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I think learning a correct squat which strengthens the glutes and quads in a balanced fashion would be the best way to go. If you don't feel your glutes after squats you either have pretty strong glutes already or your form is bad.

Adding hip dominant exercises might be another variant, but they should primarily help to learn a good squat. The reason being that one exercise that trains A and B is better than an exercise that trains A plus another exercise that trains B. This is especially true considering your statement about how taxing your current training plan is already. Adding exercises is going to make it worse.

Thanks for all of your advices! I'll now try to add 2 glute activation exercises, namely glute bridges then hip thrusts, with 2 stets of 5 reps each(?? not sure??) before doing the bulgarian split squat and the half squat. I hope I'll feel my glutes later in my work-out!

What part of the butt should go sore when you do the squat? The whole butt or only the lower part?

I got my entire butt sore when I did long reach-out BSSs and possibly walking lunges. Otherwise, it's usually the part connecting the glute to the hamstring for me.

It's a bullshit squat.

Nah, it's a Bulgarian Split Squat:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXX957jkp50" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXX957jkp50</a>

  One of the most effective techniques I have used to attain a more glute driven squat is to start with a progression:

1.) Just the bar, iso hold in the bottom position of the squat,15-30 seconds, focus on activating the glutes by sitting back into the hips, "pulling" down with the hip flexors, pushing out to the sides of the shoes, tightening the core, "pulling" with the feet, etc.  You can mess around with many of these techniques until you feel the glutes turn on and take the brunt of the load. 

2.) Decend into the bottom of the squat, pause at the bottom (5-10 secs), focus on attaining the same position as you achieved in step 1, and drive back up using the glutes to drive the lift.

3.) Progress into a standard concentric/eccentric squat, be sure to hit the same position in the bottom that you have been practicing in steps 1 and 2.

4.) (if applicable) Reactive squat- drop down into the same positon using the same cues, rebound out.

With more advanced athletes, simply using the pause squats (step 2) during the warm up sets, focusing on the extra glute activity, may be all thats needed to get a more glute driven squat. 

 One of the most effective techniques I have used to attain a more glute driven squat is to start with a progression:

1.)Just the bar, iso hold in the bottom position of the squat,15-30 seconds, focus on activating the glutes by sitting back into the hips, "pulling" down with the hip flexors, pushing out to the sides of the shoes, tightening the core, "pulling" with the feet, etc.  You can mess around with many of these techniques until you feel the glutes turn on and take the brunt of the load.  

Isometric squats.

Effects of isometric squat training on the tendon stiffness and jump performance.


Original Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16328192

Conclusion. These results suggest that isometric squat training changes the stiffness of human tendon-aponeurosis complex in knee extensors to act negatively on the effects of pre-stretch during stretch-shortening cycle exercises.

Would you still do them?.

 Of course I would, its a PROGRESSION for one, the amount of jumping/sprinting/jump-plyo- reactive drills and work, etc. will easily make up for and outweight a 15-30 second iso hold done to ACTIVATE the glutes, and teach an athlete how to squat properly so that they may perform them correctly and safely.

 Im not going to get into it in depth, but tendon stiffness is not the end all be all in jumping and sprinting either. 

 Or what Brett is doing in the video HE posted...... ROFL


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfBSlZApqs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zfBSlZApqs</a>