Dana Linn Bailey combines single leg RDL with reverse lunges for full glute development.
Developing your glute muscles is crucial as they stabilize your core, hips, and lower back. Weak back muscles often contribute to lower back pain, a widespread issue. Strengthening your glutes can be instrumental in mitigating this discomfort (1). This piece will delve into Dana Linn Bailey’s glute workout to gain valuable insights and tips.
Dana Linn Bailey is a four-time Olympia Women’s Physique champion, and she’s considered the pioneer of the Women’s Physique category after winning the first-ever Women’s Physique competition in 2011. She then went on to win the inaugural Olympia Women’s Physique title two years later.
| Full Name: Dana Linn Bailey | ||
| Weight | Height | Date of Birth |
| 125-135 lbs | 5’5” | 05/30/1983 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Women’s Physique | 2010s | American |
Recently, Dana Linn Bailey has been focusing on being a voice for women’s fitness on social media. She has a strong following, regularly shares content, and collaborates with other successful bodybuilders on her channel. (We covered Bailey’s and Jay Cutler’s back and biceps workout.)
Dana Linn Bailey is also a businesswoman who has tried powerlifting. She did a great job at this, hitting an impressive 877 lbs on her first attempt at the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival. However, for this post, we’ll follow along as she shares essential tips on doing an RDL dumbbell and building your glutes in general.
Dana Linn Bailey’s Glute Workout
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Despite not competing for a while, Dana Linn Bailey stays in shape and trains as a fitness model. She also hints at a possible comeback at some point. The 40-year-old posted this glute workout routine to her YouTube.
In this video, she says it’s leg day, and her routine for the video will be focusing on the glutes and hamstrings. She also shares valuable tips as she does each movement. Below are the exercises and how to do them to build your glutes.
| Exercises | Sets | Reps |
| Standing Cable Glute Kickback | 3 | 12-15 |
| Kickstand Hip Thrust | 4 | 12, 10, 8, 8 |
| Reverse Hack Squat | 3 | 12-15 |
| Sumo Deadlift | 4 | 8 |
| Combo: Single Leg RDL Dumbell and Reverse Lunge | 3 | 10 |
Standing Cable Glute Kickback
Your glutes comprise three muscles: the gluteus minimus, medius, and maximus. Cable glute kickbacks work on all three glutes muscles and help shape them. This exercise also engages your abs, hamstrings, and calves to stabilize the movements. This exercise also helps to release the tension in your back and ease lower back pain.
Dana Linn Bailey started her glute workout with this routine and stated that she doesn’t typically use it. As a result, she does it as a warmup for heavier exercises that follow. She does three sets before moving to the next routine.
Kickstand Hip Thrust
Kickstand hip thrusts, or B-stances, target your glutes, hamstrings, abductors, and adductor muscles. This exercise is lower back friendly and is a great way to add more challenge to your hip thrusts without adding extra weight.
Kickstand hip thrusts are also suitable for finding and fixing muscle imbalances between both legs. This unilateral exercise targets one side of your glutes per time, and research shows that training this way strengthens even the limbs that are not in use (2). The kickstand hip thrust is an excellent posterior chain routine with carryover to two-legged and one-legged hip thrusts.
Dana Linn Bailey does her kickstand hip thrusts with a machine and explains that properly aligning your feet is crucial. This will help keep the load on one foot while the other leg lightly supports it.
“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.”
Reverse Hack Squat
Reverse hack squats target your hamstrings, glutes, calves, and lower back muscles. They’re very effective for glute development and are considered a back-friendly deadlift alternative. This compound exercise is low impact, and with the hack squat machine, you can use more load to increase muscle hypertrophy.
The reverse hack squat also activates your core muscles. The biomechanics of this routine are different, so while the hack squat targets your quads, this reverse version focuses on the muscles opposite your quads.
Dana Linn Bailey did three sets of the reverse hack squats and points out that the hinge of your hips is essential. She also discusses the proper form and depth for your squat.
“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.”
Sumo Deadlift
The sumo deadlift targets your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and erectors. This exercise is also less stressful on the spine and uses your legs to pick up the slack compared to conventional deadlifts.
Sumo deadlifts increase your leg strength and allow you to lift heavier loads, leading to more hypertrophy. Some of the heaviest weights ever lifted have been done in the sumo deadlift stance. Bracing your core during this exercise will also build your abs and obliques.
Dana Linn Bailey did four sets of sumo deadlifts and pointed out that she tends to leave this movement for the end. She says it saves her back so she can focus on other exercises. Then, she headed to the last one for the glute workout.
Combo — Single Leg RDL Dumbbell & Reverse Lunge
The single leg rdl dumbbell is an excellent exercise for building strength in your hips, hamstrings, and glutes. This routine also works on your core and improves your stability and balance.
Reverse lunges train your quads, adductors, glutes, and hamstrings (3). Compared to a forward lunge, it engages the glutes more and places less stress on the knees. It’s a great way to improve your single-leg balance. The staggered stance of this exercise also works on the stabilizing muscles of your knee, ankle, and hip.
For her final movement, Dana Linn Bailey did a combo of the single leg rdl dumbbell and reverse lunges. She says combining rdl dumbbells in this combo is a great way to wrap up your glute workout and shares the proper form for 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.”
You can watch Dana Linn Bailey’s full glute workout below:
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References
- Hoy, D., Bain, C., Williams, G., March, L., Brooks, P., Blyth, F., Woolf, A., Vos, T., & Buchbinder, R. (2012). A systematic review of the global prevalence of low back pain. Arthritis and rheumatism, 64(6), 2028–2037. https://doi.org/10.1002/art.34347
- Munn, J., Herbert, R. D., & Gandevia, S. C. (2004). Contralateral effects of unilateral resistance training: a meta-analysis. Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985), 96(5), 1861–1866. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00541.2003
- Hefzy, M. S., al Khazim, M., & Harrison, L. (1997). Co-activation of the hamstrings and quadriceps during the lunge exercise. Biomedical sciences instrumentation, 33, 360–365.
