Gluteless Society continued

A good way to open up the hip flexors and turn on the glutes is to perform a stretch for the hip flexors followed by an activation exercise for the glutes prior to the main workout.  An example would be holding a stretch for 30 seconds and immediately performing 10 glute bridges after the stretch.  With the hip flexors opened up, the glutes can do their job more effectively.  This sets you on the right path for the rest of the workout. 

Special exercises would then be done to strengthen the glutes and ensure that they continue to fire, such as pull throughs, double and single leg glute bridges, band hip extensions, reverse hypers, and focusing on squeezing the glute muscles when performing big bang exercises like squats and deadlifts. 

If its the tensor fascia latae (a hip muscle located near your front pocket) that is primarily stiff, a special tfl stretch can be performed, followed by a special exercise such as a band hip abduction to train the glute medius, which is usually the muscle that is weak with an overactive tfl. 

For those who sit a lot throughout the day, getting up and moving around at regular intervals is a great way to help posture and keep the body working efficiently.  Throwing in some stretches for those hip flexors that have been shortening during all of the long sitting is also great to do.  Obviously, other muscles can become stiff and inactive also, this is just one example.  So if you think you might have a problem similar to this, give me a call and lets check it out.