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Get Your Butt in GearWritten on September 6, 2004 at 2:52 pm, by Eric Cressey We need an appropriate balance between strength and mobility in our hips. This is true if we want to squat or deadlift more weight, jump higher or sprint faster. A world-renowned philosopher by the name of Coolio may have said it best: “You can’t have da’ hop if ya don’t have da’ hip!” It’s no surprise that athletes in sports like Olympic lifting, powerlifting and sprinting have amazing overall development in both flexibility and strength of the hip musculature. We see tons of injuries to the hamstrings and lower back, but rarely encounter any sort of injury to the glutes. The fact of the matter is that most athletes are tight in the hamstrings, lower back and hip flexors. This collection of problems is related to a lack of strength and motor control in the gluteal muscles. When the hip flexors (antagonists to the gluteus maximus) are overactive, the gluteus maximus becomes weak via a mechanism known as reciprocal inhibition. Furthermore, when our “butt” muscles aren’t up to the task, the hamstrings and erector spinae muscles are forced to work overtime to compensate. This is known as synergistic dominance. This unfortunate cycle often results in injury, or at the very least, sub-optimal levels of performance. One Response to “Get Your Butt in Gear”Leave a Reply |
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February 12th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
This is a great article. It applies directly to me. i have poor flexability in my hamstrings and hips and i dont use my glutes nearly enough leading to constant lower back pain. i had a screening done and showed all these defecincies.i began doing the program they put me on but i didn\’t feel any difference. would that workout on t-nation be something i should feel working my glutes within the first workout? becuz i’m looking for something to help me use my glutes more and train them. any suggestions or ideas, would be greatly appreciated.
Ryan
Detroit, MI