You may be thinking, “Awaken my glutes?!” But if they weren’t awake, how could I stand up!?
While our glutes are working, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to stand up, that doesn’t mean they’re functioning well let alone optimally.
And the fact that you aren’t able to utilize that oh so powerful muscle group efficiently or effectively may be why you have lower back, hip, knee, groin, hamstring…even ankle aches and pains.
It’s also why terms like “dead butt,” “sleepy butt” and “gluteal amnesia” have become more and more popular.
So then why may we be struggling to awaken our glutes?
Unfortunately, our daily desk job, or work posture, may be partly to blame.
We often spend far too much time seated, which keeps our hips in constant flexion. This consistent hip flexion leads to overactive and tight hip flexors and underactive glutes.
You may be thinking, “Well I squat and deadlift if my workouts so shouldn’t that then activate my glutes?”
The simple answer is…
No.
And the whole “squat for a better butt thing” may actually be why you AREN’T seeing the glute results you want!
While squats and deadlifts are AMAZING and ESSENTIAL compound moves, we can often use improper recruitment patterns to try and mimic proper movement patterns when performing these moves.
Say whaaat?!
Basically, we’re using the wrong muscles to try and make the move look correct.
It’s why you may feel your lower back during deadlifts over your glutes. Or feel only your quads during squats. Or maybe even your hamstrings during glute bridges.
All of these muscles are becoming overworked trying to take on extra because your glutes aren’t pulling their weight.
And this compensation is what leads to overload of muscles that shouldn’t be made to carry the load of work they’re being asked to perform.
And that overload is what leads to injury.
That’s why I wanted to share 3 key tips to help you awaken your glutes BEFORE you lift, run or ride!
How To AWAKEN YOUR GLUTES – 3 Keys:
These 3 key tips will help you establish a more efficient mind-body connection to engage those glutes properly during exercises.
They focus on a key, but often missing component. of our warm up and prehab process – ACTIVATION EXERCISES.
Whether due to our modern desk job posture or even previous injury, all too often we have imbalances and compensations we need to correct.
These tips will help you do that to get those glutes firing!
1. Isolate To Activate
So you may be thinking, “What even are activation exercises?”
Activation exercises are very isolated movements that help you focus on only the muscle you actually want to work working.
These very isolated movements are the perfect way to make sure you’re actually engaging, or activating, the muscle you want to work.
In this case, your GLUTES!
Activation moves are isolation exercises done with bodyweight or very light loads. They aren’t the moves you focus on adding heavy loads to.
They generally have smaller ranges of motion and create peak tension on the glutes when the muscles are shortened.
These activation moves are often the “silly-looking” moves we dismiss because we think only women wearing leg warmers do them to get a bigger butt.
But these very targeted moves help us focus on what we feel working.
You want to think about these moves as a chance to use your MIND to engage the muscles harder not on trying to progress the weight you can lift.
You want to be thinking, “What do I actually feel working?” And actually KNOW what you feel working.
When you use these moves in your warm up, you’ll perform higher reps for fewer sets.
You want to create a “burn” or “pump” with these moves. This pump makes it easier for you to then know your glutes are working when you go into compound lifts or hit the trails.
But you don’t want to go to fatigue with these moves. You just want to feel your glutes working, feel that burn build, then stop and move into your training!
You also need to remember, you are NEVER above these basics. And the better your mind-body connection?
The easier it should be to feel those glutes working even with a very basic, simple moves such as the bodyweight glute bridge!
2. Activate And Stretch
Often when our hips feel tight, or we know we’ve spent far too much time seated, we turn to stretching.
But so often when we stretch, we’re only focused on relaxing the overactive muscle. We aren’t focused on then getting the correct muscles working.
It’s why it can feel like we spend all of this time stretching to just constantly end up tight again!
So while stretching is an important component of your mobility routine, it’s key we realize that by focusing on activation exercises we are also stretching out those tight and shortened hip flexors.
Through a process called reciprocal inhibition you are stretching out your hips by activating your glutes.
Reciprocal inhibition is a neurologic process where muscles on one side of a joint relax to accommodate the contraction of muscles on the other side of that joint.
Your glutes contract, which means your hip flexors then have to relax to allow the extension.
It’s why it’s so key we include those isolation activation exercises.
They allow us to focus on actually engaging our glutes to correctly perform hip extension and therefore relax and stretch those tight hip flexors.
Too often when we ask our body to perform hip extension if we haven’t first “awakened” our glutes, we end up arching our lower back to compensate or even end up creating other pelvic alignment issues in an attempt to mimic the movement pattern we can’t correctly control.
That’s why we want to include these activation moves to not only stretch but also engage those underactive muscles!
These activation moves allow us to improve our hip mobility AND our hip stability to prevent aches and pains so we can run faster, cycle further and lift more.
3. Use Different Postures And MultiPlanar Movements
When we think about our glutes, we have to consider all of the joint actions this muscle group performs – hip extension, hyperextension, abduction, external rotation.
That’s why it is key we address all 3 glute muscles and include activation moves that move our hips through multiple planes of motion.
You want to include things like lateral raises but also bridges and reverse hypers. You want to think about moves that are straight lateral raises to the side but that also include rotation.
And then you also want to consider different POSTURES.
While it may seem like a small tweak to a move, slightly different body positions can impact how easily we are able to establish that mind-body connection to engage those glutes. And different postures can even impact what aspect of each glute muscle we activate.
Based on our builds, and even previous injuries and mobility restrictions, we may find some positions harder than others to properly activate our glutes in.
This doesn’t mean we avoid these movements. It just means we need to build up to them or even include other moves FIRST to help establish that mind-body connection BEFORE we implement those moves we struggle with.
It’s why doing a seated clam type movement may be easier for you than a side lying variation.
While both are needed, as you want to be able to engage your glute medius through different degrees of hip flexion and hip extension, you also want to make sure to start with the move you can control and build up to the movement you struggle with.
If you just implement the other movement while NOT feeling the correct muscles working? You may end up making your aches and pains worse by PERPETUATING those improper recruitment patterns.
