… Are you struggling to engage your glutes?
Here is a list of the best Glute Activation Exercises!
The best Glute Activation Exercises
Focus on feeling the glute muscles engage as you perform the exercises.
I recommend doing these exercises every day.
STEP 1 – Start here
Performing the following stretches will help the Glute Activation Exercises to be more effective.
a) Stretch your hip flexors
Tight/overactive hip flexor muscles will make it very difficult to get your hip into a position where you can engage your glutes properly.
Instructions:
- Assume the deep lunge position as above.
- Perform a posterior pelvic tilt:
- “Tuck your tail bone underneath you”
- Lean slightly backwards.
- Make sure you feel the stretch at the front of hip on the back leg
- You may need to adjust your position so that you feel the stretch in the right area.
- Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.
b)Â Stretch your hamstrings
If your gluteal muscle group is not functioning properly, it is likely that your hamstring muscles are compensating for it.
For this reason, we need to down regulate the activity of the hamstring muscles group by stretching them out.
This will allow for the opportunity for the gluteals to function without being taken over by the hamstrings.
Instructions:
- Whilst upright, place one leg straight in front of you.
- Hinging forwards at the hip joint (and keeping the back straight), bend towards the leg at front.
- Ensure that you can feel the stretch of the lower hamstrings.
- Repeat on both sides.
- To stretch upper hamstring, repeat the previous steps with a slightly bent knee in front instead of a straight leg.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
c)Â Stretch lower back
Instructions:
- Sit down on a chair.
- Push your knees out to the side.
- Lean all the way forward.
- Aim to feel a stretch in the lower back.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
d)Â Pelvis isometric reset
Ideally, our pelvis should be in a position of symmetry.
Due to imbalances in muscles around the area, the pelvis can sometimes twist/rotate/tilt to one side.
To prevent unequal load to your gluteal muscles whilst performing the exercises, I recommend resetting the position of your pelvis.
Instructions:
- Lie down on your back with both of your knees bent in the air at 90 degrees.
- Place your hand on top of one knee, and the other below the other knee.
- Whilst applying an opposing force on both knees, use your leg muscles to keep your knee in the same position.
- (isometric muscle contraction)
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat on other side.
- Squeeze a ball between your knees and hold for 5 seconds.
- You may hear a click! That’s normal.
- Complete 3-5 cycles.
STEP 2 – Glute Activation exercises
Since you have completed above exercises, it is now possible to commence the Glute Activation Exercises.
Focus on feeling the gluteal muscles contracting as you are performing these exercises.
a) Posterior pelvic tilt
Instructions:
- Whilst standing, rotate your pelvis backwards.
- “Tuck your tail bone underneath”
- Aim to feel a contraction in the glutes.
- Hold for 30 seconds.
b) Standing Hip extension
Instructions:
- Whilst standing upright, extend your leg backwards until you feel your gluteals contract firmly.
- Keep your lower ribs down by engaging your abdominal muscles.
- Do NOT arch your back.
- Do not rotate or bend forward.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Alternate legs for 20 repetitions each.
c) 4 point kneel
Instructions:
- Assume the 4 point kneel position
- Place your pelvis in a neutral position.
- Engage your core and glute muscles to lock the pelvis in place.
- Whilst maintaining this alignment, lift your leg as high as possible.
- Do not let your lower back sink in.
- You should not feel the lower back contract significantly.
- Aim to feel the contraction in your glutes.
- Alternate between sides.
- Repeat 10 times.
STEP 3 – Glute strengthening exercises
a) Resisted hip extension – Standing
Instructions:
- Tie a resistance band to your foot. Have the other end tied to a stable object.
- Whilst standing upright, extend your leg backwards until you feel your gluteals contract firmly.
- Keep your lower ribs down by engaging your abdominal muscles.
- Do NOT arch your back.
- Do not rotate or bend forward.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Alternate legs for 20 repetitions each.
Note: Hold onto a support if you have issues with your balance.
b) Bridge
Instructions:
- Lie down on your back with your knees bent.
