This class will kick your butt! We started with the most comprehensive warmup ever.

Squat, lunge, push, pull, hinge, twist, and walk: These make up the seven movement patterns that your body relies on to get ish done every day. And not just during a workout. Think about how you pull a box off a shelf, squat down to pick something up, or walk around all day.

But these movements have deeper roots in our wellbeing, says holistic coach and certified strength and conditioning specialist Jator Pierre, CSCS. To get the full picture, you’ve got to go back—way back. “If you look at it from an evolutionary perspective, we’d have to use all of these movement patterns to survive,” he says. Lunging to hunt, squatting to make a fire, or pushing to throw a spear. Today, life looks, well, very different. You probably spend much of your day hunched over at your desk, which compromises your ability to perform these very movement patterns.

RELATED: The 15 Most Underrated Exercises, According to Trainers

“If you can’t perform these movements correctly, your body thinks you have a lower ability to survive,” explains Pierre. Obviously, that’s not the case any longer. No one is asking you to spear your dinner when you could just get Whole Foods hot bar tonight. Still, because your body hasn’t yet caught up to modern day times, the inability to correctly move boosts stress—and thus inflammation. So, yeah, it’s a big deal.

There’s no time like the present to get these movement patterns on point. How do you fare? Try the seven self-assessment tests below, plus get tips to help you step your game up.

7 Functional Movement Patterns to Master STAT

1. Squat

Test Yourself: Lower into a squat, hips back, knees tracking over ankles and heels planted on the ground. Ideally, you would be able to lower into a full squat with your hips almost touching your heels. If you feel joint restriction as you go down, you may have a musculoskeletal imbalance, like tight calves.
Make It Better: Put a stability ball behind your back against a wall for support and lower down (it should feel pain-free). Also, tell yourself to “sit” instead of “squat,” which can help you maintain the right position throughout the move. (Also check out these seven tips to improve strength, depth and mobility in your squat.)

RELATED: 6 Squat Variations for Total-Body Strength

2. Lunge

Test Yourself: For the forward lunge, step forward with one foot and bend your back knee until it’s almost touching the ground. Are your knees and ankles stable—or are they shaking around? Does your knee drop in or out away from your body? Are you hunched over and unable to hold your chest or head up? Those are all indications that something is wrong with your lunge.
Make It Better: Watch yourself in a mirror to look for the deficiencies above, and practice lowering only half way down. Once you’ve mastered that, you can practice the bottom half of the movement—then put it all together. Also, be sure to stretch tight hamstrings, glutes and calves on the regular. (For starters, here are 15 stretches you should do every day.)

RELATED: 3 Fat-Blasting HIIT Workouts to Try Now

3. Push

Test Yourself: Get into a push-up position, lower your body to the ground and push back up. If you crunch over (head jutting out and shoulders rounding over) or your lower back sags, that’s a sign of lack of stability in your core and weakness in the stabilizing muscles of your back and pelvis.
Make It Better: First, work on holding high plank position (the top of your push-up) to build strength and stability. (When in doubt, check out these form tips.) From there, you can progress to a variety of push-up modifications—from wall push-ups to knee push-ups—before moving on to your toes.

RELATED: This Is How to Do the Perfect Push-Up (Even on Your Knees)

Photo: Twenty20

4. Pull

Test Yourself: Now, for the ultimate bodyweight challenge: the pull-up. Find a bar at the gym and try a pull-up (palms facing out) or chin-up (palms facing in). Chances are, if strength isn’t an issue, this movement will reveal some postural issues, too. “People tend to go into a dysfunctional posture,” says Pierre. That means at the top of the movement, shoulders are forward, spine is rounded, head is tucked in. (Not too different than what poor posture looks like seated at your desk.) This, to say the least, is the wrong mechanics, and it can reinforce this “hunching” position in your everyday life. Not only can that contribute to back pain, it can also inhibit breathing.
Make It Better: Start with other pulling exercises to build strength. For example, do horizontal bar reverse pulls (also called an inverted row). Using a bar that’s close to the ground, lie under the bar with feet straight out in front of you. Grab the bar and pull your chest up to the bar.

RELATED: How to Do a Pull-Up (Or Add More Reps)

5. Hinge

Test Yourself: It’s one of the toughest movements to master, but for that reason it can be the most rewarding. Grab a weighted bar or a dumbbell in each hand and attempt a deadlift (here’s how). Your feet should be wider than shoulder-distance apart as you hinge forward from your hips with a straight back to pull the weight up from the floor. Many people perform this with straight legs, but your knees should be bent 15 to 20 degrees in order for glutes to turn on and support your pelvis and spine, says Pierre. If you don’t feel this move fire up your glutes, your knees aren’t bent enough. It can also reveal a muscle imbalance, most commonly too-strong quads and weak glutes.
Make It Better: Start by practicing hip extensions on the floor (get on your hands and knees and raise one leg up behind you) to build up glute strength. These five glute bridge variations are also worth working into your routine.

