Glutes/ tookus/ rump/ heinie
Butts.
Hilarious that it’s almost my full time job teaching people to build an intimate relationship with their glutes, so this article is dedicated to the biggest - and arguably most important - muscle you got.
“Glutes” is easily the most frequent word I use in client sessions. Why is that? Because I’m constantly reminding clients to use them. Why? Because they are critical to proper form and doing a movement safely and effectively. Why else? Because its a muscle that almost all people have a poor connection with. Why? Because your ass becomes dormant with large amounts of sitting; but no judgement there, because even I must turn my glutes back on after a day of computer work or reading/research. See my article on a badass pre-workout ritual.
Glutes are used in almost every exercise you do, especially when you’re talking about low-equipment environments like your home gym or in a park workout. Glutes are usually muscles that stabilize your hips during all full body movements and calisthenics. More importantly, glutes are used as a prime mover in all types of squats and deadlifts: some of the most staple and essential exercises out there.
Someone without a mastery of their glutes will almost assuredly develop back pain, knee pain, or foot pain. They are used in most basic household tasks, including yard work, kids, groceries etc. If nothing else, glutes are what will keep someone mobile and independent well into old age.
Stand up right now. Check your own connection to your glutes. Can you pop them rapidly and with force? How quickly can you alternate squeezing them without your thighs getting involved? Twerk for your health *he said with utter sincerity*.
The issue arises when other muscles make up for someone’s lack of glutes; bicep femoris and erector spinae can do a ‘half-ass’ (lol) job of hinging the hip. When this dysfunction becomes really patterned into someone’s unconscious movement strategy, it can be tricky to guide them back out of it. It requires expertise in choosing and progressing someone through the right corrective exercises that favor the use of their glutes over these other overactive muscles. The easiest exercise is the glute bridge.
There you have it. Use your glutes a little more everyday. At minimum, stand up every 30 minutes to just squeeze those suckers together as hard as you can!! Be friends with your glutes, they will save your ass in more ways than one ;).