- Flatten your lower back to the ground.
- Keep your lower ribs down by engaging your abdominal muscles.
- By pushing off with your heels, lift your buttocks off the floor.
- Only lift as high as you can without arching your lower back.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 15 times.
- Progression: Hold onto a weight at the front of your hips.
c) One leg bridge
Instructions:
- Lie down on your back with your knees bent.
- Flatten your lower back to the ground.
- Hold one knee towards your chest.
- With the foot still on the floor, lift your buttocks off the floor by pushing through the heel of the foot.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 15 times on alternate sides.
d)Â Deep lunge
Instructions:
- Assume the lunge position.
- Hinge your torso forwards.
- Drop your body down.
- Make sure to drive through the heel in the front leg.
- Perform 20 repetitions.
- Progression: Hold onto a weight.
e) Triple extension
Instructions:
- Assume a lunge position with your hands on a wall.
- Lift up the knee of the leading leg as high as possible.
- With the side that is standing, tilt your pelvic backwards (posterior pelvic tilt) and drive the hips forwards.
- Squeeze the glutes!
- Make sure you can feel a firm contraction in the glutes.
- Hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat 10 times.
STEP 4 – Progression
a) Hip thrust – Standing
Instructions:
- Tie a resistance band to a stationary object.
- Whilst holding onto the band which is between your legs, place your body in a squat.
- Thrust your hips forward.
- Hold for 5 seconds as you engage your glute muscles.
- Repeat 10 times.
b) Dead lift
- Whilst standing with a neutral pelvis, hold onto an appropriate amount of weight.
- (… it should be a moderately heavy weight that you can control)
- Keep your lower back neutral throughout this exercise.
- Slowly lower the weight by hinging at the hips.
- Aim to feel a pulling sensation in the upper hamstring region before returning to the starting position.
- Keep the weight close to your body.
- The knees should bend slightly.
- This lowering phase should take ~3-5 seconds.
- Perform 10 repetitions.
- Note: The pelvis should stay neutral relative to the spine throughout the movement.
Other tips
a) Stop sitting so much!
“Why are my glutes not activating?”
Here’s the brutal truth about sitting…
We sit too much!
Think about it:
- We sit at work
- We sit in a car/bus/train on the way to work
- We sit when we watch the television.
… That’s a whole lot of sitting!
Prolonged sitting places the glutes in a position where it becomes very difficult to engage them.
b) Walking
Whilst you are walking, let your back leg remain extended for a split second longer.
This will engage your gluteal muscle group.
It should feel as though you are gliding as you walk.
If you remember to do this every time you walk, you will essentially be training your gluteal muscles everyday!
c) Address pelvis imbalances
1. Anterior pelvic tilt
The pelvis is tipped forwards.
2. Lateral pelvic tilt
The pelvis is tipped sideways.
3. Rotated pelvis
The pelvis is twisted.
What to do next:
1. Any questions?… Leave me a comment down below.
2. Come join me on the Facebook page. Let’s keep in touch!
3. Start doing the Glute Activation exercises!
Hey mark!. I just read two of your articles and i wanted to ask. I have an anterior pelvic tilt and i also have a difficulty activating my glutes during bridges i often find myself using my quads and my hams instead of my glutes during the bridge what do i do?
Thanks
Hey Shannu,
You might need to focus on performing hip extension in the standing position instead. The bridge may be too difficult for your glutes at this point in time.
Another thing you might need to address is the tight hip flexors which limit full hip extension. Focus on stretching the hip flexors before engaging the glutes.
All the best!
Mark
Thanks mark! Im going to try it out today. It helps a lot. Do u mind dropping ur social media accounts. I really want to follow you.
Thanks
Hi Shannu,
I mainly post on Facebook. I’ll see you there!
Mark
Hey mark, you said at the beginning of this blog that we should strech our hip flexors and other muscles for more chance that we get more glute activation and less others, my only question is why do you suggest to strech the muscles only for 30 seconds, isnt it better the strech it for more like isnt more the better? Isnt the more strech the less tight the muscles are? I strech for 30seconds when i can do 5 minutes or more ? Thanks
Hey Aviv,
Stretching for 30 seconds is a good place to start off with. If you would like an even better stretch, I would say go for at least 2 minutes.