Basically, you’ll keep overloading the muscles that are overworked even while doing the supposedly “right” moves.
Being able to engage the correct muscles is key if we want to avoid injury and truly build functional strength.
It’s why we want to include a diversity of activation moves that work our glutes in multiple planes of motion using different postures!
READY TO AWAKEN YOUR GLUTES?
If you want results, you can’t just randomly string moves together “hoping” they’ll work.
You need to create a clear plan and progression.
And it’s not just enough to find the supposedly “best” activation moves and then just use those.
You need to actually be conscious of what you FEEL working during those exercise.
The “right” moves don’t get results if the correct muscles aren’t working.
Sometimes slight tweaks to form make all the difference…like turning down your toe and internally rotating that lower leg on lateral raises so your TFL doesn’t compensate for your glute medius!
Or like driving your knees toward your toes when you bridge up so you don’t feel your hamstrings or lower back taking over for your glutes.
That’s why I created my Booty Burner program.
I wanted to help clients activate their glutes with quick series they could even ultimately use as part of their warm up routine before their lifting sessions, runs or rides.
I wanted to help them establish that mind-body connection to improve their hip stability and mobility to avoid lower back, hip and even knee pain.
I wanted to show them how they could isolate to activate, activation and stretch and use different postures and multiplanar movements to get the amazing results they wanted.
I wanted to take all of the guesswork out of awakening those glutes to create those more efficient and effective recruitment patterns.
So if you’re ready to have a clear plan laid out for you with FOLLOW ALONG WORKOUT VIDEOS so I can coach you through the moves and help you modify as you need to actually get your glutes working?
These series, ranging from 3 minutes to 15 minutes are a great way to establish that mind-body connection and truly build strong glutes with a clear plan laid out for you!
The psoas has become the sexy hip flexor muscle to talk about and work on.
But what if I told you that all too often the TRUE culprit of our back, hip, IT BAND, knee pain and even ANKLE pain had to do with ANOTHER hip flexor muscle?!
What if I told you that you should actually be paying attention to your TFL or your Tensor Fasciae Latae.
The TFL can be a nasty little sucker, compensating for a week glute medius, perpetuating IT Band tightness and impacting everything down to our feet and ankles.
It contributes to internal hip rotation AND external tibial rotation.
Because of its far reaching impact it is a muscle we can’t ignore.
However, the hard part about addressing TFL tightness and overactivity is that many of the moves we need to do to CORRECT the issue, can often PERPETUATE IT!
For instance, to help prevent the TFL from continuing to compensate, we need to include glute medius strengthening.
But ever notice how you’ll do Monster Walks and feel the front side of your hip working?
Ever push through thinking “Oh yea! Feel that burn!?”
Or maybe you don’t even think about what is working. You’re doing the “right moves” so you just believe you SHOULD get results, right?
WRONG!
If you’re doing the right moves but still allowing muscles to compensate, not only are you NOT correcting the problem, but you may be making it worse.
So when you feel that front outside of your hip working during those mini band walks? Guess what is not working as it should and what is also COMPENSATING for that underactive muscle!?
Well your glute medius is not getting the benefit of the exercise it should be getting and instead you’re perpetuating the overuse of your TFL!
So all of that rehab? It isn’t going to pay off.
While you need to strengthen your glute medius, you need to realize that all too often our TFL can compensate for a weak glute medius.
Because this muscle then becomes even further overworked and even shortened, it can lead to lower back hip and knee pain, not to mention even IT Band issues and foot and ankle problems!
Yup! Through our IT Band the TFL can create movement compensations down our entire leg!
And when we then see changes to our ANKLE mobility guess what happens? Those changes only further perpetuate those compensations back UP our kinetic chain.
It’s why you can’t just IGNORE aches and pains. The longer you ignore them and keep pushing through, the more you then just allow compensations and imbalances to build up so there is more to have to sort through later.
If you don’t address TFL issues, you’ll end up having to address issues from your feet up!
So how can we prevent our TFL from leading to all of these aches and pains when it wants to work during the exercises we NEED to be doing to correct it?
Here are three tips to help you quiet down that TFL and get your glutes activated! And to then implement these tips, check out the quick series I’ve included at the end of this post!
As you go through implementing these tips, be CONSCIOUS of what you feel working. Don’t just rush through the moves! Be intentional with your prehab moves!
3 Tips To Strengthen Your Glutes And Prevent Your TFL From Compensating!
#1: Treat the TFL like a toddler. Keep it distracted so you can get work done!
Basically, you want to adjust movements to help make it EASIER to establish that mind-body connection.
One way to do that is to “keep the TFL busy” by internally rotate your foot during lateral raise, or abduction, movements.
Because the TFL performs hip internal rotation, you can almost “distract” it with that movement AS you use the glute medius to perform the lateral raise.
So if during lateral raises you notice you often feel the front of your hip, turn your toe down toward the ground.
You may even notice often that your toe is turned out toward the ceiling.
The TFL contributes to tibial external rotation.
So internally rotate your foot is the OPPOSITE action, which can help “shut off” the TFL. Not to mention when you internally rotate your tibia, you often then even internally rotate our hip by extension.
Maintaining this internal rotation, you can then perform your lateral raise movement.
If you still are struggling to feel your glute medius, you can even kick slightly back as you raise up OR put your hip into extension, driving back into a slider or wall AS you perform that lateral raise movement.
This hip extension and slight kick back will engage your glute max, which will also hinder the TFL from taking over and allow you to potentially better activate your glute medius. This works because the TFL is a hip flexor so by putting your hip into extension, you can inhibit it from working!
#2: Change the hip flexion during those abduction moves.
When you’re first starting to “rehab” an issue, you need to use the moves you feel the most and build off of those.
Basically you want to take the path of least resistance to establish that mind-body connection.
If you feel a move working those glutes, use that first THEN even dive into other moves because you’ve already established that mind-body connection.
