The glutes are very important muscles to pay attention to for a lot of reasons. The most common one, is for asthetics. Everyone wants a nice butt! But having well developed glutes does more than just help you look better in your favorite pair of jeans. Strong glutes help in athletic movements like sprinting and jumping. They can also help to prevent or even decrease back pain. So, suffice to say, you should be working your glutes in some form!
For purposes of this post, I’m going to focus mainly on the gluteus maximus when referring to the glutes. The glute max’s main action is to extend the hip joint. Every time you try to run, you need your glutes to create hip extension. So if you’re a runner or play a sport, it would serve you well to have a pair of strong, functioning glutes.
Weak glutes are often associated with low back pain. In today’s world, most people have weak glutes due to all the sitting they do throughout the day. As a population, we are seated for longer periods of time more than ever. This causes the glutes to weaken and stretch. The good news is that you can reverse this pretty easily. Start by doing some glute activation exercises like the lying glute bridge shown here:
For purposes of this post, I’m going to focus mainly on the gluteus maximus when referring to the glutes. The glute max’s main action is to extend the hip joint. Every time you try to run, you need your glutes to create hip extension. So if you’re a runner or play a sport, it would serve you well to have a pair of strong, functioning glutes.
Weak glutes are often associated with low back pain. In today’s world, most people have weak glutes due to all the sitting they do throughout the day. As a population, we are seated for longer periods of time more than ever. This causes the glutes to weaken and stretch. The good news is that you can reverse this pretty easily. Start by doing some glute activation exercises like the lying glute bridge shown here:
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Squeeze and hold for 1-2 seconds at the top and do 10-20 reps.
A nice benefit of training the glutes is the aesthetic improvements. When you combine weight training for the glutes and lower body fat, you get a toned, lean booty! Every female client I’ve ever worked with has mentioned wanting a “better butt.” In addition to doing basic compound lower body movements like squats, dead-lifts, and lunges, try some of these exercises to target your glutes:
