Are you using your butt? Up to 90 per cent of us may not be

Some of my never-ending glute work. Top: Bird dog, for core, glutes, etc. Bottom left: single leg squat, my nemesis. Bottom right: monster walk, my favourite.

When Vancouver-based personal trainer Joanne Soh suggested I didn’t know how to “fire” my glutes, I was pretty damn offended.

I’m a certified fitness instructor of nearly 10 years; I squat, I lunge – I know what I’m doing, I thought.

When I finally went in for an assessment, it turned out she was right.

And it’s quite possible that all my injuries stem from my inability to engage my gluteal muscles.

My Achilles tendinopathy, which I‘ve struggled with for about two years, seems to be a result of using my foot and calf muscles (instead of my glutes) to power through high impact, explosive movements.

My often-recurring knee pain is believed to be from my quadriceps muscle pulling my kneecap out of alignment, which happens because I’m quad dominant – meaning I use those muscles when I should really be using my glutes.

If I didn’t meet with Soh (or my physiotherapist – read about the importance of foam rolling here) this list would only continue.

My amazing personal trainer Joanne Soh, who also happens to be a Kettlebell whiz and StrongFirst certified. When I first agreed to meet with her she said to me: “Let’s get your body back!” And, as lame as it sounds, that’s what we did.

According to Soh (who also helped me reach my goal of doing an unassisted pull-up), this is one of the most common issues she sees with clients. Many trainers estimate that up to 90 per cent of people unknowingly struggle with glute activation, she says.

“The biggest syndrome in our day and age is ‘the sitting disease,’” said Soh, who trains out of Steve Nash Fitness World on W Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver. “It’s actually a syndrome called ‘gluteal amnesia.’”

The culprit is a sedentary lifestyle, for example sitting in an office chair all day at work. Sitting for prolonged periods of time means the hip flexors don’t reach full extension, so the gluteal muscles don’t turn on, or, in simpler terms, they “go to sleep.”

“Your hip flexors get so tight that they restrict your glutes from firing,” said Soh. “The body is very smart in that it starts to compensate.”

A common compensation would be for the quads (like me) or hamstrings to fire in its place.

This, of course, leads to more issues down the chain – again, much like me with my Achilles and knee issues.

“Why do you think people have low back pain, weak core, tight hamstrings?” asked Soh. “When the glutes don’t fire you know that your core muscles are not going to work either.”

To check a client for ‘gluteal amnesia’ Soh has them perform a simple squat. She looks for buckling knees, extending arms, a collapsing upper body, or a concave low back.

“They can barely even lower themselves – just using the lower body – into a squat,” she said.

But alas, there’s good news.

“Regardless of whether it’s postural, genetic, etc., it is possible to retrain the body,” said Soh, suggesting exercises like hinges, lunges and squats. “You have to strengthen your glutes and your lower body and your core.”

Enlisting the help of a personal trainer like Soh, who’s also a Kettlebell whiz and StrongFirst certified, is what saved me. It still takes concentration to fire my glutes, but without her I never would have known how.

Here are some of the key exercises we worked on to get me on the road to recovery:

Glute bridges:

 

Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet firmly planted on the floor and your arms reaching out above your chest (you can hold a bar or a yard stick). Push the butt up (focus on squeezing and using the glutes instead of the hamstrings). Your body should form a straight line from the chest to the knees (it’s not just your hips lifting), the whole body must move in a straight line.

Single leg glute bridge:

Once the regular glute bridge is mastered, move to single leg. Don’t lift your leg too high, make sure both knees are aligned. This helps with not only strengthening and learning how to use the glutes, but it can also help determine if there’s a weaker side.

Bird dog:

 

On all fours, plant your hands on the floor so that your shoulders are stacked directly over your wrists and the knees are in line with the hips. Slowly raise one arm and the opposite leg, actively reaching for opposite ends of the room. Switch sides.

Clam shell:

 

Lie on your side with your legs stacked and knees bent. Slowly lift your top knee up towards the ceiling, squeezing your gluteus medius. Be careful not to open your hip, the knee should still be facing forward (not up towards the ceiling). This can also be performed with a resistance band.

 

Monster walk:

With a band around your feet, bend at the knees and stick the bum out to engage the glutes. Take a wide step out to the right (like you’re trying to step over a puddle) and slowly bring the left foot in so your feet are back to hip width. Repeat a few more times to the right, then to the left.

Single leg squat:

Sit down on a chair or bench and plant one foot firmly into the ground. While holding the other leg off the ground, engage your glutes and lift up to standing. Sit back down and repeat. Don’t let your other foot touch the ground. To increase difficulty, start seated from a lower bench, or a step.

Here’s (sped-up) video of the movements. Perform at least 10 reps of each exercise for a total of two sets. Remember to move slowly.