To find that move that helps you establish that mind-body connection, you may need to adjust the exact POSTURE you use during basic abduction moves.
By adjusting the amount of hip flexion or extension you perform the move in, you can find a way to maximize your glute medius engagement and minimize your TFL compensation.
It isn’t a clear cut and dry rule of what posture is best so you may want to play around to see what matches your personal recruitment patterns.
For some more flexion may “distract” the TFL because it is a hip flexor.
However, for some, more hip flexion may perpetuate it being overactive during those abduction moves.
In this case, putting the hip into more extension may be key to inhibit the muscle.
While you of course want the glute medius to be strong in both a slightly more hip-flexed or hip-extended state, you do want to start with the move you feel working correctly to make sure you establish that mind-body connection.
The fact that hip flexion can play a role in how much you’re able to engage the TFL is why that oh so “basic” clam exercise can so often backfire too!
The clam is a traditional glute activation movement. But this seemingly simple move is so often butchered. First off, you may find you need to use that internal rotation of the tibia I mentioned in the first tip to help.
Secondly, you may adjust how much you pull your knees forward or straighten your legs out.
The key is being conscious of what you feel working to then ADJUST your exact amount of hip flexion.
A great way to play around with different amount of hip flexion during even a bilateral abduction move is even seated on a bench.
You can lean back, sit up tall or even lean forward to different degrees to not only strengthen your glute medius in a variety of postures BUT also find the exact position that works best for you.
We have to remember to focus on what we feel working so we can work around our own biomechanics.
#3: Foam roll and stretch BEFORE you activate.
If you struggle to activate a muscle, you may find that foam rolling and stretching the muscle prior to doing activation moves is oh so key!
While people debate the benefit of both techniques, with one of the main arguments against them being that the benefits are short-lived, that doesn’t mean you can’t use these “short-lived” benefits to your advantage.
By rolling your TFL and then stretching to improve your hip mobility, you can inhibit this overactive muscle, even if just temporarily.
If you interrupt that mind-body connection between your TFL and brain, and restore muscles to their proper length-tension relationships, you can then help yourself better establish the mind-body connection to the muscle you DO want to work – your glute medius!
So if you find your TFL is being a pesky little sucker and compensating for your glute medius no matter what posture or tweaks you do, try relaxing and inhibiting it IMMEDIATELY PRIOR to doing the glute activation moves.
Interrupt that communication so you can establish a new connection to those glutes!
A lacrosse ball is a great way to relax that TFL and even a simple half kneeling hip stretch with reach can improve your hip extension.
BONUS: If you have an imbalance do imbalanced prehab!
The one other key thing to note is if you have an imbalance, you need to do imbalanced rehab.
So if one side is constantly tight, you need to address that one side specifically.
You also want to assess if it is glute weakness on that SAME side or if there is even weakness on the OTHER side perpetuating the issues and leading to the TFL becomign overworked!
Of course seeing someone to asses you is key but KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. So now you can be aware of what you’re doing in your workouts and therefore why you are, or aren’t, seeing the results you want to seek out the help you need.
Using these tweaks you can help yourself strengthen your glutes and prevent your TFL from constantly compensating!
Now try implementing them in this amazing series below!
Quick Hip Mobility Series To Prevent IT Band Issues, Back, Hip And Knee Pain!
This Avoid IT Band Issues Series uses foam rolling and stretching to address your TFL tightness and overactivity. It even works to relax your peroneal (the outside of your lower leg) to make sure you’re working on any issues from the ground up.
It then uses two great abduction moves to activate your glute medius!
The Avoid IT Band Issues Series
Complete 1 round through the circuit below, spending a minute per move on each side.
CIRCUIT:
1 minute per side Peroneal Foam Rolling
1 minute per side TFL Foam Rolling
1 minute Standing TFL Stretch
1 minute per side Lying QL Stretch
1 minute Bridge Abductions
1 minute per side Lying Side Raises
Need more amazing series to improve your hip mobility and prevent lower back, hip and knee pain?
Wrist pain during high planks and push ups is an all too common complaint.
However, we most often assume that our wrists are simply “weak” and need strengthening.
And while this can be the case sometimes, all too often we end up overworking the muscles of our forearms further in an attempt to strengthen our wrists, which then leads to elbow pain.
While muscle weakness can lead to injury, so can IMMOBILITY.
And guess what?
Our wrist pain is often related to mobility restrictions.
And because we lack proper wrist mobility, we compensate, which eventually leads to elbow, shoulder and even neck pain!
That is why it is key we work on our wrist mobility, and yes, even strength, as we modify moves to work around our lack of proper wrist extension to start.
We also have to remember that, just like our feet and ankles are our foundation during squats and such, our hands and wrists are our foundation during upper body moves!
First, I’ll go over proper push up form so you’re engage muscles effectively and efficiently to prevent wrist and elbow issues.
Then I’ll go over ways to work around your wrist issues during push ups and planks as you also work to CORRECT your mobility and strength issues!
It’s key we learn how to modify and work around AS we rebuild!
Proper Push Up Form To Prevent Wrist Pain:
While I want to share some great ways to work around wrist pain during push ups and planks as you work to mobilize your wrists and even strengthen your forearms, the first key is making sure you’re using proper form during your push up work.
You need to conscious even of your hands connection with the ground.
Yup. Your hands are your foundation. If you don’t have proper tension and placement there, everything else will not engage and work as efficiently.
And it’s funny too because….
When was really the last time you thought about how your hands were placed as you set up? About how you gripped the ground as you set up to do a push up?
Most of us have never really thought about it.
So the first step in proper push up form is spreading your fingers and focusing on placing tension in your hands to slightly GRIP the ground as you set in that high plank, or top of push up position.
For the standard push up, your hands will be right outside of your chest as you set up.
But the key is not squishing your fingers together but actually spreading them apart for a wide base of support so you can actually create tension down into that ground and effectively PUSH THE GROUND AWAY as you press up to the top of the push up.
Ever notice too when you do a push up, how you tend to rock to the OUTSIDE of your hands, especially as you struggle to press back up?
