We Like Activated Glutes and We Cannot Lie

The glutes are a very important muscle group when it comes to exercise and strength training. While training we find many of our clients struggle to properly engage them. When the glutes fail to activate, other muscles must take over to perform the exercise. This can lead to many problems including lower back, knee, and hip pain plus muscle imbalances.

The gluteals are comprised of three parts. The largest is the gluteus maximus, which is responsible for maintaining the body’s upright posture. The gluteus medius controls sideways movements and stability of the hip. Lastly, the smallest gluteal is the gluteus minimus. The gluteus minimus helps to stabilize the hip and abduction of the leg.

So why are my glutes not activating? There are multiple reasons for the lack of glute activation. The most common cause for weakness is the lack of activity or sedentary lifestyle. Reciprocal inhibition occurs when tightness in one muscle creates length in the muscle on the opposite side of the joint. If you have a desk job or spend most of your day in a seated position, the hip flexors become tight, and the glutes are lengthened. You can check to see if this is the case for you with a simple test. Stand in your normal posture and look at your hips from a side view in a mirror. Do you have an anterior pelvic tilt? You would see an arch in your lower back and your hip bones tilted forward. Another way to test is to lay on your back and try to squeeze your right butt cheek, then repeat the same to the left side. You may notice one side will activate and the other side will not. Finally, you can try a single leg bridge position and determine if your glute is doing the work or are your hamstrings or lower back trying to take over during this exercise?

There are many ways to start activating your glutes in and out of the gym. First, if you have a job that requires you to sit during the day, try to get up and go for a short walk every hour. This could be to go refill your water bottle, use the restroom, or just saying hi to a friend. This will give your hip flexors a chance to stretch. If you didn’t feel your glutes engaging while performing the single leg bridge, try it again but this time have both feet on the floor. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you can for 10 seconds then relax. Complete this 5 times then retest the single leg bridge. Your glutes might just need some activation before performing more complex exercises.

Exercise Examples

*Check with your trainer before performing these exercises to make sure they are safe for you.