Glutes. Can you feel yours?
You’ve been sitting all day long and research tells us your waistline is going to pay dearly, but who knew the desk life would also turn off signals to our backsides?
You have heard it before and will hear it again and again, a sedentary lifestyle is the equivalent of having a major disease…
…and the simplest cure is exercise. (http://time.com/5430203/new-study-not-exercising-worse-than-smoking)
Gluteal amnesia or “dead butt syndrome” is a real thing and it happens when your glutes forget how to activate correctly.
While gluteal amnesia may not cause symptoms early on, having a major muscle group like the glutes not working properly will have effects globally throughout your body as time passes.
Some of these effects include:
• Lower back pain
• Hip pain
• Knee pain
• Muscular imbalances
• Postural distortion
The exciting news is that gluteal amnesia isn’t permanent if you’re willing to do the work!
So, here are 6 ways to wake up sleepy glutes.
EXERCISES TO ACTIVATE YOUR GLUTES
Glute Exercise #1
Glute Bridge
This exercise is not only an easy move to begin with for nearly everyone, it also has the benefit of being one of the top exercises to activate the glutes.
Start with your body weight and progress to single leg bridges and for advanced trainees, progress to loaded barbell hip thrusts.
Glute Exercise #2
Clam Shell
Start simple on this movement and focus first on “feeling” the glutes. Once you’ve mastered activating the correct area, add some resistance with a band.
Glute Exercise #3
Bird Dog
This “standard” exercise for lower back health can also help wake up the glutes. It’s simple and everyone can do it giving themselves 2x the benefit.
Glute Exercise #4
Donkey Kicks
You’ve probably seen these in every Jane Fonda video or they might even bring back memories of your favorite 80’s movie…but they work.
Glute Exercise #5
Squat
About as primal and fundamental as it gets, no lower body development program should be without one or more variations of the squat.
Start with developing a good, solid bodyweight version first and scale up the difficulty from there.
With so many versions to choose from – goblet squat, split squat, back squat, front squat – you’ll never get bored of doing squats and getting the results you want.
Someone may have told you once that squats are not good for you. We debunked that myth a while back in the blog post 7 RIDICULOUS EXERCISE MYTHS REVEALED.
Glute Exercise #6
Deadlift
You might associate deadlifts with something only hardcore gym-goers should be doing but that’s just not true.
At least not if you want to wake up your glutes and strengthen your hamstrings at the same time.
Like squatting, there are many variations of the deadlift to keep you occupied but starting with a simple Body weight Romanian Deadlift will do the trick!
When it comes to excessive sitting, driving and a generally sedentary lifestyle, we’re starting to understand just how potentially devastating it can be to our health.
Putting our sleepy glutes into that category may seem laughable but gluteal amnesia is no joke. Solving the problem will not only make you healthier but you’ll look and feel better too!
And don’t forget to check out our other instructional videos for basic spinal hygiene exercises.
Dr. Derek Gallant
Dr. Derek Gallant has committed himself to helping others live the best life possible. After graduating from Wesleyan University, he received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Life Chiropractic College West where he finished 2nd in his class. He is the owner of Beverly Family Chiropractic and co-founder of The Well Family Foundation. Dr. Gallant is certified through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) in the Webster technique, an analysis focused on assisting pregnant women in a healthy pregnancy and natural birth. He has inspired thousands of people to take control of their own health using the Life By Design method. Apart from full time practice you can find Derek at the parks and coffee shops around Beverly with his family, training hard at the gym, or at the beach surfing.
