Wake Your Butt Up!

Do you know how strong or weak your butt muscles are?

This is a part of the body that always shows up in the fitness talk, not just for esthetics, but also for functionality. These two components have to meet to not only get you a good looking back side, but also to help you prevent injury, stay fit, have better movement control and become a stronger athlete. As one of the largest muscle groups in the human body, the glutes are involved in running, jumping, changing directions, golf swinging, throwing, etc.

Who actually stops to think about the real role of those muscles? Just stop and think, that’s smack in the middle of your body.  And then tell me, when you are sitting on your butt hours and hours a day, do you realize you are smashing one of the most important structural support segments of your body?
Well, if you fit in the hardcore “sitters” category, you probably don’t realize that because your butt gets in such deep sleep that you forget you have one. But you sure remember your back, because at that point, I’m sure it hurts.

I am not kidding. People do forget that. Maybe you are a well “butt-informed” person, who read or heard enough to know that your glute muscles should be heavy workers. But there are severe cases of butt sleepiness, like a man in his 50s who had a fitness assessment with me. He was really surprised to find out (well, through my statement, not his awareness) that he actually has muscles in his butt. As a matter of fact, he stated he believed he only had fat there.

Whether you like it or not (and you don’t need to be Brazilian like me to fit in this category) , the gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body… Its job is to keep the trunk erect and also to extend the hip, keeping the legs straight. It’s that nice round part of your butt. Please note that size doesn’t really equal efficiency here, so let’s not get into those details. The gluteus maximus helps to propel you forward, and if it’s strong to do its job right, it takes strain away from your back, knees, and feet.

The gluteus medius is right underneath the maximus, and it takes care of movements such as stepping side to side. And it pairs up with the gluteus minimus, which does mainly a pelvic connection and stabilization job.

What happens if you have a sleepyhead butt? There are common issues that can stop you in your tracks, but can be prevented and addressed by strengthening your glutes:

-          low back pain

-          hamstring strains

-          hip pain

-          knee pain

-          or just plain sad droopy butt 

Anything sounds familiar?

Then fire your glutes away!! Give it a shot! Firing the glutes, or doing glute activation, is pretty much making that numb over-relaxed muscles wake up so you can optimize your training. If you use more muscles correctly, you feel almost like an immediate strength response, and it helps you gain better balance and stability, and prevent injuries. If your butt is awake, your squats will probably be heavier, your lunges too and even more stable, you can run faster and jump higher. Your whole body can work harder because the powerhouse is on!

What I usually do when training clients who are not too fond of doing functional stuff is, I incorporate some of these in their high intensity sessions. And by the way, keep in mind that being functional does not mean that it will be easier or lighter.

So, here is a list of glute activation exercises, suggested by Fraser Quelch, NCSA, CSCS - Director of Programming and Education at Fitness Anywhere, Inc. in an article for Perform Better.

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Lunge with Forward Reach	1 to 2	10 to 12
Lunge with Side Reach	1 to 2	10 to 12
Crossing Balance Lunge	1 to 2	10 to 12
Lunge with Rotational Reach	1 to 2	10 to 12
Deep Squat	1 to 2	10 to 12
Squat with Rotational Reach	1 to 2	10 to 12
Squat with Side Reach	1 to 2	10 to 12

Start slow, with lighter weights and work on your progressions.

You get all the strength and functionality and top it off getting a nicer rear end? Why not?

Don't miss your butt wake up call. ;)