You work so hard in the gym.
You squat for days and heavy.
You deadlift heavy and feel your hamstrings
You do everything you need to do to get a better/ stronger butt.
Don’t get me wrong, squats are one of the best exercises you can do and we will continue to squat. But, most people do not use their glute muscles to squat. Keep reading and I will tell you why.
Yes, you heard right. Squatting does not make you have a stronger butt. In all reality, you probably have weak gluteal muscles.
Let’s do a little test and see what you feel.
Stand up, now perform a squat below parallel.
Did you feel your glutes activate?
If you did not, then we know that you have some weakness there. Now, where did you feel it? You probably felt it in your quardraceps and maybe your hamstrings. As humans, we are predominately quad dominate.
In today’s society we sit and we sit and we sit. We are hunched over at computers 5-8 hours a day, working. This is killing our body posture and weakening our backside.
There are a couple of key points to notice when squatting.
Do you feel pain in your lower back and are you sore only in quads and hamstrings? We can also look to see if you have an Anterior Pelvic Tilt or Butt wink. This is when the Psoas and hip flexors pull your hips in an anterior motion causing your pelvis to tilt. If you answered yes then we need to remedy the situation.
ACTIVATION exercises are one of the most important ways to correct your sitting position and get those glute muscles fired up. Activation movements are isolating certain muscles so that we find a connection between mind and body. You need to be able to feel the muscle activating.
These movements do not take a ton of skill or equipment but it is important to continue to do them as a prehab to everyday life. Get in a routine, do them before or after work and especially before your lifting session. Yes, be that guy/girl coming 15 minutes before class to get it done. Your back and body will thank you.
We squat, deadlift and even run ASSUMING that they are working properly. This is why it is so important that you do the activation exercises and that the connection between mind and body are there. By activated isolated muscles, you will also loosen up those tight hips.
Prevent Injury
Build a sexy/ strong butt
Help us Lift more and run FASTER
Check out the video about activation
