As a Physio one of the most common areas of muscle weakness we see are in the gluteal muscles, whether they’re weak or inactive we spend quite some time re-training proper glut activation with a lot of our patients. Even in some of our fittest patients, they can have issues activating their gluts properly. The two most common reasons for under active gluts are related to lifestyle factors and injury. As a result of sitting down all day, our gluts can become inactive – the use it or lose it principal applies here! With injury, gluts can become inactive as a result of changes in motor programming, for example other muscles might become under active/overactive to compensate for the injury.
Glut activation exercises are a great way to ensure your gluts are firing properly, as well as a great way to incorporate into any workout to make sure your gluts are AWAKE for the rest of the workout. Here are a couple of exercises to get you started, theraband can be used to help add resistance, but you can start without one until you feel you’re ready to progress to one.
Clams
1. Lie on your side with your head resting comfortably, with your legs slightly bent on top of each other
2. Keeping your ankles together, lift your top knee up from your bottom knee
3. Slowly lower your knee back on top of your bottom knee
4. Repeat 10-12 repetitions and 3 sets with a rest break in between
The Glut Bridge
1. Lying on your back with your knees bent
2. Pushing down through your heels lift your bottom and hips up. If you’re using a theraband be sure to keep tension on the theraband with your knees, don’t let your knees collapse in
3. Slowly lower your bottom and hips back to the ground
4. Repeat 10-12 repetitions and 3 sets with a rest break in between
Crab Walk
1. Standing with your feet shoulder width apart, lower yourself into a 1/4 squat
2. Side step in your 1/4 squat to the left. Continue to side-step in this squat for approx. 10-15 m. For greater glut activation, focus on pushing through your heels as you move.
3. Side step back to the right approx ~10-15 m
4. Repeat 3 laps each way
5. If using a theraband, be sure to keep the tension on the band the whole way through.
All these exercises can be progressed with heavier therabands, as well as increasing your repetitions and sets.
These three exercises are a great way to get started, but if you have any pre-existing injuries or are looking to further your training be sure to book in for a Pilates Assessment or Physiotherapy Assessment at Bend + Mend today.