That extra pressure can also lead to wrist and even elbow issues….not to mention eventually even shoulder and neck pain.
Because that change at your foundation, affects how EVERYTHING then moves up your arm during the push up!
So a seemingly small form detail can impact your entire kinetic chain!
By paying attention to your hand set up and that grip on the floor, you can help prevent that overload and rocking out as you work to improve your wrist mobility!
But just like your grip on the ground and hand and wrist position can affect everything up to your shoulders, the reverse can also be true.
If you shrug your shoulders during push ups and let your elbows flare out, that is going to impact everything down to your wrists. You may even find as this happens that your hands turn IN.
So as you set up for the push up, don’t shrug your shoulders. Think long neck…not turtle hiding in its shell! Even feel the sides of your back engage slightly to pull your shoulders down.
Make sure your middle fingers are pointing straight ahead and place those hands outside your chest with your fingers wide.
Then as you lower down, think about your upper arms creating an arrow shape with your body.
Your elbows do NOT need to stay glued to your sides unless you’re doing a narrow grip push up. BUT you also don’t want your elbows flaring up to your shoulders so that your upper arms create a “T” shape with your body either. That is when you end to then place more strain on your wrists and elbows.
So focus on different widths of that basic –> arrow shape.
By focusing top down AND bottom up, you can ensure your hands connection with the ground perpetuates proper form while also making sure you’re engaging your upper body correct to prevent overload or compensations down to your wrists!
And then, of course, you also want to make sure the rest of your push up form is correct, keeping your head in line with your spine and a nice straight line from your head to your heels.
Remember, the push up is basically a moving plank.
For more on overall push up form, here is a great video – Master The Push Up.
Modifying Push Ups For Wrist Pain:
Even if your form is correct though, you may still find you have wrist issues.
So to start, you’ll need to modify the push up to work around your wrist aches and pains. Here are some great ways to do just that!
Most of these place the wrist in a neutral position or reduce the extension required to perform the push up.
Often the wrist extension required for a push up is what causes the annoying ache we feel.
Since we spend so much time with our wrists flexed, typing and texting and a multitude of other daily activities, we often lack the wrist extension needed to perform high planks and push ups.
These push up modifications help you work around that!
Mat Push Ups:
Using a mat is a great way to modify the push up partly because it’s easy to do and partly because it is a super simple way to reduce the amount of wrist extension required.
Basically, the mat acts like a little lift under the heel of our palm so that our wrist doesn’t need to be bent as far.
To do the Mat Push Up, roll a mat up a few times (the more you roll it the bigger the “wedge” under the heel of your hand so the less wrist extension you need). You want something probably about half an inch thick at most to start.
Then place only the heel of your palm on the mat with the rest of your palm and fingers spread out on the ground.
You will notice your wrist isn’t bent as much.
Then gripping the ground with your fingers spread, hold your high plank position or do your normal full push up!
As you improve your wrist mobility, you may notice you can slowly unroll the mat and use less and less padding.
Knuckle Push Ups:
Especially if wrist strength isn’t the issue but wrist mobility, specifically wrist extension, is the issue, doing push ups off your knuckles may be a great way to modify the push up. (It also doesn’t require equipment to do!)
It can also IMPROVE your wrist strength too.
However, some people do find the pressure on their knuckles uncomfortable, which may lead you to use the dumbbell push ups instead.
You can also use a little padding under your knuckles too just make sure the cushioning is stable.
To do knuckle push ups, do NOT tuck your thumb under your fingers. Make fists, keeping your thumb outside and even wrapped around your fingers. You do not want the tip of your thumb caught against the ground either.
Then set up with a neutral grip (your palms would be facing in toward each other) with your hands outside your chest.
The rest of your push up set up will be the same. Doing the move off your knuckles will allow you to keep your wrists in a neutral position.
Just be careful you are in control of your push up movement as the drawback to this grip is you can rock out and lose balance.
You may also use other knuckle hand placements even placing your hands so your palms are facing back toward your feet; however this is a less traditional set up AND a less stable set up.
It could be a good way if you are varying or progressing your push ups to continue to build wrist strength.
Dumbbell Push Ups:
If you don’t feel comfortable with knuckle push ups and they, well, hurt your knuckles, this is a great way to mimic that neutral wrist position without the irritation.
You can also use kettlebells or push up stands.
Especially if you aren’t yet fully able to do a push up from your toes off the ground, heavy kettlebells can be a great way to add a small incline while also placing your wrist in a neutral position.
The safest position for the dumbbells as you do push ups (or even stands or kettlebells for that matter) is with them parallel so your palms face in toward each other as you do the push up while gripping the weight.
You can also slightly ANGLE them to allow you to maintain that arrow shape with your arms and upper body. It can help you avoid shrugging. Just make sure the weights stay outside your chest and you don’t set up so they are out in front of you toward your head.
The one downside you may find to using the weights to help you maintain that neutral wrist position, is that they can apply more pressure on your palm, which may be uncomfortable.
If that is the case, a wider handle OR getting cushioned stands may be an option. (I only mention this to give you a “heads up” that you aren’t weird if you find this to be the case.)
Bar Incline Push Ups:
With many of these previous modifications, you will be doing a full push up from your toes off the ground or even modifying off your knees.
However, if you aren’t yet able to do a full push up from your toes off the ground, an incline variation may be even better than the knee push up modification.
AND, if you do the incline push up off a bar, you can even adjust your wrist positioning.
A bench can also work but won’t allow for the neutral wrist position that a bar will.
You can set up a smith machine bar or even a bar in a rack or rig with j-hooks to the height you need so you can perform a full push up range of motion with proper form. You want to set up so your chest will hit the bar about nipple height.
You want to set so your hands are just outside your chest gripping the bar. Your palms will face back toward your feet. You may find that your wrists feel more stable if you wrap your thumb around the bar; however, if you have elbow issues a thumbless grip may be best.
You will then perform your standard push up off the incline. You can slowly lower the incline over time until you’re able to perform a full rep from your toes on the ground!
