I hope you are enjoying a long weekend. I spoke to quite a few of you this week about your plans and it seemed that the garden was the priority. Squires will be doing a roaring trade this weekend (other garden centres are available).
I want to talk to you about glutes today, not the Kim Kardashian style glutes or BBL as I found in my research (this was completely new to me by the way).
But functional and strong glutes and how they contribute to a strong back and can help you get rid of back pain.
This topic came up this week whilst we were away. We were with some friends and one of them Is also pregnant, a few weeks behind my wife Charlotte who is 34 weeks now.
She is starting to struggle with pelvic girdle pain, and it feels like the front of her groin and pelvis are “grating” when she walks.
I was trying to help her and the only thing that really helped, was for her to actively squeeze her buttocks when she was walking. The reason this worked is because it drives stability into the Sacro Iliac joints (SIJ) and helps to brace the pelvis when she was walking. This acts like a SIJ belt that pregnant ladies use when they are suffering with pelvic girdle pain (PGP)
It reminded me of “the glute guy” who talks a lot about how important the glutes are to give stability, NOT just for pregnant ladies but for all of us. This is Bret Contreras.
I studied a lot of his work when I was at college and his research has come on since then, let me explain how this can help you this spring and keep you fit and pain free.
What do the glutes do?
The glutes are called the gluteal muscles, these are your buttocks, their job:
- Extend the hip backwards
- Abduct (move the hip out away from the body)
- Externally rotate the hip (turn the hip out)
- Maintain pelvic alignment
- Stabilise the SIJ
When the glutes are weak it can cause compensation patterns and problems elsewhere in your body. The most common being an “anterior pelvic tilt”.
This is where your pelvis rolls forwards and your buttocks stick out and there is then an arch in the low back. You may have seen this in gymnasts or dancers, I call it a hyper lordosis (a curvy low back).
When the glutes aren’t working properly the hip flexors (muscles at the front of your hip) get tighter and pull the pelvis forwards putting more pressure on your back.
How do we get stronger glutes?
“Do more squats” I hear you say? Well not according to Bret, you should be doing glute bridges and hip thrusts. In his research he has used EMG technology to target the glute max muscle and doing these two movements is more effective at training the glute max than a traditional squat.
How to do a glute bridge?
-Start on your back
-Bend your knees and keep your feet flat on the floor
-Slowly engage your core by pulling your tummy button in
-Push your feet in to the floor and contract your glutes
-Your pelvis should rise from the floor
-At the top of the rep, pause and squeeze the glutes
-Slowly lower back down
-Repeat 15 times, 3 sets
He also likes:
- Barbell Hip Thrusts
- Glute Bridges (especially with a pause at the top)
- Back Extensions with Glute Focus
- Reverse Hypers
- Step-Ups (focus on driving through the heel)
- Cable Kickbacks (for glute medius and minimus)
- Banded Clamshells and Side-Lying Abductions
Bret recommends starting with bodyweight and band work to dial in form and activation, then progressing to weighted movements.
You can find out more about these movements here.
The other thing that is important to do if you have weak glutes is to stretch the hip flexors at the front of your hip, you can do this by holding the stretch below for 30 seconds, repeat 3 times through and make sure you keep breathing. Make sure you DON’T do the picture on the right and curve your back. Do the picture on the left.
If you are wanting to chat more about the information above then why not book a call with me and we can go into more detail? Click here to book or if you want to get an assessment then Book a consultation with a Chiropractor here
If you do know someone who wants more advice, please send them our details. You can send them this assessment as well to diagnose their back pain. It is a great tool to understand where your back pain is coming from, it is free and takes 60 seconds. Click here for assessment
