Welcome to another installment of Recycled Instagram Posts. After all, these would probably go unnoticed if I didn’t shove them in your face again, like a dog being scolded for going pee on the carpet. Enjoy this video and subsequent commentary on glute activation, timing and how you can improve your strength or decrease that low back ache/tiredness you get with hip extension movements like we see in the gym!
What are we seeing above?
Well, the athlete in this video has low back pain and erector spinae tightness that develops with running activities greater than half of a mile. He goes onto say that he feels like his back is always tight and that he needs to lean back excessively when running to reduce some of that tension.
Upon examination the patient, he shows: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1) Tender and dense low back musculature (particularly the erector spinae group)
2) Spinal erectors firing BEFORE the glutes in this hip extension task?
What we would PREFER to see in these activities are the glutes doing the work FIRST and take the lead in the hip extension process. After all, that IS the main function of the gluteals, so why not use them for that?
I mean, who wants all of that empty space in the back of your new underwear? Or how about that posterior jean sag flat booties tend to get? Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, wants the back of your pants looking like you have a cheap and loose pair of soiled underpants on. Ideally, I want mine to look like a healthy baby who created a huge mess in their supportive and comfortable diaper. Enter: THE DIAPER BOOTY.
DIAPER BOOTY CROSSFIT CASE STUDY:
This particular patient complained of diffuse low back pain with running and endurance based weightlifting tasks. Our test showed a time differential between glute and low back musculature, with the erectors firing first in a simple prone hip extension. With a reduction in tone of the low back and increased isolated glute contraction activities, the client showed improved mechanics in his main lifts and less fatigue in his low back.
We worked on squeezing both glutes simultaneously, then progressed to contracting one glute and a time, and eventually glute squeezes with some hip extension to start priming the nervous system to a more mechanically advantageous firing pattern. One that emphasizes GLUTES FIRST!
This is ESPECIALLY important in a sport like crossfit, consisting of plenty of repetitive hip extension tasks, explosive in nature. IMAGINE how nice it would be to have those gluteals firing first and more powerfully in order to give the erectors a rest during these tasks? Ill answer for you: PRETTY F&@%(# NICE
Come On… Try It!
Always nice to try some gluteal firing activities on your own in order to see how difficult it actually is to contract one (or even both) glutes at the same time while also keeping the surrounding low back musculature quiet. Incorporate these activities as a prepatory movement on leg days, dead lifts, or prior to a big day of OLY lifts and see the benefits of feeling that contraction!