Suspension Trainer Push Ups:
If you want to add some instability to your push ups and challenge your core and shoulders more, the suspension trainer is a great tool to use! You can also even do some fun variations using it to challenge your chest, shoulders and triceps in different ways.
And whether you need to modify the basic push up or advance it, the suspension trainer can also be a bit more “wrist-friendly” because you can keep your wrists in a neutral position.
Just like with dumbbells or push up stands, you’ll want to start by gripping the handles with your palms facing in toward each other just outside your chest. You can adjust the height of the straps, raising them up higher for more of an incline (easier) or lowering them down for less of one (harder).
Because the straps will not be as steady, they will force you to really brace your abs and stabilize your shoulders as you press. Be careful using this variation if you have shoulder stability issues or neck pain.
You can also vary your grip, rotating your palms back toward your feet while doing the suspension trainer push up. From there you can get even fancier, keeping that neutral grip while adding in flyes or reaches or other movements to the standard push up!
So even if you have wrist pain, you can have some fun and use different variations of the push up!
Anti-Rotational Band Chest Press:
Now if you find that NONE of these modifications are right for you at this time, sometimes it’s about focusing on your GOAL for an exercise while doing something different.
While the bench press can be a swap for the push up, it doesn’t provide the same core work that a push up does.
To work your chest, shoulders and triceps while also challenging your core, you may want to try an Anti-Rotational Band Chest Press instead.
This move will allow you to reduce pressure on your wrists while still really working your upper body and core.
To do the Anti-Rotational Band Chest Press, anchor a band at, or just below, chest height behind you. Grab a handle in each hand. If the band rubs on your arm, grab the handle so the band is actually BENEATH your arm.
Bring your hands up and in right below your chest and walk out from the anchor point. Stand with your feet no wider than shoulder width. To challenge your core more, bring your feet closer together.
Then, bracing your abs, press one arm straight out at shoulder height. Do not shrug your shoulder or allow your body to rotate. Press out at a controlled pace then bring your hand back in below your chest.
You can repeat on the same side OR alternate sides.
But this is a great way to modify if you do have wrist pain and push ups simply aren’t right for you at this time!
What About The High Plank?
So I mentioned that high plank position, so holding a plank from your hands, as also being a common move we have wrist pain during as well. Which makes sense…it’s the top of a push up!
But you may also have this pain during side planks from your hand as well.
Often because our wrists our in pain too, we tend to compensate by letting our hand sneak out beyond our shoulder toward our head. This can put more strain on our shoulders and lead to not only shoulder aches and pains but also neck pain.
We let our hand sneak out beyond our shoulder because this reduces the extension demanded of our wrists. But while this may help your wrist, it can lead to overload of other areas.
That is why it may be key we modify instead of just trying to push through!
The simplest work around in this case would be to do planks from your forearm/elbow as you work to improve your wrist mobility.
You can also use the mat modification, knuckles or dumbbell modification I shared for push ups.
Just make sure if you are doing side planks with any sort of “stand” to be VERY careful since you don’t have both hands to stabilize. (And honestly, it’s probably simply SAFER to modify off your forearm if you feel a stand is necessary).
If you aren’t yet able to do a full side plank or plank from your feet, the incline is a great work around too instead of going to your knees and can also be more wrist friendly.
Sometimes even using the bench, because it reduces the LOAD on your wrist, can be enough to alleviate the ache!
And if for any reason, you find you simply can’t work around your wrist pain with side planks especially, a stability press hold is always an option!
There is always a way to work around and stay focused on your goals for your workout!
How To Improve Your Wrist Mobility:
While we do need to modify around our aches and pains, we don’t want to simply avoid dealing with them. We want to work to CORRECT them!
So as you modify exercises, start including these moves below as part of your warm ups and recovery routines!
Spending even just 30-60 seconds per move (or per side) for one round through them as part of your routine daily to start can be helpful!
But these moves will improve your wrist extension, relax overactive muscles and help you activate underactive ones!
Two other things to note….
Pay attention to how you even GRIP things. If you tend to grip with only certain fingers, you’ll want to work on that as overuse of specific flexors COULD be perpetuating your wrist pain.
And if you’ve had shoulder mobility issues, if you hunch forward or your shoulders round forward, you also need to address those postural distortions. A lack of shoulder mobility can impact your elbows and wrists!
The first step is relaxing the overactive muscles of your forearms. You may find you address both your flexors AND your extensor with rolling.
Focus on using a ball or small roller right in the fleshy part of your forearm below the elbow. While you may have wrist pain, you don’t necessarily want to only roll, or focus, right at your wrist.
To roll out your forearm, place a small ball or roller up on a table or desk. Place your forearm over the ball with it right below your elbow. You can start with the underside of your forearm down on the ball.
Then press down on your forearm with your other hand to press it into the ball. Hold on any tight spots.
If you find a tight spot, you can also tense and relax your forearm to help the ball dig in further. To tense and relax your forearm, you can flex and extend your wrist or even make a fist and then relax your hand. You can also draw small wrist circles as you hold.
By flexing and relaxing the muscles, you help the ball dig in and release the tight spot.
Roll the ball all along the fleshy part of the underside of your forearm. Then move to the outside of your forearm. Make sure to get the outside and inside of your forearm as there can be trigger points in both spots causing potential wrist and elbow pain.
Don’t waste time on any areas that aren’t tight or sore. Seek out and spend time on any areas of pain.
Apply as much pressure as you can handle WHILE RELAXING and use as small and hard a ball or roller if you want a bit more pressure. You do not want to tense against the pressure because it’s too much.
Wrist Extension Stretch:
This stretch works on exactly what we are often lacking, wrist extension.
And as you progress this stretch, you may even find you use this wrist positioning during planks to help you build up wrist strength! (Same can be said for the flexion stretch below too.)
Here is the Plank Hold with Grips that you may eventually use in your programming or warm up!