Mark
Hey mark i have an important question, if i have weakness in one glute and i want to even the weaker glute do i strech the hip flexors on my weak leg or the other for more glute activation in the weaker glute? I ask this because when i stand on one leg for example my quadratus lumborum/low back activate on the side that isnt on the ground leg so it makes sense if i want to only focus on single leg that i would stretch the low back on the other side to help the activation, what do you think about the strech of the hip flexors on the same side or the other?
Hi Aviv,
Thanks for your question.
Which part of the glute are you referring to? I ask this because different parts of the glutes is responsible for different movements (essentially). If you stand on one leg and the opposite QL engages (which it should to an extent, mind you), then I would think that you will need to look at the strength of your hip abductors (gluteus medius).
In regards to what hip flexor to stretch, you’ll need to assess which one is actually tight. You can do this self-test called the thomas test to help you determine which side is tight (if there is tightness).
Mark
Hey, i have very hard time working my glute max on the one leg bridge on my right leg, i obviously feel it to some extent but i cant seem to get to the burning extreme activation that i get sometimes , i dont get it , some time i do single leg hip thrust or single leg glute bridge and i feel burn in the glutes that i know it is working but most of the time it isnt like that and i dont understand why and how can i make it that every time in order to improve and not compensating with other muscles because i feel like it happens to me all the time, i can strech hamstrings when sitting and touch my forehead to knee and have good low back and ql stretching, only the hip flexors are difficult for me to strech but even when i do the glute max not getting to that burn activation and its not like im getting stronger because i do the same exercises with the same single leg without any resistance and sometimes i feel the glute burn but mostly i dont , what would you suggest for me in order to get to that high activation of the right glute?
I want to apologize for asking you a lot of questions but from everything ive read in your blog and every study or website or certain physical therapists in regarding posture problems all over the body the glute max is always mentioned its like this seems the root for most if not all poor posture problems and this is the one muscle in the entire body i find hard time to activate and work on ):
Hey Aviv,
In addition to a tighter hip flexor on one side, is it possible that you may have a rotated pelvis? (See post: Rotated pelvis)
This may explain why you can only feel the glute more so on one side?
Mark
Hi Mark!
I feel lucky to find your website, I have been training my glutes over two years but unfortunately I can’t feel them at all , in fact both of them are weak but one side sometimes i can feel it . When i do glutes actvition exercises i feel my hamstring or my thigh, I have tried the stretching you mentioned but did not work to help me feel my glutes ,and I don’t have pelvic issues.I would be greatfull if you replied at my message and helped me
Hi Rofida,
Do you have an anterior pelvic tilt by any chance? This can make it difficult to feel the glutes engage.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I think your exercices look helpful, and I’d like to be able to do them, but would feel more comfortable if there’s a therapist who can give supportive help in person. Is there any therapist of your community in the San Francisco (California) Bay area who is available for patients to go to (for conditions of twisted spine and rotated hips in particular)?
Thank you.
Hi there,
Most Physical Therapist should be able to guide you with these issues.
Mark
Hey, just wanted to say thanks for all this information, definitely like the details like what to feel for to know you’re doing a stretch the correct way.
Hi Taylor,
Thanks for taking the time to leave me a comment. Appreciate it!
Mark
Hi Mark,
I tend to lift by chest up and out too much in attempt to have great posture. This has likely caused some APT and imbalances. I’ve seen people refer to it as “reverse posturing” or “military posture.” Mine is probably a little milder than the extreme cases you’ll see on google.
