functional” when compared to basic multi-joint exercises. What needs to be said about this is that these claims are more subjective and emotional than scientific.
In this article We explain five gluteal machine exercises that you should not ignoresince the use of machines allows us to better locate the work in a muscle group and better adjust the resistance profile.
Kickbacks in multipower
Multipower glute kicks are a great exercise to consider for one simple reason: it’s an open kinetic chain exercise.
One of the functions of the gluteus is to extend the hip and it is very common that most exercises that perform this movement are closed kinetic chain, that is, exercises in which the feet remain fixed to the ground and the torso is the one that moves (hip thrust, glute bridge or pull throughs).
Meanwhile, exercises such as kicks are open kinetic chain exercises, which offer us a similar stimulus but different enough to take it into account. Here the torso remains fixed and it is the legs that move to extend the hip.
Pulley pull throughs
Just as in the previous exercise we defended open kinetic chain exercises that are not usually taken into account too much, With the pull throughs we remember that we should not eliminate the closed kinetic chain.
The great thing about cable pull throughs is that they offer constant, even tension throughout the movement. Also, since the movement pattern is the same as a Romanian deadlift, we take work off our hamstrings as well.
Machine foot abductions
With the abductions we advance towards another of the functions of our gluteus: abduct the hip, that is, separate the leg from the midline of our body.
It is important to do this movement on a machine or foot pulleysince if we use the classic seated abduction machine we are not training our gluteus medius effectively, but rather our deep hip muscles (piriformis, gemini, obturators and quadratus femoris).
Machine hip thrust
The hip thrust belongs to the same category of exercises as the pull through, that is, to the category of horizontal hip thrusts. Although we can perform the hip thrust with a free bar and it would always be an excellent option, doing it on a machine offers us greater stability and therefore the possibility of producing more force.
All this translates into greater stimulation and more localized work.
Machine glute kicks
Finally we have a variant of the glute kicks, but instead of multipower, on a specific machine.
In this case, the movement is simpler, more ergonomic and not as improvised as the reverse kicks in multipower. This will allow us to locate much more the work where we want to locate it.
In addition, the good thing about this exercise is that it allows us to work unilaterally, which is recommended if we have the right or left portion of the buttock more dominant or developed than the other.
In Vitónica | The ultimate exercise selection for your hamstrings
In Vitónica | The ultimate exercise selection for strong glutes
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