To do the Kneeling Wrist Extension Stretch, kneel on the ground and place your hands down on the ground in front of you. Place your palms down and turn your fingertips back toward your knees. Rotate your fingers out and then back toward your knees so your elbow pits are facing forward.
Then rock back, sitting back toward your heels. Rock back to feel the inside of your forearm stretch. Keep the heels of your palms down on the ground as you sit back.
Come back out of the stretch then sit back again, stretching down the inside of your forearms.
Wrist Flexion Stretch:
This can feel like a nice little release, and may even be something you use between rounds of push ups as you’re able to start doing them without pain.
To do the Kneeling Wrist Flexion Stretch, start kneeling on the ground. Place your hands down on the ground in front of you with the backs of your hands on the ground and your fingertips pointing in toward each other.
Shift your weight forward onto your hands. Place enough weight to feel your forearms stretching, but not too much to hurt your wrists. Keep your arms straight.
Then rock side to side slowly, holding for a second to each side so that you feel a stretch down the outside of your forearms. Make sure to keep some weight on your hands while also keeping your arms straight as you rock side to side.
If you can’t get down on the ground for either of these two wrist stretches, you can also do them standing with your hands on a desk or table. You can also do one side at a time, pressing on your hand with your other hand to work on both extension and flexion.
Rubberband Wrist Extensions:
Especially if you’re already doing a lot of weight training or even bodyweight moves like pull ups, you’re doing a lot of gripping and working your flexors a ton.
This move activates your extensors to help build wrist stability and strength.
To do the Rubber Band Extension, place a rubber band around the outside of your fingers and thumb. (If you find the bands slips, you can wrap it around each finger once to keep it in place if the band is big enough.)
Bring your fingers together and then spread them as wide apart as you can against the rubber band. Move at a controlled tempo and perform 10-20 reps before switching hands.
You can do this exercise a couple of times a day, but start slow. Also, if you can find a thicker rubber band, it will add more resistance.
Hair ties can also work, especially if you wrap them around each finger or they are flat.
Closing Notes….
Remember you want to include mobility work as part of your warm ups consistently EVEN once the pain is gone. And don’t be afraid to modify AS you work to correct the underlying problem!
What if I told you the solution was NOT to stretch them more…?
What if stretching them, while it may provide TEMPORARY relief is only making the problem WORSE!?
The best way to think about your hamstrings is like a rubber band.
When a rubber band is just hanging there it isn’t tight. But when you pull it out long, it becomes super tight and taut.
That rubber band becomes tight feeling because it is stretched out.
This is exactly the same reason your hamstrings feel tight. And it is exactly why more stretching is NOT the answer!
Your hamstrings feels tight because they are already pulled long.
So instead of stretching them out further, we need to address the postural distortions and muscular imbalances that cause our hamstrings to be overstretched, such as Anterior Pelvic Tilt and tight hip flexors.
We need to focus on returning our hamstring to their optimal length through addressing muscular imbalances and stability issues.
This often means we need to address hip flexor tightness and glute underactivity. It may even mean addressing lat tightness as well because of the impact our lats can have on our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex functioning through our thoracolumbar fascia.
This means that instead of spending a ton of time stretching our hamstrings we actually need to be doing the following things…
Foam Rolling Hip Flexors And Lats
Stretching Hip Flexors And Lats
Activating Our Glutes And Abs
But First…What Is Anterior Pelvic Tilt?
Anterior pelvic tilt is the “Donald Duck” posture – an overarched back and butt sticking out.
(Or in maybe little Miss RS Badass Duck…who’s going to be working on her APT hehe?
This anterior tilting of our pelvis is what over stretches the hamstrings and can make them feel tight.
The muscles that are ACTUALLY being shortened by this posture are our hip flexors. Which means our hip flexors, and not our hamstrings, need the flexibility work.
It also means that our glutes and abs need to be strengthened and activated to improve the stability of our hip complex to also help our hamstrings feel less tight and even prevent them from becoming synergistically dominant and overused (overuse of a muscle can lead to injury!).
While it’s key we recognize that each of us WILL have slightly different natural postures, and we shouldn’t “freak out” over fitting one ideal, we want to watch for overarching of the lower back, or excessive lordosis, ESPECIALLY if we struggle with lower back, SI Joint, hip, or knee pain or hamstring tightness and strains.
This posture changes our natural proper recruitment patterns during moves EVEN if we perform the exercises with technically “correct” form.
What does this mean?
It means that while the moves may LOOK correct, if we actually THINK about what muscles we FEEL working, it wouldn’t be the muscles that SHOULD be working.
Our body will take the path of least resistance to do the exercise we ask it to do. This means that it will recruit whatever muscles it can to replicate a movement pattern – even if it means using muscles that really shouldn’t be working that much.
And this is what leads to compensations, overuse and INJURY.
So we need to address our overall posture over focusing on just the single muscle that “feels” tight.
And we need to do this by:
Foam rolling overactive muscles.
Stretching shortened tight muscles (using dynamic stretching to even help restore proper joint range of motion).
Activating underactive muscles that may not be firing and working as efficiently or effectively as they should be.
Loosen Up Tight Hip Flexors – Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves
The first step in addressing excessive anterior pelvic tilt is to loosen up short and overactive hip flexors.
If your hip flexors are tight and shortened, they tilt your pelvis forward which then pulls the hamstrings longer. This is why your hamstrings “feel” tight even if they aren’t in need of stretching.
The first step in addressing tight hip flexors is foam rolling.
Foam rolling helps inhibit the communication between the muscle you’re rolling and your brain. It helps “relax” the muscle so you aren’t necessarily as quick to recruit it during other moves. And it then allows you to better stretch and improve your flexibility and mobility.
Basically, foam rolling can help you improve your ROM or range of motion.
There has been some “debate” about the benefits of foam rolling. And as a standalone exercise, the effects are short lived.
You NEED to then stretch the tight muscles and activate underactive muscles if you want the benefits to last. This is just the first step in improving your posture and mind-body connection!
Then after you foam roll your hip flexors, you need to stretch them. Depending on when you are doing the mobility work, you may use dynamic or static stretching.
