My story of how I went from shapeless to slim thick
Picture your average cross-country runner. What came to mind? Someone thin, mainly skin and bones, minimal shape/curvature in their body? Well, that was me! In high school I was a cross-country runner, and each practice I remember running a minimum of at least three miles a day. Multiply that by five days a week of training, totaling a minimum of fifteen miles of running. I don’t remember incorporating weight lifting only ab training to complement running long distance. When I would put on my shorts for practice, they would be saggy because I had no booty to make it fit. When I wore dresses they would be cute but I did not feel snatched. I wanted a nice waist to hip ratio but I was just straight up and down. When I say I had no booty, I mean none. Zero, zilch, nada, basically any other synonym can be inserted here that can be used to describe having nothing. It is actually funny now that I look back at it, because I was the odd one when compared to the women in my family. Both my sisters and my mom have either wide hips, a butt, or both. I was confused growing up because I was as straight as a board. It was not until college where I became curious to know if I could change the way my body looked through weight lifting and so my transformational journey began. Through trial and error I discovered what was preventing me from gaining shape in my body and that’s what I would like to share with all the girls out there trying to build their glutes.
So what was I doing wrong? Now I understand that because I was only doing cardio such as running and using the elliptical I continued to stay thin maintaining a shapeless body. Once I began performing specific weight training exercises I began to put on muscle in all the right places. My body began to take shape, my weight increased but it did not discourage me because the way my clothes hugged my body, I could see I was developing hips and a round butt. I can honestly say this journey of building strength has grown my confidence not only in my appearance but my ability to write down a goal and achieve it. I wear more tight fitting clothes now because I’m proud of how I look and how hard I worked to build myself up to this point. This is what I would like to share with other women, how to get in shape and get that confidence back in yourself. I did it with consistency, hard work, and not giving up on myself.
You may be wondering what I did specifically. So here are the exact exercises I performed to target my glutes:
- Sumo deadlifts
- Single leg hip thrusts
- Bulgarian split squats
- Regular Squats
- Glute bridges
- Lunges
- Step ups
I performed 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions and resting 2-3 minutes between each set. You can include some of these exercises in your own workout for your next leg day.
I hope this post gives anyone whose struggling to figure out how to tone, tighten, lift, or build their glutes hope! If I can do it and I started with nothing, you can too!
If you’ve liked what you’ve seen so far, I offer personal training as well as custom exercise programs. If you would like further instruction in the form of a custom-made workout program created to achieve your goals, please reach out through my email or Instagram and I would be more than willing to create one for you.
Lastly, if you don’t know how to perform the exercises listed above checkout my Instagram page @selamgualeyy where I provide free step-by-step instructions in video format for each exercise. Until the next post, I wish you the best of health!
Selam ❤
Follow me on Instagram @selam.hayal
To book my services email me at algaselam@gmail.com
Journey2Health 