Shadowing Practice: The ONLY 2 Exercises You Need to Fix Your Flat Butt - Learn English Speaking with Video

this is what weak

and underdeveloped glutes look like they're often the hidden reason your strength stalls your posture breaks down

and that nagging back pain never goes away

but the good news is you only need two exercises to fix this helping you move better jump higher

and even run faster now i got these from the world's

leading glute expert brett contraris who literally invented the hip thrust

and has helped thousands of people build stronger glutes you can even do these at tone.

The first exercise you've probably never done before

and for the second I'm going to show you the simple bonus technique that completely changed my results.

While your glutes are made up of three muscles the largest muscle by far is the gluteus maximus.

Now this muscle it gets weak and underdeveloped if you sit all day

and don't properly train it in your workouts which for some people leads to issues with posture and back pain.

Now its main function is hip extension something you do when you deadlift or when you're squatting.

But to my surprise, Brett didn't actually pick those as his top movements to grow this muscle.

I think the reverse lunge is the best, but it's too good.

It makes you too sore.

If I have you do dumbbell walking lunges to failure, say we did it out in the parking lot and I just had you go up and down to absolute failure, your glutes get too sore.

Your glutes, your adductors, everything gets so sore.

This is actually the problem with many glute exercises.

It's easy to work your glutes through lunges, squats, and deadlifts, but they also come with three key problems.

The first is that most of these exercises are taxing compound movements that target multiple muscles at once.

And while this is usually a good thing, if other muscles like your lower back or even your grip are given out first,

then you could reach failure while your glutes still have seven or eight reps left in the tank.

And what's even worse is that if you already have weak or hard to activate glutes, other muscles can steal your glute gains.

Now, I actually ran into this problem myself.

Usually, squats would hit my glutes really well.

But after neglecting my glutes for a while, once I came back to doing heavy squats, all I could feel were my inner thighs and quads taking over.

It's why even if you've gotten really strong on squats and deadlifts, your glute growth just may not reflect it.

And finally, soreness.

It's one of the things I have hated about many glute exercises like Bulgarian split squats.

The days after were brutal and would make me dread doing them ever again.

In some cases, it was even tough to recover before my next leg session, which is when Brett proposed an exercise I'd actually never tried before,

but he's found extremely effective at growing the glutes without the soreness and limitations that most exercises come with.

The step up does not get you as sore.

I see.

And therefore you can perform it more frequently.

And we want to train glutes two to three times a week, at least twice a week.

If you can handle three times a week, have at it.

So we're going to do it with body weight first

so stand up on the platform okay for him for this

one you can have both hands up there we're just learning the movement

so you are going to step back keep the back leg in line with the torso

lean forward and sit way back tap come up okay reach back even further

tap come up now when you reach the bottom i want you to freeze frame because remember this pattern here?

Oh, that's stretching.

Yeah, 45 torso.

The exercise Brett has me suffering through is called the glute focus step down.

It actually looks quite similar to a lunge or split squat, but there's one key difference.

By keeping one leg in the air and following a few simple form tweaks, it forces your glutes to do almost all the work.

I was honestly shocked with just how effective it was even with just my body weight.

Now, Brett does have a custom platform just for this, but even if your gym doesn't, that's not going to be a problem.

Just move a bench next to any equipment or rack that you can hold on to for balance.

Then, slowly push your hips back while folding over at your torso.

You want to reach your back leg out until it lightly touches the ground, and then without using any momentum or boosting yourself up,

drive your hips forward to the top by using the glute of your planted leg.

Now, to prevent your quads from taking over, you want to try not to let your knees bend too far forward over your toes.

For more glutes, keep your knee right over your foot.

And lastly, do try to choose a bench height so that at the bottom of the movement, the thigh of your front leg is parallel with the ground.

And if your platform is too high, you can always add a plate for your back foot to shorten the rep.

And because these are so tough even with just your body weight, you can easily do this at home with a sturdy chair next to your counter.