RELATED: Are You Foam Rolling All Wrong?

6. Twist

Test Yourself: To assess your trunk rotation, start with a bodyweight wood chop. Stand with feet a bit further than shoulder width apart, bending knees slightly and keeping your chest up. Lift arms diagonally across your body toward the ceiling and bring them down to the opposite side of the body. Look at your ankles: Are they stable with feet flat on the floor or does the ball of your foot roll up? Can you maintain proper posture (chest up, spine straight) throughout the move? Do you feel any pain? (You shouldn’t.) If any of these issues rear their ugly heads, a rotational deficiency is likely to blame.
Make It Better: First, go for a lateral ball roll. Lay with your back on a stability ball with feet wide on the ground, holding a very lightweight bar across your chest. Take one step to the right with your right leg and step in with your left (you should roll slightly to your right). Repeat on the left side. If you feel the stabilizer muscles in your core light up, you’re doing it right.

RELATED: The Ab Moves You Aren’t Doing (But Should!)

7. Gait

Test Yourself: Sure, you walk every day—but how’s your posture while you do it? Is your head pushing forward from your collarbones? Are your shoulders rounded forward? Walk forward in front of a mirror. Does one foot flare out to the side just a bit? Or do your hips shake from side-to-side (particularly when you run)? That can signal an imbalance, a problem with hip mobility or a dysfunction in your core.
Make It Better: Awareness is half the battle with this one. As you move through space, draw your attention to bringing your shoulders back, chest up and feet pointed forward with each step.

RELATED: Is Your Mobility Holding You Back? The Functional Movement Screen

Making Every Movement Count

Since these essential movement patterns have such deep roots in your health and how you feel every day, Pierre suggests going back to the basics. He recommends Paul Chek’s book, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! because it provides additional tests you can take, such as a stretching and core test. By relearning how to move properly, not only will you help protect your body from injury, you’ll take strides toward reducing undue stress and inflammation. We’ve only got one body—so why not make moves to treat it right?

 

This article originally appeared on DailyBurn.com.

You're going after a peach harder than Amy Schumer goes after body-shamers. You squat, and squat, and squat, and still… no glute gains. What gives?

For one, you can't really selectively train one body part. "Squats don't just work the glutes," says physical therapist Grayson Wickham, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., founder of Movement Vault, a mobility and movement company. "They also work your quads, hamstrings, core, hip flexors, and back."

RELATED: 4 Lower Body Exercises You Can Do in Front of Your TV

So if you're trying to build your glutes, be prepared for more muscle in your whole lower body. That said, muscle-building results are slow, so some women get discouraged when they don't start seeing booty gainz right away. (BTW, here's Why It's Important to Have a Strong Butt—Besides Looking Good).

"Genetics plays a big role in the shape of your body and anatomy too," says Wickham—but even that doesn't mean you can't develop a round, strong booty with hard, smart work, he says.

The key word here is "smart." There are some common mistakes that might be keeping your glute workout from being as efficient or effective as it could and should be. Below, strength experts share those training mistakes, plus what you can do to fix them.

RELATED: The One Squat Variation You Need to Be Doing for a Perkier Butt

Your Form Is a C (at Best)

Experts say bad form is probably the #1 reason you're not seeing results. "The squat is one of the best exercises and it has so many benefits… but it has to be done correctly," says Chelsea Axe, D.C., C.S.C.S., a chiropractor and fitness expert for DrAxe.com and Ancient Nutrition.

"The most common mishap I see is people initiating the squat movement by bending their knees instead of hinging their hips backward," says Axe. Think of it like this: When you have a chair behind you, you don't bend at your knees to bring your butt straight down into the chair. You naturally hinge at your hips first to sit back into the chair since it's located behind you.

RELATED: This 30-Day Squat Challenge Will Transform Your Butt in 4 Weeks

"This should be the same movement when you're performing a squat," she says. "Hinge your hips backward and think about reaching your butt back behind you." If you initiate the movement with your knees, not only do the muscles on the front side of your body (like your quads) takeover, says Wickham, but you increase your risk for injury. (See more: Guide to Doing a Barbell Back Squat Correctly).

Have a trainer look at your form or record yourself to make sure that your heels are planted, your lower back isn't rounding, your knees aren't caving in, and that you're initiating the squat with a hip hinge. (Heads up: That's just one of the many ways you might be squatting wrong. Here are 6 more, plus how to fix them.)

 

RELATED: Can You Lose Weight Just from Your Butt?

