Medicine for weak buttocks.
When the glutes don't do their job, muscle function and movement mechanics in the hips suffer, as well as strength, power, mobility, stability, posture, and athletic performance. Here are a few signs that indicate weak or inactive buttocks.Knee pain
If you experience any serious forms of chronic or acute knee pain and discomfort, chances are that your buttocks as well as your hamstrings are not working properly. Maintaining an appropriate balance of strength between the front and back of the hip and knee is critical to ensuring joint health and proper movement mechanics.
The wrong technique
Look at your technique of squats and lunges. If there is a significant shift of the knee (the knees are pushed forward), the knees are compressed inwards, the inability of the foot to fully rest on the floor, then most likely, the gluteal muscles are weak.
The absence of pain
When you train your legs with squats, lunges,and deadlifts, your buttocks should ache as much as the rest of your lower body, if not more.
Weak ankles and feet
Do you have weak feet and ankles? This is a warning sign that your buttocks are loose and not engaged. Similarly, the lack of balance and stability is highly correlated with poor function of the buttocks and thighs. In addition, if the knees bend inward during squats or if you show pronation of the foot and ankle, this also indicates weakness of the mid and small glutes.
Tight hip flexors
If your hip flexors are constantly tense, it's likely that your buttocks and hamstrings are weak and inactive. Creating a muscular balance between the anterior and posterior segments of the thigh is crucial not only for posture, but also for performance, joint health, and appearance.
Analyze your gluteal muscles
There are special tests that you can use for self-assessment of buttock function. If you can successfully complete these tests, chances are your buttocks are working properly. If not, then your glutes are weak to some extent or completely, and you need to activate them.
1. You should be able to perform the Romanian deadlift at 75-80% of your maximum squat for at least a few reps.
2. you should be able to do lunges with a barbell either for 50% of the squat, or for 100% of your weight, at least a few repetitions on each leg.
3. You should be able to perform multiple repetitions of one leg of Romanian deadlifts with body weight (barbell or dumbbell).
4. you should be able to hold the stand on one leg with your eyes closed for 60 seconds on each leg.
5. you must be able to jump at least 2.2 m if you are a woman, or 2.6 m if you are a man.
6. You should be able to perform 10 sit-UPS on one leg (each leg) on your bare feet with your hips raised.
If any of these tests or warning signs reveal weakness, there are several things you can do to improve hip and buttock function.
7 ways to activate weak buttocks
1. Monitor the position of the spine and improve it
Make sure your back is strong enough to keep you in the correct position during squats and deadlifts. Also, focus on strengthening your broadest muscles and improving your overall posture. When the pose is perfect, it allows the hips to bend completely in a stretched position.
As a result, the buttocks are fully extended during the eccentric phase, thereby increasing the power and torque that the hips can produce during the subsequent concentric movement. In other words, proper alignment of the spine is key to hip and buttock function. Without proper postural mechanics, achieving strong activation of the gluteal muscles is almost impossible.
2. Strengthen your legs.
The lack of innervation of the feet and ankles minimizes the involvement of the muscles, especially the glutes. If you have weak feet and ankles, it will be difficult to work with the buttocks. In addition to walking barefoot or wearing minimalistic shoes, you can perform a variety of exercises. Any one-leg stand option, such as changing weights on one leg, is great for improving strength and functionality.
Changing the kettlebell on one leg: while standing on one leg, slowly transfer the kettlebell from one hand to the other.
3. Pull your hips back.
Keep your hips back during the eccentric phase of all leg movements. Whether it's squats, deadlifts, lunges, or any other lower-body exercise, setting your hips back activates the eccentric activation of your buttocks, which is crucial for absorbing strength as well as activating your hips in the concentric phase. Shifting the hips forward on the eccentric part compromises the activation of the buttocks, thereby loading the joints and minimizing the overall ability to create strength.
4. Perform daily activation of the gluteal muscles.
Performing low-or medium-intensity buttock activation exercises on a daily basis works wonders. Bridges with your own weight, bridges on one leg, Romanian deadlift on one leg with your own weight, holding in lunges, squats, buttocks extension and even something as simple as a stand on one leg with your eyes closed-everything you need to activate the buttocks. Work on these exercises for five minutes daily.
5. Make sure that the strength of your buttocks is the same.
Most athletes one of the gluteus Maximus muscle is weaker than the other. Most likely, whichever hand you have is dominant, the opposite buttocks and hip will have more strength and functionality.
This is the result of a contralateral or "separation effect" that manifests itself in many actions, such as jumping, throwing, and hitting. Correcting this imbalance may not be easy, but it all comes down to isolating the weak glute muscle by performing additional one-way hip movements, such as one-leg hip thrusts, lunges, and Bulgarian squats.
Focusing on symmetrical loading (equal tension on each side) during two-way movements such as squats, deadlifts, and performing pivots is also of paramount importance, as one side will tend to dominate. Reduce the load, close your eyes, and tune in to the amount of neuromuscular tension and force generated by each side. If you focus on sensory feedback, your muscles will literally be able to sense when the load and activation are asymmetric. You will gradually increase the load towards a weaker one, eventually correcting the imbalance.
6. Perform squats with a low barbell.
There's nothing wrong with doing squats with a high bar. However, if you have any problems with the activation of the gluteal muscles, you can start to mix squats with a low neck. Due to the fact that the barbell is located below the center of mass, this contributes to a slightly greater tilt of the torso forward, thereby more effectively emphasizing the hips and buttocks. Before increasing your weight, try using lighter loads to emphasize technique and power. This is a great way to increase hip activity while also improving your squat technique.
7. Master lunges and Bulgarian squats.
Lunges with weights, split squats and Bulgarian squats are incredible exercises for the buttocks. Unfortunately, this depends on one very important factor - the ability to pull your hips back. If the hips are not in the correct position for lunges and similar variations, these movements actually have very little effect on the glutes and cause more damage to the knees.
To reinforce the idea of setting the hips back in lunge variations, including a low-bar lunge (similar to low-bar squats) is very helpful in establishing proper hip mechanics. If you want to go further, add
accommodative resistance in the form of bands is a great way to maintain constant tension in the buttocks.