But eventually you will want to progressive overload this exercise with weight over time.

And there's a way to use that weight for even better glute activation.

When you have weight in the opposite hand, and this glute has to stabilize you.

When you're standing straight up, it's mostly glute medius.

When you go down into the stretch, it's not glute medius anymore, it's the gluteus maximus, so

that it has to produce a little more activation to counteract the rotational torque imposed on the hip.

So by holding the dumbbell in your opposite hand, you're now not working just the glute max, but the outer upper glute, known as the glute medius, as well.

In fact, this exercise works so well for me that it hasn't just become a staple in my own workouts, but I actually asked our team to add it to our Built with Science Plus app

so that our members can easily add it to their workout plans, complete with a form guide and easy progress tracking.

But here's the thing.

This first exercise challenges your glutes most at the bottom when they're fully stretched, and Brett believes it may build more of your lower glutes.

But if you want that full, round shape, the kind of glutes they write country songs about, you're going to want to pair it with another exercise

that challenges your glutes in the squeeze position and may help develop more of that upper region.

Now, in the past, I was always biased towards doing stretch -focused movements like the step -down

because they seem to grow muscle faster.

But recently, Brett and I together ran a study that compared training muscles in the stretch versus squeeze position.

And we even tested the glutes specifically.

And while you can see the full results of our study in this video here, what I will say is that combining one stretch focused

and one squeeze focused exercise is likely going to give you the biggest benefit and not just for growth.

I've seen big strong dudes that squat 315, 405.

They didn't have in range hip extension strength.

So they were prone to getting low back pain because they want to anterior tilt and put everything in the flex position.

When you have extended range hip extension strength, you start noticing good things.

Your body starts distributing stress better, squats feel better, deadlifts feel better.

You start taking longer strides when you walk.

So to build the type of strength that Brett is describing, we're going to use the hip thrust.

Now I know what some of you guys are thinking.

There is no way I'm doing that in the middle of the gym.

So you're telling me you're okay with bending over with a barbell, but not with thrusting with a barbell.

Come on, that doesn't make sense.

Now if you're still not comfortable, there is a more subtle, easy to set up alternative that can work just as well.

It's the single leg dumbbell hip thrust, which you can even do at home.

But regardless of if you use a barbell, hip thrust machine, or the single leg version, they're only going to work at growing your glutes if you follow these three steps.

First, you want to make sure your upper back is high up on the bench to maximize your stability.

Second, plant your feet far enough away such that at the top position, your knees are directly over your feet.

If they're too close, you're going to work more quads.

But if they're too far away, you're going to work more hamstrings.

And lastly, brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and then drive your hips up.

But the final tip Brett showed me, it might just be the game changer that your glutes have been missing.

100

What I'll say, if he wants to be pure hingey, your gaze will go like this.

101

Come up, like that.

102

And you'll push as tall as you can possibly go.

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Yes.

104

That's like pure hinge one more now i'll show you more pure scoop look forward move this start them down

105

tilt the pub is this way yes good now do a blend i kind of like the scoop oh

106

yeah and it's good to know both you want to know i've never done it that way this small adjustment

107

instantly lit up my glutes.

108

The difference?

109

It's called the scoop method.

110

You tuck your chin and keep your eyes forward.

111

Then you let your back arch at the bottom and simply focus on moving from the chest down, tilting your pelvis upwards by squeezing your glutes.

112

I'll be honest, it does feel very weird at first

113

and you're not going to be able to thrust as much weight or go as high, but it did create the perfect setup for my glutes to dominate the movement.

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The key that I found, however, is just really keeping that chin tucked into your chest, which explains why Brett was holding my head.

115

But this is also a great way to do hip thrusts for people struggling with recurrent back pain,

116

like my wife Tawny, who previously had to cut hip thrusts entirely from her routine after she slipped to this.

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But after Brett got her to start training with her chin tucked, she's been able to work up to heavy hip thrusts completely pain -free.

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And I'm actually challenging her right now to see who can grow our glutes the most in 90 days.