Dynamic stretches are stretches where you move through a range of motion whereas static stretches are stretches you hold in one position.
Especially prior to your workouts, focus on dynamic stretches. They put the joint through a range of motion and also get your blood pumping.
Static stretches are better kept to cool downs as some studies have shown them to negatively impact your strength and power during workouts.
Below are 5 moves to help you get started addressing hip flexor tightness.
5 Hip Flexor Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves:
1. Psoas Foam Rolling:
The psoas has become a very “popular” muscle in the fitness world.
And the one most often blamed for our hips being locked up. This muscle can become short and tight due to the fact many of us spend far too much time with our hips in flexion – seated in the car or at a desk. So it is key we start our mobility work by addressing it.
To roll out your Psoas, a big foam ball/posture ball works best. Place the ball in your abs above your hip to one side of your belly button.
Relax over the ball and lie face down on the ground. Breathe.
Then move the ball, working your way around the side of your lower abs between your belly button and hip. After you move the ball, relax completely back over it.
If you don’t have a larger ball, you can use a tennis ball; however, the tennis ball will dig in more. To use the tennis ball, you will also need some books or a yoga block. Place the ball up on the books or block and lie over it just like you would with the posture ball. Relax and breathe.
2. TFL Foam Rolling:
The TFL or Tensor Fasciae Latae is an all too often IGNORED hip muscle that can contribute to not only hip pain but even knee pain and IT Band Issues! It can also hinder our glute medius from activating and working as it should. It’s key we start by foam rolling and then stretching this muscle. It’s also important that during our activation moves, we do not let it compensate and try to take over!
To roll out your Hips/TFL, place a ball on the side of your hip just to the front of the fleshy part of your butt. Roll the ball around and hold on any tight spots.
If you find a tight spot, hold on that spot and lift and lower your leg up and down. By lifting and lower the leg, you are flexing and relaxing the muscle, which will help loosen everything up as you hold.
As you seek out tight spots in your hip, bring the ball around front and right to the side under your hip bone into your TFL (right in front of your IT Band).
Again hold on any tight spots and even flex and relax your leg to help dig in.
Move the ball under your hip bone and again hold on any tight spots.
You can work your way back out to the side of your hip as well if you found any sore or tight spots.
3. Rectus Femoris Foam Rolling:
There is one quad muscle that crosses both the hip and the knee – the Rectus Femoris.
And because of this muscles impact on both locations, it’s key we address that it may be tight and shortened, which means it may need to be rolled and stretched!
To roll out your rectus femoris a ball works best although you can use a roller. Place the tennis ball on the ground and lie on your belly supported on your forearms with the ball right in the middle of your thigh. You can start down toward the knee or higher up toward the hip, but you really want to focus right on that middle portion of your thigh.
Rock the leg gentle slightly side-to-side as you hold on the ball. You can even flex and relax your quad as you hold. Then move the ball up higher on your quad and again gentle rock and hold. Do not just roll quickly but really breathe and relax as you hold on any tight spots.
4. Half Kneeling Hip And Quad Stretch:
Stretch your hip flexors and your quads with this stretch.
You can add movement by releasing your foot and rocking back out of the stretch before squeezing your glute to drive your hips forward OR you can simply hold as you squeeze your glute for a static option!
To do the Half Kneeling Hip and Quad Stretch, set up half-kneeling with your right leg back. It is best to do this with a wall or bench in front of you to help you balance.
Then reach back and grab your right foot/ankle with your right hand and pull it in toward your butt. In the half-kneeling position with your heel pulled in and the wall to balance you, rock forward and backward, pressing the hip forward to increase the stretch down your quad. Then relax back out of it and repeat. Complete all reps then switch sides.
Make sure to squeeze your glute as you press your hips forward to stretch your right hip and quad. Do not simply hyperextend your low back as you rock forward.
You can also simply hold and press the hip forward without doing the slightly rock, especially if using this stretch post workout.
Beginners can also use a towel to grab their back foot if they can’t reach it.
5. Standing TFL Stretch:
After you roll your TFL, you also want to stretch it as this muscle can be short and tight and compensate for your glute medius during abduction or lateral raise movements.
And when it engages and works for your glute medius, that can prevent you from getting the results you want and even perpetuate your pain despite doing the “correct” rehab moves!
To do the Standing TFL Stretch, start standing with your feet together. Then cross your left leg over your right leg. Bring the left foot over and back across until the big toe is even with the big toe of the right foot. You want your feet even so that your front leg (the left leg) is pressing the back leg (right leg) straight during the stretch.
If you struggle to balance or it is too much pressure on your knees to have your legs so tightly crossed, place the front foot a bit out in front, but make sure that you don’t bend that back knee as you hinge over to stretch.
Then reach your arms up overhead for a nice big stretch. After reaching up, hang over, reaching your arms down toward the instep of the back foot (right foot). Push your hips out to the right as you reach toward your right foot so you feel a stretch down the outside of that right hip and side. You may even feel it down your right hamstring and calf.
Hold for a breath or two. Then reach back up overhead and cross your legs the other way so your left foot is back. Again reach up overhead then reach down toward your left instep, pushing your hips out to the left. Keep alternating sides with a reach up overhead in between every time.
Try to touch the ground as you reach down while making sure to keep your legs straight.
If you really struggle to balance, you may need to stand with your feet together and not crossed over as you reach toward the outside of each foot while pushing your hips away.
How Can Your Lats Can Affect Your Hamstrings!?
When we have aches, pains or “issues” in a specific area, we often get very focused ONLY on that point of “pain.”
But all too often there are even mobility restrictions or imbalances elsewhere that contribute to the dysfunction. For instance, if you’re doing all of the things in this article and NOT seeing results, it may be time you start to look at your ANKLE MOBILITY!
So while the most common “culprit” of anterior pelvic tilt is tight hip flexors and underactive glutes, we can’t ignore our lats.
Our lats can play a huge role in our overall posture, affecting not only our upper body, but also our lower body.
