Glute Amnesia Gives New Meaning to Lazy Ass
Look, the glutes are the biggest, most powerful muscle in our bodies. Yet nearly every time I see a new client, I see the same limiting factor…….Their ass is asleep!! Glute amnesia can lead to so many different things. Think about it. If the biggest muscle in your body is not doing its job, don’t you think something is going to go wrong? Here is a quick list of things that glute amnesia can cause:
1. Low back pain
2. Knee Pain
3. Pulled/Strained hamstrings
4. Anterior hip pain
Yes, this is a quick list……their is more!!
If you suffer from one of these (or even if you don’t), it should be a priority that you perform some glute activation drills prior to your workout. Some of our favorites are:
Miniband Walk (around the toes)
This is one that Stuart McGill recently showed me. He said it had a much higher EMG reading than the other miniband walks because having the band around the toes adds an external rotation component along with the abduction. When you try it, you will see (or feel).
Cook Hip Lift
This is a great one but is sometimes to advanced for individuals with hamstring dominance. For those with hamstring dominance, try the next one.
Glute Bridge w/ reciprocal inhibition
This is another one from Stu McGill. I use this for the worst cases of hamstring dominance. Imagine trying to push your heels across the floor by engaging your quads. This will relax the hamstrings and you will fell more glute activation. I prefer to have the client push their feet into me so that I get some feedback, at the same time I feel the hamstrings to make sure they are not firing.
DN
Is one supposed to feel any hamstring involvement with these exercises? I ask because despite contracting my quads and pushing of my heels I still feel hams working?
You should not feel the hams “overworking”. The glutes and hams are synergists, so they do work together. The problem is that most feel “no” glutes and “all” hams. Try having someone wiggle your hams as in the video. This helps relax them a bit.
tnx a lot for your quick response! i have an anterior femoral glide syndrome and I’ll try to incorporate these into my daily routine and pre-workout, hopefully it will get better.
my left glut gets really painful when I do these exercises what could be going on?