Zach Homol – @ZachHomolPower
My top 3 tips to building STRONG HIPS and GLUTES!
It’s all in the hips, it’s allllll in the hips. Even my man Chubs on Happy Gilmore knew the importance of transferring energy from the hips! Let’s change pace and talk about some of today’s modern day Gladiator sports: Boxing, Wrestling, MMA; all of these sports require STRONG HIPS to generate power from to deliver a knock out punch, huge slam or to get out of a vulnerable position.
Strong hips have a carry over in every sport that I can think of, from baseball to hockey and
everything in between. Extreme power comes from the hips, glutes, quads and hamstrings! In this article I want to share my top 3 exercises that I use to develop stronger HIPS and GLUTES. Use these exercise in your programming, and use them often. The carry over in athletics will be undeniable. Strength is never a weakness!
TIP 1: WIDE STANCE BOX SQUATS
Wide stance box squats done on a 12-14’’ inch box are one on my favorite exercises I use to develop my hips! I will use many variations to keep my training fresh and keep me progressing! Here are a few different variations to use for yourself along with some set and rep schemes.
–Wide Stance Box Squat High Bar: 3-2-1 Progression (9 total working sets. Working sets should be similar to this: 3,3,3,3,2,2,1,1,1 Leaving 1 rep in the tank!)
–Wide Stance Box Squats with accommodated resistance: 3-2-1 Progression, or 4×3 all working sets!
–Wide Stance Speed Box Squats using accommodated resistance– Dynamic Effort (Speed Training) 
Let’s building strong and explosive hips on this dynamic variation by using anywhere from 55% to 70% of your 1 rep max for 10 sets of 3 reps! If you plan to use accommodated resistance (bands of chains) be sure to include the bands/chains into your 55-70%. Therefore, if your 1rm is 500 lbs and you are using 70% for dynamic training the bar weight should be 350lbs. If the chains/bands weight (50lbs) at the top* minus 50lbs of bar weight to accommodate for the resistance. Total bar weight would then be 300lbs with 50lbs of resistance from bands/chains.
Tip 2: Sumo Deadlifts
For some odd reason, many of the new age “Powerlifters” claim sumo is “cheating.” This is complete nonsense and if they are being serious, this just claims their sheer ignorance and lack of understanding. Sumo deadlifting is the most practical movement done in the gym that is relevant in real life. So many people throw their backs out year after year picking up objects incorrectly. Everyone who is alive right now should understand the basic fundamentals of the sumo deadlift!
Here are a few variations I use for sumo deadlift. Note, I sumo deadlift only 1 or 2 times a month as this movement is THAT TAXING on the hips. But, damn, does it make those hips and glutes strong! Especially when done CORRECTLY!
–Sumo deadlift: 3-2-1 progression: Working up to getting heavy while leaving 1 in the tank!
–Pause Sumo Deadlifts. Pulling the bar from the floor to right below the knees. Holding the bar 
statically for 2-3 seconds then blasting through the lockout! This will teach your body how to brace for time under tension, improve position during the mid range of the movement (typical sticking point due to bad positioning) as well as improve lockout!
–Sumo deadlift Dynamic training! Using accommodated resistance and training between 55%-70% for sets and reps of 8 sets of 2 reps. I will reset after each rep before explosively powering through the next! The goal is to move the bar as fast as humanly possible! If the bar starts to slow down, drop the weight!
Tip 3: Sled drags!
Sled drags have found their way into my training over the years and always maintain a consistent spot! I will perform multiple variations of sled (or plate) drags a week! They are typically found as a warm up or as a finisher in my programming!
Here are a couple of variations I typically due week to week.
Back Ward sled drags- Wide stance: 4 sets of 100 feet.
Explosive lunges with dragging sled: Lighter weight on this movement going down into a lunge and exploding out with the sled harness attached around my hips.
Lateral sled drags- I will perform this movement both walking forward and backward. Very small steps forward and very WIDE side steps. Exploding off of each leg, bracing stay core tight!
These are my top 3 tips to building strong HIPS and GLUTES! Add these exercises and variations into your training and watch your performance increase dramatically! IF THE MOVEMENTS ARE DONE INCORRECTLY IT WILL NOT HAVE THE CARRY OVER YOU ARE DESIRING!
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