No buts about your butt!
Butts. We all have them, but how strong is yours? And why does it matter?
Let’s move on to the anatomical term…your gluteal muscles. There are three of them: gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus and they are the largest and strongest muscles in your body. These muscles attach from the top of your pelvis to the back of your femur (thigh bone).
The gluteus maximus controls the movement of hip and thighs, and the gluteus medius and minimus controls the movement and stability of your pelvis. The three muscles work together to abduct, rotate and extend the hip.
If your glutes are weak or inactive (possibly from sitting for too many hours of the day), they cannot hold your pelvis in the right position or help maintain correct alignment of your femur. This can cause the wrong muscle groups (e.g. lower back muscles) to be “switched on” and over activate to help compensate for the lack of strength in the glutes.
This over activation and compensation could lead to lower back pain, knee pain, muscle spasm or cramps and nerve pain.
So, get off your butt and get moving!
WHY WE SHOULD STRENGTHEN THE GLUTES
Strengthening your glutes can help improve posture, as well as make sitting down, standing, picking up heavy objects and climbing stairs easier. Developing strong glutes can also decrease your risk of injuries and aches and pains.
So we will be focusing on strengthening hips and glutes over the coming weeks. In the meantime, below is a video with a short series of Pilates exercises that will not only help to strengthen your glutes but your entire body.
A FEW WAYS TO HELP STRENGTHEN YOUR GLUTES
You can do these three exercises every day and it will only take about 10 minutes.
1. Bridge:
Lie on your back with heels under your knees, feet parallel and slightly apart
Feet and arms press into the mat
Lift your hips straight up off the floor and straight back down.
It should feel like you’re pulling your heels into your butt on the way up and down.
Then try the same exercise but only on your heels (so lift the rest of your feet off the floor and flex your ankles)
2. Side lying:
Lie on one side, all body parts in a long line (head resting on shoulder).
Lift and lower the top leg while keeping the torso still x 10.
Circle the leg each way x 6
Switch to the other side
3. Frog (lying on your front)
Rest your head on your hands, legs as wide as your mat
Bend knees and print heels together, toes apart (flexed ankles)
Squeeze heels together, soften pelvis into the mat and lift and lower thighs
You should feel like you’re lifting the legs from the crease under your butt (top of the hamstrings)
Go for 10 reps or more
So no excuses, get your butt moving. Why not try one of my online classes so I can watch how you move and make sure you really get the most out of your Pilates workouts.
And remember to be kind to your body. Keep moving, keep breathing, keep practicing.