Lower Body Training: Butt Muscles

By Bruce Cohn
Boston Globe, September 23, 2004
 
Last month’s column examined the importance of developing the deep postural muscles that support the spine to aid in healthy back function. Today we will look at specific exercises to activate and strengthen your lower body muscles to aid in everyday bending and lifting movements. In the process, we will need to distinguish between the powerful muscles designed to move our bodies and the smaller muscles designed to assist in stabilizing the movements we make.

Our primary focus is on the gluteus maximus, the largest muscle in the body located in the buttocks. This muscle is the power pack of the body and is meant to be the muscle most involved as we push off the ground and decelerate force as we squat down. For reasons ranging from weakness and tightness to incorrect muscle firing patterns, many of us don’t activate this muscle properly and compensate by substituting other muscles (such as the hamstrings or spinal extensors) that are less efficient at doing this work.

The good news is that there are some simple exercises that you can do at home to relearn how to fire your "glutes."

First let’s look at a simple muscle firing pattern for the lower body You can do this test on your own but I would suggest partnering up with someone so they can note what your pattern is.

Lie on your stomach with your legs shoulder distance apart extended long and turned out. Do this on a mat or towel and rest your forehead on your hands. Raise one leg off the ground and notice if the back of your thigh or your butt contracts first. It may take two or three times to see what you feel.

Your butt muscle (gluteus maximus) is supposed to be the first muscle to contract followed by the hamstring in the back of your thigh. However, because the hamstring tends to be tight and shortened from excessive sitting, it will take over and the butt muscle will lag behind.

To correct this, try lifting the leg again but before you do think of squeezing your butt and the muscle in the front of your thigh (quadriceps). You will notice immediately how much lighter your leg feels. And you will feel less strain in your lower back because you are firing your butt muscle first.

Do this movement for 10-12 repetitions alternating from side to side. Do it slowly and think of lengthening your leg more so than lifting it higher. Doing this exercise regularly can change faulty firing patterns and, after time, you should notice your butt muscle firing automatically in anticipation of lifting your leg.

Perform the next series of exercises as a simple yet effective way to balance out your lower body musculature and assist with proper movement patterns—whether for activities of daily living or higher levels of conditioning. They can be used as a warm-up to more intense lower body movement patterns that require good power and control such as squats, lunges and dead lifts or as a simple daily maintenance routine.

At first these exercises may appear subtle as they do not require a great range of motion but they are extremely specific and isolated. However, you will feel them intensely and with repetition you will automatically be firing the proper muscles that assist with everyday movement patterns such as bending and lifting.

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and heels twelve inches from your buttocks. Place a small piece of foam at least three inches thick between your knees. Draw your navel in towards your spine and squeeze the foam tightly between your knees as you raise your hips off the floor. Use your hands to feel that your butt muscle is contracted and hold for a three count. Perform this movement for 10-25 repetitions.

The same movement can be performed with a resistance band tied just above your knees. Starting with the knees hip distance apart, press into the band as you raise your hips and push the knees away from your midline. After performing 10-25 repetitions you’re ready to try it on one leg. Shift the weight to your right leg and raise the left foot off the ground. After doing 10 reps on one side, repeat for the other leg. Remember to keep feeling your butt muscle with your hands to ensure that it is engaged.

The next progression is to work from a standing position. Place an elastic band around your legs just below your knees—they can be purchased online from M-F Athletic—and spread your feet into a “plie” stance. Keeping your heels on the ground and your back flat, push your hips back and lower down as if you were sitting into a chair behind you. Counteract the inward pressure of the band by pressing your knees outward as you descend. Perform 15 of these body weight squats and work your way up to two to three sets to really learn to fire your glutes.

The other portion of the butt that you want to awaken is the outer portion and is best activated with a walking exercise. Lower the elastic band so that it is around your ankles. Walk sideways keeping your legs straight and maintain tension on the band by not allowing the non-lead leg to get to close to the other leg as you step. Perform this walk for 15-25 steps both to the right and left and you will get an instant anatomy lesson as to the location of the gluteus medius along the outside of your butt.

Now you’re ready to do large scale movements such as lunges, dead lifts and single leg exercises. Future columns will describe proper form for performing these exercises but for now your emphasis should be on learning how to turn on your gluteal muscles so that they can do the work they were intended to do. For if we are going to use exercise as medicine to avoid back pain then we should make sure we are doing it in the right way.

I’d like to thank PJ O’Clair, program director of the Stott Pilates Boston Instructor Certification studio, for her work on movement pattern tests and review of these exercises.

Bruce Cohn is the Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Middlesex School in Concord. He runs FIT-TO-GO Total Sports Conditioning and is a nationally certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Bruce can be reached at 781-316-0061 or brucegym@rcn.com.