119

So be sure to subscribe for when that video comes out.

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But this is where it gets really interesting.

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So for Brett's clients, 60 % of them found the scoop method work the glutes better, but the other 40 % prefer something called the hinge method,

122

where you look forward at the bottom and look up at the top and hinge your body in a straight line.

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So the key is to simply experiment with both methods to find what works best with your body.

124

Now before you go, let me show you how to actually work these into your routine for the best results.

125

So Brett recommends doing three sets of 8 to 12 reps two to three times per week.

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And this is what each full leg workout could look like.

127

But for the best results you're definitely going to want to personalize these workouts to your body.

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And with our Built With Science Plus app you don't just get form guides

129

and progress tracking for every exercise but it builds you a personalized plan to grow whatever muscle you want to focus on.

130

And it keeps your training and nutrition all in one place.

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And now we actually have an AI version of myself

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that knows all your strength and workout data to give you real -time tips and coaching just like I would.

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And it's this deep personalization that's the key behind the countless transformations our members have been getting.

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And you can try it right now for free for two weeks over at builtwithscience .com or by scanning this QR code.

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Then check out this video next for two exercises that completely transform my shoulder growth.

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Thank you so much for watching and see you next time.

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174 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “The ONLY 2 Exercises You Need to Fix Your Flat Butt”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: glute, exercise, hip, brett, muscle. This video has 136 sentences and 2123 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:15. The speaker talks fast, about 207 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
glute noun	/ɡluːt/	A gluteal muscle.
brett noun		A fault in wine caused by Brettanomyces yeast.
squat noun	/skwɑt/	A position assumed by bending deeply at the knees while resting on one's feet.
thrust verb	/θɹʌst/	To make advance with force.
workout noun	/ˈwɝk.aʊ̯t/	An exercise session; a period of physical exercise.
squeeze verb	/skwiːz/	To apply pressure (to something) from two or more sides at once.
deadlift noun	/ˈdɛdlɪft/	A weight training exercise where one lifts a loaded barbell off the ground from a stabilized bent-over position.
lunge noun	/lʌnd͡ʒ/	A sudden forward movement, especially with a sword.
scoop noun	/skup/	Any cup-shaped or bowl-shaped tool, usually with a handle, used to lift and move loose or soft solid material.
sore adjective	/soɹ/	Causing pain or discomfort; painfully sensitive.
barbell noun	/ˈbɑɹˌbɛl/	A wide steel bar with premeasured weights counterpoised at either end, with the central span open for the hands of the weightlifter.
hinge noun	/ˈhɪnd͡ʒ/	A jointed or flexible device that allows the pivoting of a door etc.
torso noun	/ˈtoɹ.soʊ̯/	The main part of the (human) body that extends from the neck to the groin, excluding the head and limbs.
tuck verb	/tʌk/	To pull or gather up (an item of fabric).
tilt verb	/tɪlt/	To slope or incline (something); to slant.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
step down verb		To resign or retire from an office or position of authority.
take over verb		To assume control of something, such as a business or enterprise, and sometimes by force.
break down verb		To stop functioning.
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
give out verb		To utter, publish; to announce, proclaim, report.
go away verb		To depart or leave a place.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	have been missing · have been getting
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	has helped · you've probably never done · you've gotten
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are made · are given · is called

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 38 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, they're, I'll. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thrust /θɹʌst/, thigh /θaɪ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: activation /ˌæktəˈveɪʃən/, personalization /ˌpɝs(ə)nəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/, rotational /ɹoʊˈteɪʃənəl/, shorten /ˈʃɔɹtn̩/, limitation /lɪmɪˈteɪʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: personalize /ˈpɜː.sə.nə.laɪz/, activation /ˌæktəˈveɪʃən/, personalization /ˌpɝs(ə)nəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/, rotational /ɹoʊˈteɪʃənəl/, anterior /ænˈtɪɹ.i.ɚ/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like glute, brett, squat.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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