Your Glute Muscles Aren't Firing

Dead butt syndrome is a fear-mongering phrase, says Wickham. "The glutes aren't actually 'dead' as the phrase implies… if your glutes were dead, you wouldn't be able to stand!" But it is possible that your glutes aren't activating to their full potential. You can thank sedentary modern lifestyles for that. "When you're sitting, your glutes aren't being used. The more you sit, the less you use your glute muscles. This can make it more difficult to activate them during a workout," he explains.

In fact, "it's possible that you're squatting without actually activating your glutes," he says, and if your glutes aren't activating, they're not getting stronger.

RELATED: Tone Your Arms and Butt in This 10-Minute Workout With Obe Fitness

Doing glute activation exercises as part of your squat warm-up—or even every morning when you wake up—can help your body relearn how to fire up your rear. "I think body-weight glute bridges are one of the best moves for glute activation if you squeeze your glutes really hard at the top," says Wickham. (As a bonus: also add in these glute activation exercises.)

You're Not Going Heavy Enough

Most women are stronger and able to lift heavier than they realize, says Axe. If you've hit a peach plateau, going up in weight is the best way to bust through it. (Boom: Here's What Actually Happens When Women Lift Heavy)

"Whenever someone stops seeing progress, I have them go really heavy for six weeks because this challenges the muscles and stimulates growth," says Pete McCall, a certified personal trainer, spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, and creator of the All About Fitness podcast.

RELATED: These 5 Butt Workouts Can Help You Have Better Sex

This doesn't mean doing a one-rep max every single day. Instead, Axe recommends doing three to four sets of six to 10 reps, with a rest period of two to three minutes between them, as heavy as possible (AHAP). "You should be going so heavy that you wouldn't be physically capable of performing another rep correctly," says Axe.

You're Not Varying The Tempo

You might be used to doing a simple down-up with each rep, but you can do amazing things by varying your squat tempo or speed. The squat has three phases: eccentric (the downward motion), isometric hold (the pause at the bottom), and concentric (the upward motion). Tempo training involves varying the duration of each of these phases for #gains, says Wickham.

"The eccentric portion of the lift causes the most the micro-breakdown in the muscle tissue because it's when the muscle is under the most tension," explains Wickham. "That means that when it regrows, it grows back thicker, bigger, and stronger." His suggestion: Lower on a count of three to five seconds, pause at the bottom for one to two seconds, then explode back up to standing.

RELATED: The 17 Best Butt Workouts from Kelsey Wells, Jeanette Jenkins and More Fitness Stars

McCall is also a fan of a slow eccentric strength training. "Because the time under tension is long, you will literally feel your muscles shaking after a few slow reps," says McCall. Worth it? No doubt.

 

Your Squat Lacks Depth

From CrossFit to boot camp, "squat at or below parallel" is a common cue. "This means that at the bottom of the squat, your hip crease is parallel to or below your knees," explains Axe. However, many people don't hit this range of motion, she says.

This can make a big difference in your glute gains: "To really strengthen a muscle group, you need to take the muscles through their entire range of motion," explains Wickham.

There are two main reasons why someone wouldn't be able to squat this deep, according to Axe: You set up with your feet too narrow or have limited hip mobility. The fix: "Try widening your stance so that your heels are shoulder-width apart and toes angled slightly out," says Axe. Then, push your butt back and continuing lowering as far as you can comfortably. If you still can't get low enough, mobility is your issue; start incorporating hip, knee, and ankle mobility drills into your routine. Axe's favorite mobility drills are the runner's lunge and pigeon pose, but there are many effective mobility-boosting drills you can try. (P.S. Ankle mobility could be affecting your ability to squat deeply too.)

RELATED: 15 Stretches You Should Do Every Day

Friendly PSA: Full range of motion is important, but form is more so. Only go down as far as you can comfortably without compromising form. (Also try squat therapy, a trick for learning proper squat form.)

You're Only Doing Air Squats or Back Squats

"Results won't come from one exercise alone," says Karena Dawn, a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and co-founder of Tone It Up. To develop a stronger, fuller bum, they say it's important to work the muscles from multiple angles.

"There are so many different squat variations to choose from—back squats, front squats, goblet squats, plié squats, squat jumps, etc.—add these to work the muscles differently," says Katrina Scott, a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and the other founder of Tone It Up. (Try more exercise variations in the 30-Day Squat Challenge.)

RELATED: 6 Slam Ball Exercises for Stronger Legs and Glutes

 

You're *Only* Squatting

Squats are great, but they aren't the *only* exercise that can help develop the posterior chain (AKA the muscles on the back of your body). That's why the experts recommend adding glute exercises that aren't just basic squats, too: Try sumo squats, deadlifts, lunges, and banded hip abductions or clams to hit different parts of your glutes, hips, and hamstrings. (Related: 20 Top Trainers Reveal Their Favorite Butt Exercises)

Consider adding hip thrust variations and unilateral exercises to the mix, suggest Esther Avant, ACE-certified personal trainer and certified nutrition coach at Esther Avant Wellness Coaching. "Hip thrusts are known to activate the glutes even better than the squat," she says. Trying banded, body-weight, and weighted variations of the glute-targeting move. (BTW: Here's the difference between the glute bridge and hip thrust).

