Ever been told your glutes are ‘weak’ or ‘aren’t firing’? Been prescribed countless glute
‘strengthening’ exercises to clear-up your back pain – but struggling to see any long-term
results?

Let’s decipher this.

First of all, understand that muscles are not weak or strong. They respond to the joint shape
and position. They will become long or short depending on the joint shape/position around
them.

Someone with persistent lower back pain is going to be rather compressed and squeezed
front to back at the joints (imagine a more pancaked pelvis). They will struggle to rotate
with relative motion and relax certain tissue.

Going away and squeezing the glutes more or extending/arching the lower back is going to
be catastrophic. Your glutes may feel ‘weak’ or ‘non-existent’ because they are already
squeezing (concentric).
We need to get the tissue at the back of the pelvis to relax and yield. We need to open up
space between the sacrum, sit-bone and femur head versus compress this area further.
Usually glute ‘strengthening’ exercises like a glute bridge are prescribed to improve hip
extension and glute ‘strength’. However, often the exercise extends the lumbar spine instead.

A great example is the multi-hip machine at Station Mill. If you perform a kick-back on this
machine you’ll notice in the mirror that your lower back will arch/extend. This will not be
improving hip extension, instead you will be compressing the pelvis back to front –
diminishing range of motion. The exact same thing is happening when people perform a
glute bridge with lower back extension and a glute squeeze at the top.
More glute ‘strengthening’ exercises include banded movements like ‘clams’ or ‘lateral
walks’.

People think that by doing these they are feeling the anterior portion of the glute
medius muscle which internally rotates the pelvis and opens up space between the sacrum
and sit-bone. However, sadly this isn’t happening – people are actually feeling the posterior
part of the glute medius which will externally rotate the pelvis and diminish mobility/range
of motion.

So, with your training, rehab or exercise regime – think:
More lumbar flexion, less extension.
Less symmetrical movements, more (slightly) asymmetrical movements.
Teach the body to land and absorb, versus jump/push off.
Lengthening the glute tissue, versus squeezing/tensing it.