So I did some glute bridges and leg raises at the end of a workout in an attempt to strengthen my glutes/abs. However, when I flattened my back via PPT and performed the exercises, I felt significant strain around my my lumbopelvic area. Simply initiating the bridge in PPT led to strain. During the legs raises, I lost the flat back and my lower back would extend to compensate for lack of core strength, which caused pain. Even bodyweight back extensions on a hyper machine would cause strain. Perhaps I’m not strong/stable enough and/or I lost stability during the movement? I’m 6’3″ and thin so my levers are definitely working against me.
How important is it to have a stable pelvis in general and when performing exercises?
Do you have any cues to brace and keep the pelvis stable?
I didn’t think doing something that seemed as simple as leg raises or glute bridges could cause such a strain :(
Some therapists online say to get into PPT prior to the bridge, others advise against it and say stay neutral. Any thoughts?
Thanks for all your content. I follow you on social media and always recommend you!
Andrew
Hey Andrew,
In regards to using your core, pelvis control is very important.
If you are not able to maintain the pelvis alignment (which is resulting is compensation of other areas), you need to either change the exercise that you are doing, or make it a bit easier.
I would recommend the dead bug exercise instead of leg raises. Leg raises is actually pretty hard to do correctly!
In regards to bridging, if your main aim is to get glute contraction, I would cue the PPT.
If you are learning to keep neutral pelvis, I wouldn’t cue PPT. (so it really depends on what you are trying to achieve with the said exercise)
Hope this helps!
Mark
Hi mark, I’ve done some of your posture exercises and have read your articles. I have been lower back pain for years. I also have noticed a posterior pelvic tilt. I’ve also noticed a slouching of my shoulders. Often times it seems that my hamstrings feel tight, but I’m not sure if the tightness I’m feeling is really coming from there. I’ve done the tight hip
Flexor test and it doesn’t seem to me that I fail those test. Is it possible to have weak hip flexors and weak glutes? Everywhere I’m reading most have issues with a anterior tilt and weak glutes. Your input would be much appreciated man!!!
Hi Cole,
You can definitely have weak hip flexors and glutes.
If your main problem is lower back pain when sitting with a posterior pelvic tilt, try these suggestions:
– Don’t sit for long periods at a time. Move move move
– Aim to sit in a more neutral pelvis position (as seen on the blog post)
– Make sure your chair is ergonomically set up for your individual stature.
– Stretch the hamstrings if they are tight.
– Check out the post for posterior pelvic tilt.
Hello Mark,
I ended up here from an article about flat lumbar spine and posterior pelvic tilt (which i believe I have). I really appreciate all the tips and excersises, I have already been doing some of them in the gym especially on leg/glute days.
I came to realize recently that my right hip is positioned higher and maybe a bit to the front, comparing to the left side. While hanging, my left leg is ~5 cm lower than the right one.
Also, my left hip joint is ‘more sideways and oriented to the back’ ( while squatting or deadlifting, i turn my left foot more to the side, because it feels more comfortable).
I am not sure which muscles i should strenghten and stretch, and how to position my feet while doing mentioned excersise, in order to fix my assimetry and rotate the left hip back-(to the front).
Sorry for the novel, I just wanted to fully explain my posture.
With respect, I thank you in advance,
Bonnie.
Hey Bonnie,
Sounds like you have a Right hip hike and a left rotated pelvis.
Probably best to check out these posts:
– How to fix a rotated pelvis
– Lateral pelvic tilt
Let me know how it goes.
Mark
Hi Mark, I’m trying to fix APT and along side this very underactive glutes. Would it still be a good idea to stretch my hamstrings in my case when trying to engage and strengthen my glutes- I understand that this might make ATP worse, or would it be ok in your opinion?
Hey Ryan,
If tight upper hamstrings are the reason why you can’t position your pelvis properly whilst sitting, then I would still stretch them.
Keep in mind – you can have a relatively tight upper hamstring and a lengthened lower hamstring.
Mark
Hi there.
