The glutes and how to train these muscles
The glutes has become very popular to train. Although the glute muscles are an aesthetic muscle group for many people, there is much to be gained in having strong glute muscles. It is the “engine” in the hip part and is of great importance for power development in jumps and running. So if you want to be strong in the lower body, jump high or run fast, you benefit from gluteal training.
Gluteus maximus is the body’s largest muscle, the muscle is divided into an upper and lower part. The main function of gluteus maximus is to stretch the hip joint, twist and lift the leg to the side. Therefore, to activate the entire gluteus maximus, a variety of movements are required.
Under gluteus maximus lies gluteus medius. Gluteus medius is not as famous as maximus but has several significant features. The most important thing is to provide stability in the pelvic region. It also performs lifting of the leg to the side and contributes to the inward rotation (adduction) and external rotation (abduction) of the leg depending on the degree of bending in the hip joint. Gluteus medius have great importance when doing exercises with the load on one leg.
The gluteus minimus is the smallest of the three gluteal muscles and lies beneath the other two muscles. Gluteus minimus shares almost same functioning with the gluteus medius muscle, stabilizing the pelvis and abducting the thigh.The gluteus minimus is one of the secondary muscles that can produce hip extension. The piriformis is a small muscle when compared to other muscles of the region. The piriformis helps rotate the hip, It will rotate the thigh while extended and will abduct the thigh when flexed. The piriformis muscle is located close to the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the human body, this nerve can cause pain in some individuals. This pain can run from the buttocks to the lower back. Treatment for this includes physical therapy, deep tissue massage, and anti-inflammatory medication, which reduces swelling around the sciatic nerve.
What is the best gluteus exercise?
Studies that measured muscle activation In gluteus shows exercises consisting only of hip extension, higher measurements than exercises consist of both hip and knee extension. The rate of activation of the glutes is greatest at the end of the hip range and decreases if the hip bending increases. Thus, the activation in the glutes is higher in exercises like hip thrusters than in squats, provided that the same weight is used. It has also been shown that wider foot position or more backward movement of the buttock gives higher activation in the gluteus.
If you really want to try to get more activation in the upper glutes, you should focus on movements where the leg is lifted aside (abduction), such as lying knee lift or walking sideways with rubber bands around the ankles. If you want more focus on lower glutes, you should focus on squats and lunges like the Bulgarian lunge.
Prehab
A known fact is that muscles that are not activated regularly begin to decrease in size and strength. In elderly this is evident, when gluteus usually loses size due to reduced activation. Even younger inactive can display the corresponding characters. Because the glutes affects many movements across the hip joints, pelvis, back and legs, this is noticed quickly. Back and hip disorders that occur can sometimes be attributed to lack of strength and function in the glute muscles. Reduced hip stability and knee control are other examples. Keeping these muscles in good shape has a positive effect on lumbar spine, hips and knees.
Prioritize muscle contact
People who fail their gluteal training often find it hard to find a muscle contact. A common mistake is the use of heavy weights, which makes it difficult to know where “the exercise takes”. If so, you should use simpler and easier exercises where the muscle contact is emphasized, such as hip thruster and lateral knee lift. From there, the load rate can be built up through more complex and heavier exercises. Using heavy weights is of course good for total strength development, but if the force is to be targeted specifically against gluteus, the feeling must control more than the weight of the weights.
Hip Thruster
Is the exercise that has recently come up as gluteus exercise No. 1! And with all right! Hip Thruster provides high degree of activation in the gluteus and emphasizes the end of the extension phase where gluteus is strongest.
