Muscle Of the Month.

Glutes
By Andy

The glutes are an amazing group of muscles. They bride the gap between our lower and upper extremities, and are involved in almost every human movement. It is strange to consider that the glutes play such a pivotal role in our everyday lives yet are some of the most neglected muscles worked by gym goers, weekend warriors, and competitive athletes. The glutes should take precedence in any sound training program.

The glutes are involved in many actions. Hip extension being their main function, they also externally rotate, and abduct the leg. Any time you take a step, lift something off the floor, or leap over an obstacle you can bet your glutes are the muscle behind the movement. For being a small lump of tissue around your midsection it is remarkable how much power these muscles can generate. Movements such as sprinting, deadlifts, and vertical jumps are all primarily driven by the glutes. It is no wonder why they generate so much power.

Now let's consider the common ailments seen in the glutes. Often, the glutes don't function as well as they should, they're weak, they don't sequence efficiently  and they're over powered by other muscles which pick up the slack. Consider this, if you are sitting on your glutes all day, how hard do you think they'll be willing to work for you? This is the case with many people the glutes dysfunction is driven by inactivity. They turn off the neural pathways because they aren't used. Another common issue, also derived from sitting too much is when our hip flexors(muscles that lift our legs) are tight the glutes must use an inhibitory relaxation to allow this.

Both theses issues lead to another problem, sore backs and tight hamstrings. This is because the dysfunctional glutes require the hamstrings and back to make up for their problems. People experiencing the back pain or hamstring problems look at strengthening the hamstrings or back. The classic treatment of symptoms rather than cause, which we see all the time.

So what can we do to combat this? Consider a 3 tier approach.

First hip mobility, remember the tightness in the flexors and other muscles in the hip girdle can reak havoc on glute function. Dynamic mobility will alleviate this.

Second, hip motor control. Learn how to activate the glutes, establish the neural pathways needed to properly fire the muscles and generate movement.

Third, strengthen. Movements which specifically target the glutes along with the other muscles of the posterior chain will ensure a healthy back, enhanced performance, and a decreased incidence of injury.

Here are some exercise ideas for each of the categories:

Mobility: Dynamic step overs: use a barrier set about knee height. If you cannot step over this without dropping one side of your body or kicking your heel out start lower. Holding a med ball overhead, step over leading with the knee. Follow with the opposite leg, then step backwards. repeat 10x

Motor control: Supine hip extension. Laying on the floor, place your knees in a flexed position, heels about 1ft from your rear. Push with one foot through your heel and feel your glutes contracting. Go as high as you can.

Strength: Single leg dumbbell deadlift. Start with a dumbbell in hand knees slightly bent. With your lower back fixed and your back flat lower your body hinging at the hip. Once you feel a stretch in your hamstring, raise back up still balancing on one foot. Try 3x8 each leg. Form is king here, start low and build up.