I’m wondering where to start in terms of which exercises I should focus on and things to avoid. I definitely have glute amnesia – my hamstrings and lower back fire up before my glutes when tested in prone position. My thighs front back and sides get super tight. I foam roll these at least twice a day but am finding that either standing for long periods or seated at my desk (even with regular breaks for foam rolling) results in painful muscle cramps especially at night on all sides of thighs. When I add in some, bridging and, clams my glutes also get tight ot crampy at night even if I only do 3 sets of 10. This disturbs my sleep even with painkillers. What should I do to help me get out of this cycle and progress? I don’t know whether I should be doing more or less or getting a deep tissue massage or some other approach? Please help.
Hi Rache,
I would first make sure your pelvis is in a good position as to make it easier to engage the glutes:
– Anterior pelvic tilt
– Posterior pelvic tilt
– Lateral pelvic tilt
– Rotated pelvis
It sounds like you might need to start with non-weight bear exercises for the glutes. (any variation of hip extensions, clam shells). Make sure the pelvis does not move with these exercises.
If you are getting cramps, perhaps only go for a gentle contraction to begin with and progress from there.
Mark
Hey Mark!
I have dealt with a lot of QL pain (both sides) for about 5 years now (I’m only 20) presumably due to incorrect usage while doing sports (cheerleading and polevaulting). That being said, I’ve been to PT multiple times and nothing has helped. My doctor said my glutes are misfiring and that is causing my pain. It makes standing for long periods nearly impossible, sitting uncomfortable, and I always have some level of pain. Do you think my glutes are solely responsible? Might it be a combination of glutes + other factors? I’ve been working on my posture but I very well could still be doing it wrong as it hasn’t helped at all/sometimes increases my pain.
Hi there Elizabeth,
The area on the sides of the lower back will tend to be tense if the glutes are not functionally optimally.
Here are some other posts that might help:
– Hyperlordosis (Arch back)
– Anterior pelvic tilt
Good luck!
Mark
Hi Mark! Thanks so much for the quick reply. I checked out both articles briefly, I don’t think I have an anterior pelvic tilt, although I had trouble figuring out where my “back pointy bones are” so my assessment may be wrong. For the Hyperlordosis it does not seem to be there when I am standing, but I did the lying down test and it is obvious there. Is that conclusive enough to determine that I have hyperlordosis? Thanks!
Hey Elizabeth,
Hyperlordosis in conjunction with weak glutes (and probably anterior core muscles) falls in line with the area of pain that you have.
Mark
Hi Mark,
DO student here and I just want to say I LOVE your site and direct as many people here as I can! OMT is amazing but I’ve found that without this kind of balance training (plus actual engagement) folks just keep hurting themselves.
So onto me ;-) I have flared ribs, winged scapula, hyperlordosis, flat feet and chronic medial knee pain. Yay! I’ve been doing your ribs/lumbar routines 3-5 times a week for about 6 months and I’ve really started to notice improvement. Thank you!!!!
I unfortunately still have knee pain. When I do glute bridges, I actually get pain/cramping in the distal quad (not hamstring or glute). Any ideas what might be causing this?
Hey Laura,
Distal quad pain sounds like it could either be the:
1) distal quad insertion point at the superior patella
or
2) superior border of the joint between the patella on the femur.
Do you have tracking issues or position problems with the patella? This is where I would start looking.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply! I do have patellar tracking issues, but so far PT hasn’t been able to correct it.
L
Hi L,
Here are some things you can consider:
– Patella mobility: Make sure your knee cap has full range of motion. It should move pretty easy if you wobbled it around.
– Patella position: Ideally – the patella should sit fairly central with no tilt/rotation/glide (the PT can check this easily). Failure to achieve this position can cause the bones to rub against each other when the knee flexes.
– Distal quad tightness: Over-activity or tightness of the distal quad can pull the patella into the femur causing the bones to rub also.
– Knee valgus/varus: Poor positioning of your knee may also affect your condition.
– Use taping: You can use taping to a) help place the knee cap in a better position and/or b) off load some stress on the anterior knee.
However – with knee pain, I find that the main causes are arising from the feet and/or the pelvis/hip region. Make sure the PT addresses that too :)
Good luck
Mark
Thank you Mark!
Hi Mark,
I have got tight quads and weak glutes.
