How To Engage Your Glutes

Learn How to Properly Engage Your Glutes During These Key Exercises

Fitness isn't always pretty. Between awkward sore-leg waddling, ripped-open calluses, and early morning (read: bed face) workouts, there are plenty of gritty moments in everyone's fitness routine. The image of fitness presented on Instagram, however, is pretty glam.

That's why one nutrition and fitness coach is using her Instagram to point out a v important lesson: Sometimes, doing an exercise correctly means not looking "good" while you're doing it. Specifically, the fact that your butt should look kinda weird when you squeeze it.

"Not every exercise is flattering and sometimes they're straight-up unflattering, but doing it properly will not only yield better results but it will keep your body safer," wrote, nutritional practitioner and health coach, on her  "I know a lot of people use videos on here as form demonstration, so I wanted to address some pretty common errors I see."

In the video, she demonstrated four moves that really require you to engage your core and activate your glutes—putting your spine in a neutral alignment vs. an anterior pelvic tilt (which you may recognize visually as a "booty pop").

SMALLER BOWLS AND PLATES, BUT TALLER GLASSES

SMALLER BOWLS AND PLATES, BUT TALLER GLASSES

A study conducted by the University of Cambridge found that by using smaller dishes, you can eat up to 29% less calories per day. The reason this happens is that our brain thinks that we are eating the same amount of food, but in reality, we are eating a smaller portion. Cornell University also found the larger the plate, the more likely that you were to overload it. 

They tested this theory with a buffet with two sizes of plates.The worst thing for a diet is being hungry. A study that was published in the Journal of Marketing Research found that if you are hungry when ordering a meal, you will increase the amount of calories that you intake.