3 Essential Factors to Help Prevent Weak Glute Muscles

During Glutes Month, I’ll be sharing helpful information and tips so you can get this essential core muscle group working, strengthened, and feeling great! With that in mind, here are three important “glute facts” to keep in mind.

Glute Fact #1: If You Don’t Use Them, You’ll Lose Them!

Did you know that your glute muscles can shut down due to inactivity or injury? If you’re someone who spends a lot of time sitting at a desk, or in the car or on the couch, it can cause your glutes to weaken. The more sedentary you are, the weaker your glutes!

Since we know that strong glutes help with balance and everyday activities such as standing up and walking, it is important to spend some quality time making sure you are giving this area the attention it deserves!

There are you several ways that you can keep those glute muscles active at work. A stand-up desk is a good option, as well as getting up every 20-30 minutes to move around. You could also do some glute bridges or standing side leg lifts if you have the space and you know your coworkers won’t look at you funny (unless you don’t mind that, then hey, go for it!).

If you’re at home watching TV, don’t fast forward through those commercials, even if you have the power to do so! Get up and climb some stairs, do a few side leg raises while lying on the floor, or pick your favorite exercise and do a few reps! You can do basic moves or get creative – just be sure you’re moving often!

Glute Fact #2: Weak Glutes Can Lead to Other Problems

Did you know that if your glute muscles are weak, other muscle groups, including the hamstrings and quads, will take over for them? Unfortunately, that can cause additional problems for you besides weak glutes.

These other muscles aren’t designed to carry the heavy workload of the glute muscles. If you continue to make these “backup” muscles do a job that they aren’t meant to do, it can set you up for potential injuries.

That is why it is important to pay attention to what muscles you feel working during your workout. If you do a glute bridge but feel it mostly in the hamstrings or quads, you may need to focus on more glute isolation work to get those muscles working effectively again.

Isolation exercises are essential to include during your warm-up to help build that mind-muscle connection. Besides doing glute bridges, other exercises to help isolate and work the glutes include leg extensions, side-lying leg lifts, and clamshells.

Glute Fact #3: It’s Good to Mix It Up When Working Out

Did you know that doing ONLY squats, deadlifts, and forward and reverse lunges won’t build strong glutes? It’s crucial to build your glutes from all angles.

Two of the jobs the Glute Medius and Minimus have are moving the leg out to the side and providing stability and balance. This is very important because we don’t live in a world where everything we do involves moving in just two directions.

Think about your workout. Are you mostly moving forward and backward or up and down? When working out, you need to include exercises with lateral movements such as clamshells, side leg lifts and side lunges, to name a few.

If you’re looking for some exercise ideas that focus on helping your glute muscles, check out my Facebook page. I’ll be posting demo videos there throughout Glutes Month!

Okay, I’ve been sitting way too long writing this, so I’m going to take my own advice! Bridges, here I come!