RELATED: Learn How to Properly Engage Your Glutes During These Key Exercises

Unilateral exercises—any exercise that has you work each side individually—will also help strengthen your butt while helping to correct any imbalances between sides. "With unilateral exercises, you'll feel muscle fibers you didn't know you had," says McCall. Plus, movements like the rear elevated (or Bulgarian) split squats, single-leg Romanian deadlifts, reverse lunges, and weighted step-ups get your core involved too.

You're Not Fueling Properly

You can't build buns of steel without a proper diet: "The thought of intentionally eating a caloric surplus can be really scary, but often that's what's necessary to actually put on muscle mass," says Avant. "An additional 100 to 300 calories may be what you need to build strong, muscular  glutes without putting on excessive fat."

Pre- and post-workout nutrition matters too. Before your workout, you want to eat and drink enough to power through your workout without eating so much that you can feel it sloshing around or sitting in there. (The worst, amiright?). "If eating closer to your workout, choose easily digestible carbs," says certified sports nutritionist Rachel Fine M.S., R.D., C.S.S.D., C.D.N., owner of To The Pointe Nutrition. "But if you have two to four hours before your workout, eat a balanced meal with complex carbs and protein." (Try one of these snacks before your next workout.)

RELATED: Dumbbell Box Step-Overs Will Give You Your Tightest Butt Ever

During exercise, your body uses glycogen stores for energy, so post-workout, you want to replenish those stores by noshing on carbs—which your body breaks down into glycogen, explains says Fine. You also want to consume lean protein, which your muscles need to recover, says Avant. "Aiming for 1g of protein per pound of body-weight per day is a good goal." (BTW, here's what eating the right amount of protein per day actually looks like.)

You're Squatting Too Much, or Not Enough

Squatting adheres to the Goldilocks principle: You don't want to squat too little, and you don't want to squat too much.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but squatting too often can keep you from seeing results—especially if you're squatting heavy. "When working any muscle group, you'll want to give yourself 48 hours of recovery time between lifts. Every time you strength train, you break your muscles down so they can come back stronger," says Dawn. As eager as you might be to grow that booty, you shouldn't be working your glutes hard two days in a row. (See: How Often Should You Lift Heavy?)

"Trying to squat when you're not recovered is like trying to watch video on your phone with only 10 percent energy," agrees McCall. (Try these scientifically proven methods to speed up recovery.)

That said, you also can't squat twice a month and expect booty-popping results. For results, consistency is queen, says Wickham. Aim to hit your glutes at least once or twice a week. (And don't only work your glutes: Doing a disproportionate amount of butt workouts can have some negative effects too.)

Ready to build a booty? Try the hardest butt workout of all time.

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This article originally appeared on Shape.com

Prepare to sweat.

Health is proud to announce our partnership with Bryant Park Yoga, an outdoor workout program that has been offering free weekly yoga classes on the park's lawn for the past 17 years. The program is open to all, and twice-weekly classes take place on the park lawn every Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. and Thursday evening at 6 p.m. from May 30 until August 29.

Classes will be led by New York’s elite yoga teachers and will last one hour. We encourage those joining us to arrive early to secure a mat provided by Gaiam, but of course you can bring your own. Bryant Park is located at 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

Check out the full summer schedule here

Thursday, May 30: Bethany Lyons

Tuesday, June 4: Patrick Foley and Lindsay Tyson

Thursday, June 6: Elena Brower

Tuesday, June 11: Africa Yoga Project

Thursday, June 13: Sheri Celentano

Tuesday, June 18: Jeff Posner

Thursday, June 20: Sara Finger

Tuesday, June 25: Nikki Dillon

Thursday, June 27: Kat Fowler

Tuesday, July 2: Jen Carlin

Thursday, July 4: Madeline Hickman

Tuesday, July 9: Casey Anderson

Thursday, July 11: Sara Clark

Tuesday, July 16: Heidi Kristoffer

Thursday, July 18, Desiree Grobstein

Tuesday, July 23: Misha Hajj

Thursday, July 25: Victor Colletti

Tuesday, July 30: Meredith Cameron

Thursday, August 1: Paige Held

Tuesday, August 6: Lauren Taus

Thursday, August 8: Colleen and Rodney Yee

Tuesday, August 13: Kristen Kemp

Thursday, August 15: Bee Creel

Tuesday, August 20: Loryn Riggiola

Thursday, August 22: Jaime Lugo

Tuesday, August 27: Kirby Koo

Thursday, August 29: Ali Cramer