Dana Linn Bailey recently shared a glutes and hamstrings workout, shedding light on different aspects of training to build muscle mass and strength. Well developed gluteal muscles are valued in terms of aesthetics in the modern beauty standards. However, the importance of glute training goes beyond aesthetics. The muscle is important for pelvic alignment and propelling the body forward during walking and running, along with other important functions. Bailey shared valuable tips on building the glute strength in her latest video.
Dana Linn Bailey is a retired professional bodybuilder that is revered as the pioneer of the Women’s Physique division. She won the first-ever Women’s Physique contest at the 2011 Jr. USA and went on to become the inaugural Women’s Physique Olympia champion in 2013. Bailey retired from the sport relatively early and focused her energies on building a career and legacy beyond the Olympia title.
Over the years, she has become a popular fitness model, content creator and one of the foremost women influencers in the YouTube fitness community. The 40-year-old also made foray into the gym business and founded the Warhouse gym with her husband Rob Bailey. Unfortunately, the couple had to close it down due to financial troubles brought by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Moving away from bodybuilding, Bailey tried her hand at powerlifting and made an appearance at the 201 Arnold Sports Festival. Her total at the show stood at 877 lbs (396.9 kg), a massive feat for the first attempt.
Bailey’s most successful venture so far is her YouTube channel that has garnered over 500 thousand followers. She routinely posts fitness related content on the channel and routinely collaborates with successful people from the fitness industry. In recent months, Bailey took on the ‘Summer Shredded 4.0’ total body challenge to transform her physique and shared physique update at 40 years of age.
Dana Linn Bailey goes through a glutes and hamstrings workout
Dana Linn Bailey continues to train hard and stay in shape as there is still a possibility that she may return to the competitive stage. The 40-year-old’s work ethic gives her the confidence that she can get stage-ready without blasting PEDs. Although some people have put a question mark on her natty status, Bailey says that she can prove it with routine drug testing.
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Recently, Dana Linn Bailey dealt with a glute and hamstrings workout in the gym and posted the video of this session on her YouTube channel. The purpose of this video was to share the insightful tips and bodybuilding wisdom for the viewer to be able to build this muscle group. So without further delay, let’s hear what the former Women’s Physique queen has to say.
Cable Glute Kickback
Dana Linn bailey started the training session with this glute-focused movement. The retired bodybuilder does not typically use this exercise in her workouts. However, she was curious to try it out and incorporated it as a warm-up movement for the heavy exercises that followed. She performed three sets of kickbacks maintaining 12 to 15 rep range before moving on to the next exercise.
B-Stance / Kickstand Hip Thrusts
The 40-year-old took up a hip thrust variation next to stimulate the glutes further. This movement can be performed with a barbell and dumbbells. However, Bailey personally prefers using a machine. While explaining the importance of a B-stance, also known as a kickstand, Dana Linn Bailey explained that the feet have to be placed in such a way that one foot is firmly planted on the ground or platform while the other foot is lightly placed heel-first.
Ideally, the heel of the lightly placed foot should be aligned with the toe of the foot that is placed firmly. This is to make sure that the majority of the load is carried by one foot while the other foot acts as an extra support.
“We’re isolating sides. It’s sort of bridging the gap between two-feet and unilateral exercises. So 70 percent on one leg and you’re also going to still feel that like 20 to 30 percent on the (lightly placed) leg as well. But you’re just concentrating on one side.”
Dana Linn Bailey performed four sets of the exercise. Each set consisted of two sub-sets emphasizing one leg over the other.
“Obviously a little lighter weight, because you’re doing one leg at a time,” Bailey explained.
After warming up the glutes sufficiently with the first two exercises, Bailey took to the first compound muscle builder.
Reverse Hack Squats
The former Women’s Physique Olympia champion executed the reverse hack squats next to stimulate the glutes and hamstrings further. She explained the correct technique to perform this lower posterior chain movement and said:
“Your knees will be slightly bent, you’re going to hinge at the hips and then you’re going to come down as far as you can feel that, a good stretch. You don’t need to go any further. You just need a good stretch in your hamstrings. And then, as you come up, you’re going to squeeze your butt and hamstrings.”
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Bailey explained that keeping the hinge in the hips is the key to this exercise.
“So instead of squatting down and keeping your chest up, you’re going to be squatting more so at an angle.”
Pushing the glutes out and then squatting down engages the lower posterior chain muscles – glutes and hamstrings. Bailey advised to keep the glutes pushed out instead of coming right back up to keep the muscles under tension. She performed three sets of the exercise adhering to a 12 to 15 rep range and advanced over to the next movement.
Sumo Deadlifts
Bailey next took to what she considers to be the staple of glute and hamstrings work – the sumo deadlifts. While the former Women’s Physique Olympia champion typically keeps the heavy compound exercises in the starting part of the workout, she prefers doing sumo deadlifts towards the end to avoid lifting too heavy.
“And also it saves my back so I can focus on all the other exercises. So I tend to put my deadlifts towards the end of my workout, mostly just to save myself,” Bailey added.
She performed four sets of the exercise keeping the rep range limited to eight per set and went as heavy as she could to get the most out of it.
Combination exercise – Dumbbell Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts and Reverse Lunges
Bailey concluded the training session with a combination movement that bound two different exercises together. She combined single leg Romanian deadlifts with a reverse lunge to add the last bit of stimulus to the glutes and hamstrings. Each set consisted of alternate reps of both exercises.
“So single leg RDL, going down as far as you can until you feel a good stretch. Then once your leg comes back to the top, you’ll go right and step right back into a reverse lunge.”
While it is a great movement to build the lower posterior chain muscles, Bailey admitted that balance can be an issue for a lot of people while doing the single leg RDL. But the retired bodybuilder shared a solution for this problem as well and explained:
“You can do a B-stance instead of that single leg! So you’ll just cheat your one leg to one side and then your toe is just kind of lined up with your heel. So you’ll come down into your B-stance RDL. When you get to the top, then you’ll just reverse lunge.”
Bailey suggested performing three sets of eight to ten reps of this combination exercise to wrap up the training session.
Overall, the workout included:
- Cable Glute Kickback – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps
- B-Stance / Kickstand Hip Thrusts – 4 sets of 12, 10, 8 and 8 reps for each leg
- Reverse Hack Squats – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps
- Sumo Deadlifts – 4 sets of 8 reps
- Combination exercise – Dumbbell Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts and Reverse Lunges – 3 sets of to 10 reps
Dana Linn Bailey continues to be a source of pre-workout motivation for millions of people around the world. She has certainly helped a lot of people achieve their fitness goals with insightful content and positive attitude.
You can watch the full video below, courtesy of Dana Linn Bailey’s personal YouTube channel:
More Glutes Workout:
- Build a Better Butt: Three Glute Workouts for Women
- Glutes Ahoy! The Bigger Hips Workout
- Heart Shaped Butt: How To Grow and Maintain a Perfect Bum
- 20 Best Butts on the Internet (2023 Update)
- The 10 Best Dumbbell Glute Exercises to Build a Better Butt
- Gluteus Minimus Exercises For Rounder Hips & a Jaw-Dropping Side Butt
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