Kayla Itsines took to popular social media platform Instagram on Tuesday, May 5, to teach her 12.5 million followers how to activate their glute muscles and feel a burn as they work out.
In the video, the fitness trainer showed off her fit figure in a purple low-cut sports bra with thick shoulder straps and tiny white shorts. A gap between the top and bottoms gave viewers an eyeful of her toned abdomen, while the extra-short shorts left Kayla’s long, sculpted legs exposed. She had on a pair of white sneakers and a silver exercise watch to complete the outfit. She wore her long brunette locks up in a tidy bun on top of her head and appeared to be wearing a touch of eye makeup, including black mascara, eye shadow, and lip gloss.
The glute activation video consisted of six different exercises trainees could use to prep their glute muscles for an intense burn during their work out. As the video began, Kayla gave her followers a bit of information about the glute muscles and the exercise routine. She talked about how the muscles are super important for stabilizing the lower body during a workout and encouraged her followers to complete these activation exercises before they jumped into their full workouts.
Kayla completed the workout in her living room, using her plush white carpet for cushioning beneath her back during the floor exercises. She also used a pink resistance band for a few of the exercises. She started out with the glute bridge, completing 24 total reps, 12 on each side. She moved into a variation of the same exercise, called the glute bridge with opening pulse, and completed a total of 20 reps. The third exercise in the routine was the hip abduction for 24 reps, 12 on each side.
In the glute kickback, Kayla used the resistance band around her knees as she stepped back behind her body with each leg. The fitness trainer followed up with the zig zag walk for 24 total reps and then completed the glute activation routine with 24 reps of the crab walk.
In the caption of the post, Kayla explained her motivation behind the video, telling her followers that one of the biggest complaints she receives is that her trainees can’t feel their glute muscles when they work out.
The video earned over 30,000 likes and a few hundred comments within the first day. Many of Kayla’s fans posted feedback on the routine in the comments section of the post, asking her questions pertaining to the exercises and their fitness experiences.