Can I do Clamshells ?????
I don’t know the science thats why asking. I don’t wanna strengthen my quads.
If you are quad dominant, focus on getting your glutes to activate.
Once your pelvis is more balanced, you can focus on strengthening everything (including quads)
Clam shells are fine to strengthen the external rotation fibres of the glutes.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I have the Dead Butt Syndrome aka Gluteal Amnesia.My gluteal are super weak and my hamstrings are little bit tight.What I noticed that my abdominals are also very weak. So i find deadbugs to be a bit difficult exercise for me.
So could you recommend some other easy core acitation exercises??
Hi Ronnie,
I recommend doing a regressed form of the Dead bug exercise. (Eg. don’t drop your legs/arms too long)
As you progress, then you can start to lower them more.
Mark
Hi Mark,
While doing Clamshells my shins take over as a result of which not able to feel much contraction in the gluteus medius.Shins pain!
Any suggestions???
Hi Ronnie,
Keep your toes and feet relaxed.
See how that goes.
Mark
HI Mark,
I would really appreciate if you help me on my condition.
I am experiencing glutes problem for more than 5 months now. I have tried exercises many times but not able to get any relief.
I have done MRI couple of times, and all of them came clean, no issues with the spine and SI. I do sit a lot due to my work for 5-6 hours.
My symptoms are as follow:
-Pain while sitting just above the hamstring, on the left side.
-Pain on both the sides of hip, feels too tight after getting up from the chair.
-Sourness in right glute always towards TFL and painful trigger points in both glute medius both the sides.
-The tightness of right QL, unable to extend towards left side much.
-Right knee pain when bending.
-Tingling sensation when I do pigeon stretch or whenever there is pressure on glutes.
-Numbness in the glutes after sitting for a long time.
Eric
Eric,
Based on the information that you have provided, the first thing that comes into mind is that it sounds like your hip external rotators are to blame:
Generally – most people have tightness in these muscles and may benefit from a good release and stretch to begin with.
As your hips control your leg, inefficiencies here can lead to knee issues as well.
Your sciatic nerve also runs through here which can lead to numbness/tingling:
I would also check:
– Sitting posture
– Chair ergonomics
Mark
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your reply.
I often tend to slouch on the chair after seating for 4-5 hours straight, I am pretty sure that has caused this issue
Something like this:
I get the tingling sensation in the legs when I try to sit cross-legged, doing a full squat, sitting on a hard surface such as toilet seat.
I also have tight hip flexors and now starting to get stiffness and slight pain in the back too.
I often get a bad cramp in the left hamstring on doing some exercises like the single leg squat, pole hanging and psoas muscle stretch.
Putting a lacrosse ball on piriformis area gives me shooting pain doing the leg sometimes.
Could you please help me with the exercises. Should I stretch my external rotators or strengthen them?
Thanks,
Eric
Hey Eric,
I would try to stretch it out first and see how it goes.
If it gets better, then you are probably on the right track.
If it gets worse, you can see how you go with strengthening.
The positions you mention that aggravate it can happen in either case.
I would also do some nerve glides (within comfort levels):
Mark
Hi Mark,
Can I foam roll my hamstrings and hip flexors prior to stretching them???
Can I use my Wilson tennis ball for trigger points instead of a lacrosse balls??
Hi Ronnie,
Yes- This is not a problem.
Mark
Hi Mark ,
I have Anterior pelvic tilt. While reading your blogs I came through gluteal amnesia.
So while doing the Brigde exercise my hamstrings take over and feel cramps.
So it is a result of tight hamstrings or weak hamstrings ???
Hi Ronnie,
If you have anterior pelvic tilt, you probably have weak hamstrings.
You will need to regress your glute exercises so that you can feel the glute firing off as much (or better yet, even more than the hamstrings).
Mark
HI Mark,
I have read about the ideal sitting posture in your Web page. Well that’s very informative.
Could you please give some similar tips for standing and walking too ?
Thanks
Hey Ronnie,
Sure – that would make a good blog post.
