Build those Glutes, enhance performance, eliminate pain, and look good doing it....
The Gluteal muscle group (The glutes) are the muscular powerhouse of the body. The glutes are capable of producing a lot of force and are an important muscle group for everyday movement, sports performance, lower back health as well as reducing joint injury and degeneration.
For all of you, tennis and Squash players, the Glutes are crucial muscle to be training. with the nature of these sports being multi-directional, high tensile force demands power generation and running. The Glutes are hard at work not only propelling the body forwards but contributing to joint stability under high tensile forces, coordinating the upper and lower extremities, left-right synchrony through the gait cycle, Shots, serves even rapid direction changes. And, unlocking the extension mechanism of the hips/pelvis for power.
Hence you can see why they the powerhouse muscle.
So, the complete overview of their role includes;
- movement of the Hips/pelvis, lumbar spine and legs (femur) which includes; extension/flexion, internal & external Rotation, adduction & abduction from the hip joint.
- In Running and the gait cycle, they propel the body forward
- Produces power through the extension of the hips
- Pelvic and Lumbar Spine stability and mobility
- Protection from Joint overuse & degeneration
- Contribute to maintaining a solid upright posture
A deeper look at the Gluteal muscle group:
There are 4 main muscles in the gluteal compartment and they are Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Minimus and Piriformis. There are also much smaller muscles that help support the hip in this compartment called Obturator Internus, Obturator Externus, Quadratus Femoris, Gemellus superior and Gemellus inferior but the main ones we are the focus today are the four I mentioned first.
Exercise's such as back squats, deadlifts, lunges and even step-ups or box jumps give the Glute's a run for their money and definitely earn there place in a training program or workout. However, Here are 4 of my top Glutes exercise that isolate the Glutes specifically
1. Kettlebell Swing or cable pull through
2. Hip Thrusts
3. Glute Bridge (Beginners start with just bodyweight, then work up to banded bridges and elevated banded Glute bridges)
4. Frog Pumps
Check out the video below to see the exercises in action.