Hailey Bieber shares her better butt workout after declaring Pilates is over

Just months after declaring pilates was “over,” Hailey Bieber is showing off the next fitness craze powering her peach.And experts say it can trick your muscles into working harder for a “crazy pump.” “I love Pilates, I really do,” she said in an April interview with TIME.“But I think it’s become a little bit of a fad, and it’s really hard to find really good teachers that care about form.”Less than two months later, Bieber posted a photo wearing a weighted vest, a popular exercise accessory that has exploded across social media, even as experts remain divided over its benefits.

But she was also sporting a less familiar piece of workout equipment that fitness professionals are far more enthusiastic about: Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training bands.Paul Comsulea, a personal trainer at Equinox in Southport, Connecticut, told the Post that BFR bands help isolate the glute muscles from the hamstrings, forcing the glutes to do more of the work.

By partially restricting blood flow into the muscle, the bands create metabolic stress — the burning sensation Comsulea and lifters describe as a “crazy pump.” That stress produces a chemical-rich environment that stimulates muscle growth, allowing users to achieve similar training benefits while lifting significantly lighter weights.“The restricted blood flow tricks your muscles into working way harder than they normally would at that load,” explained Comsulea.

Because the glutes are working harder, lifters can often achieve gains comparable to those from lifting weights that are roughly 20% to 30% heavier.Comsulea noted that the bands work best when paired with glute isolation exercises, such as kickbacks, bridges and banded movements, rather than heavy compound lifts like hip thrusts or deep squats.The Rhode founder certainly seems to be on the right track.A 2020 study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy compared eight weeks of BFR training with traditional high-l...