Mark
Hi Mark,
I experience severe cramps in the hamstrings while doing the Brigde evercise which means that these muscles are compensating and not letting the glutes fire up! That’s what called glutes amnesia.
So how to deal with it? Which exercises to do ?
Please help!!
Hey Ronnie,
Perhaps only go half the way up.
See how that goes!
Mark
Ahem–meant to say any *more* stretches for hip flexors. Sorry.
Super helpful site, thank you!
I agree with Omealone1–any hip flexor stretches would be great!
My v. elderly mom has kyphosis , weak hips, the whole package….she also stands with bent knees (I think this is tight hamstrings ), and takes mini steps. I plan to work in your suggested exer. as she is able, but what are your suggestions. She has major health problems.
Hi Flan,
If she quite elderly, I would recommend seeing a health professional so that she can get the appropriate supervision.
Last thing you would want is that she injures her self doing the exercises!
Mark
Hi Mark,
So I have been doing almost all of the above exercises at the gym every second day. I have APT so i know that my glutes are very weak. I know its normal to feel muscle soreness the next day after working out however after doing these exercises i feel the soreness mainly in my hamstrings. I still feel it in my glutes but mainly my hamstrings. Is this normal since i have ATP?
Hey Sam,
Your Glutes and Hamstrings both share the same role of bringing your pelvis into a better position from an anterior pelvic tilt.
You should feel both engage.
Mark
“Whilst you are walking, let your back leg remain extended for a split second longer. This will engage your gluteal muscle group. It should feel as though you are gliding as you walk.” could you elaborate please?
Hi Ryan,
Basically – it means to take longer strides to allow your back hip to extend more than it would if you were to walk with smaller steps.
With hip extension past hip neutral, the glute muscles are more so engaged.
Mark
I’m 8 weeks postpartum and had frequent adjustments during the pregnancy for a tilted pelvis. I’m stretching my hips flexors and hamstrings. I believe I have an anterior tilted pelvis and an working on that as well as core since it’s likely very weak. My question is I’m still not feeling any glute activation except a small amount doing clamshells with a resistance band. I did yoga and do currently so I’m unsure why the glutes are so weak! Any suggestions on what I can do?
Hi Brenda,
If you have an Anterior pelvic tilt, the glute muscles are placed in a elongated position which makes it very difficult to engage them.
Try this:
– Whilst standing, tilt your pelvis backwards (posterior pelvic tilt). Think about tucking your tail bone underneath you.
– Lock this position in with your core engagement.
– Whilst placing the weight on the left leg, proceed to tap your right leg behind you.
Can you feel the glute muscle firing there?
Mark
So many exercises! How much of this till we see any results?
Hey Gino,
Within the first couple of weeks, you should notice that you can perform many of the exercises with less difficulty.
As you become familiar with how your body responds to what particular exercises, you can start to omit some exercises. This will allow you to focus on the main ones that you feel you get the most benefit from.
Mark
I know for sure that my glutes are not firing properly which has developed in pain around the glute med area and some plantar fasciitis pain. I definitely sit a lot because of my desk job, although I try to move around as much as I can by taking frequent breaks.
What I am confused is if I should stretch the glutes or do activation exercises while focusing on stretching the tight areas (i.e- hip flexors, TFL etc). I have read that stretching inactive/weak muscles doesn’t help with the pain/soreness.
your input will be appreciated.
Hi Alec,
I guess it really depends which fibre within the glute muscle is tight. (The glute muscle is responsible for hip extension and external rotation). The External rotation fibres tends to be more commonly tight.
But to keep it simple – You do want to stretch your glutes in general, but strengthening (especially hip extension) should always be your #1 focus as they are weak from excessive sitting.
Mark
Hi Mark,
You have super useful information! keep on good work ;)
/Ogge
Thanks Ogge :)
Gwiz, thanks, found this article was be most thorough!
Cheers mate! Hope it helps !
I stil get mixed messages about stretching hip flexors? Also, surely these exercises trengthen and further compress an already tight muscle?