“Miss” Carriejune Bowlby has amassed more than 4.3 million Instagram followers as a result of her buff beauty, fitness tips, and informative demonstrations. And, for those looking to get a stronger butt, the “Minibeast” apparel owner didn’t disappoint, as she recently fulfilled another one of her fan’s requests and powered through some picture-perfect smith machine stepups. Here’s what you need to know, so that you can try them too.
Smith machine stepups are a serious lower body mass builder. You will be targeting your quadriceps and gluteal muscles, helping to give you that “sculpted from stone” appearance. Plus: You’ll also be improving your balance, making you more coordinated and less prone to injury. On top of all that, you will activate supporting muscles such as the hamstrings and calves, making this move an ultimate lower body exercise.
“If you wanna grow your glutes, raise the bar up to the top and secure it,” demonstrates Bowlby. This should place the bar at around shoulder height but you may need to use a different rung necessary. “Pull a bench into the smith machine, this will take some adjusting because we’re targeting glutes,” says the super-fit social media star. To get into position, the Bowlby places the bench so that her working leg is under the center of the smith bar. As she lifts, the coach adds; “You’re gonna want the non-working leg hanging off the bench. Keep your back straight, and hinge at your hips, driving through the foot on the bench, keeping all the tension on your working leg.”
As Bowlby illustrates; when it comes time to lower the bar, your non-working leg should descend towards the floor where you should “just gently tap your foot” upon reaching it. To execute reps on the other side, Bowlby gets off the bench and moves it slightly over to the other side so that her working leg is once again under the center of the bar. Bowlby also points out that it is important to keep your knee form to no less than a ninety-degree angle with the working leg as you descend.
Start with a lighter weight while you work on form and then increase the resistance when you are comfortable to do so. Aim for 8-12 challenging reps per leg as one set. To stimulate muscle growth, you can work up to really taxing your glutes with three sets. “You got this,” encourages the popular personal trainer.
