Why Glute Strength is Important!

Kirby Bohan BHSc; is here to help teach you a few ways to activate your glutes. For more information and to find out more about glute and hip mobility, please check her out!

Our glutes are one of our prime mover groups. This means that they drive movement throughout the body, they help us walk, sit to stand, bend down to put on our shoes and so much more!

How do we know how efficiently they are working however? Do you find your knees collapse in when doing box jumps and squats? Or do you experience a shift to the side when going through a squat?

 

These exercises are great for beginners to learn what activation of the glutes feel like.

1: Pole Squats

• Start by standing in front of a pole or the rig
• Place your hand on the rig and have feet in your squat stance (this is also going to help keep you in a neutral spine position and open up the chest
• Slowly control the squat down keeping the thoracic spine nice and strong – alternate your hands as you come down
• Sit at the bottom of your squat for 15seconds before slowly releasing out of it
• Aim is to not just drop into a squat and deactivate your glutes, be in an active hold at the bottom of your squat

 

This next exercise is targeted to really work the glute medius muscle to help stabilize the knee.

2: Lateral Eccentric Step Down

• Starting with a low box or step, stand side on and place one foot on the box
• Slowly you are going to press up through the heel of the foot on the box (ensure your knee does not collapse in or out)
• Once you are at the top you are going to take 3 seconds to descend down 
• The aim is to maintain that control of the knee so it does not collapse
• Repeat 8x per side

3: Banded Glute Bridge

• Place a small light resistance band (red) around the top of your knees
• Lay down on the ground with knees bent, feet flat on the ground hip distance apart
• Squeeze your glutes and slowly push your hips up toward the ceiling – creating a straight diagonal line from your torso to your knees
• Hold your bridge for 5seconds before releasing down slowly
• Relax your glutes
• Repeat 10 x on each side

These are only a few of what seems like thousands of glute and hip mobility, activation and strengthening exercises.