Because lat tightness can not only perpetuate rounded shoulders, it can also contribute to anterior pelvic tilt.
And if we have excessive anterior pelvic tilt, our hamstrings really are the losers that suffer no matter whether it’s tight hip flexors or lats or both creating the posture.
So we can’t ignore our lats!
Below are 3 moves to help you start addressing lat tightness.
3 Foam Rolling And Stretching Moves For Tight Lats:
1. Lat Foam Rolling:
Rolling out your lats is a key first step to relaxing this overactive muscle. And even though we are focused on our lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, we want to focus on rolling this muscle closer to our shoulders to start!
To roll out your lats a roller is best although you can use a foam ball or even a tennis ball.
Start by lying on your side with a roller under one armpit. Extend the arm on the side with the roller up above the roller. Then rock forward and backward on the roller, rotating your chest toward the ground and then up toward the ceiling as you roll on the roller so it hits toward your ribs and then toward your back.
Hold on any tight spots you find then move it lower down the side of your back. Hold on any tight spots as you go and make sure to rock forward and backward as you make your way down your side.
As you work down your side, you may want to rotate slightly more toward your back. Work all the way from your armpit to about the end of your rib cage.
Be careful when rolling lower down your back into your low back. You do not want to arch over the roller and hyperextend your low back.
2. Child’s Pose With Shoulder External Rotation:
The Child’s Pose is a great way to stretch out the entire lat as well as the erector spinae (the muscles along your spine) and the quadratus lumborum (which is a muscle that can contribute to a hip hike…sort of like our back’s side bendy muscle or the muscle you feel when you reach to the side).
All of these muscles can become tight and overactive if our glutes are underactive so this stretch is an oh so important one! And the external rotation of the shoulders gives the lats just that little bit extra stretch!
To do the Child’s Pose with External Rotation, kneel on the ground and sit back on your heels reaching your arms out overhead on the ground. Rotate your palms open toward the ceiling rotating your thumbs out to the sides. Really reach out as far as you can as you rotate your palms open.
You can then walk your hands to one side, keeping your palms open. Pause then walk your hands to the other side. Again keep your palms open for an extra stretch.
3. Kneeling Thoracic Extension And Lat Stretch:
Working on our spinal mobility, especially our thoracic mobility can also help prevent extra overuse of our lumbar spine. If one area of our spine isn’t mobile, we’ll seek out mobility from other segments.
So if your thoracic spine isn’t mobile, it will cause you to seek out mobility or extension from your lumbar spine. This will only perpetuate or add to the overload that may already be occurring due to anterior pelvic tilt!
To do the Kneeling Thoracic and Lat Stretch, place your elbows up on a bench about shoulder-width apart and kneel on the ground in front of the bench. Make sure you are back far enough that you have room to lean forward and over and drop your head between your elbows.
Then with your elbows on the bench, relax your chest and head over, sitting your butt back just slightly. Press your chest toward the ground and feel a nice stretch down your triceps and lats as well as through your thoracic spine. Try to extend your back as much as possible as you press your chest toward the ground.
You can either hold here and breathe to stretch deeper or you can come out of the stretch and then relax back into it and try to get further with each rep.
Glute Activation Moves: Always Feel Your Hamstrings Taking Over During Glute Exercises?
Ever do a glute bridge or quadruped kickback move and only feel your hamstrings working?
Yes? Well you aren’t alone!
It’s because your hamstrings have become synergistically dominant. They try to do more than their fair share of the work to assist your glutes in moves that require hip extension or hyperextension.
Synergistically what?!?
Basically your hamstrings are doing more work than they should be to assist with a movement because you’re glutes aren’t working as they should.
For a glute bridge, your glutes should be the main muscle group working with your hamstrings assisting. But too often, it is the other way around.
It’s why you may do a glute bridge and only feel your hamstrings.
So while we are doing the right move, this only perpetuates the overuse of our hamstrings and can lead to injuries.
It’s why it’s so important we include glute activation moves in our routine. (Learn more about dialing in your glute bridge form to prevent yourself from bridging wrong.)
But isn’t as simple as doing the “right” moves. You must also really focus on what you FEEL working.
If you’re doing that glute bridge and NOT feeling your glutes, but instead feeling your hamstrings, you need to TWEAK the exercise.
Below are 5 moves to activate your glutes that help prevent your hamstrings from engaging as easily when they always seem to want to take over!
I did also mention that with anterior pelvic tilt you may want to do ab activation as well.
One way to do this DURING glute activation moves is by using the posterior pelvic tilt, especially during bridging exercises (and even some plank moves).
The posterior pelvic tilt is where you tilt your hips under, drawing your hip bones toward your ribs. This move not only works your abs but can also work your glutes more.
You would then bridge up as you hold the posterior pelvic tilt. To set up the posterior pelvic tilt before you bridge, here are some tips.
To do the basic variation of the Pelvic Tilt, lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground. Relax your arms down by your side.
Then feel the space between your low back and the ground. Press that space away by drawing your belly button toward your spine and “tilting” your pelvic.
You want to feel your low back press against the ground. Hold there with your abs braced and making sure to breathe as you hold.
Then if you are adding this to a bridge, you would lift up while maintaining this position. It is basically the exact OPPOSITE of anterior pelvic tilt. We are rounding the lower back.
SIDE NOTE But ESSENTIAL NOTE:
If you DO feel your hamstrings during a glute activation move, while you don’t want to stretch them between rounds, you may ROLL them!
Foam rolling your hamstrings may temporarily inhibit the muscle group, which means you won’t “feel” it as much. This can then even help you more easily FEEL your glutes working and focus on using them to drive the movement.
5 Must-Do Glute Activation Moves:
1. Mini Band Glute Bridge:
Adding a mini band to the basic glute bridge can be a way to progress the movement. It can also be a way to engage your glute medius and help PREVENT your hamstrings from taking over.
By activating our glute medius, we can actually better help ourselves engage our glute maximus. This then helps us avoid our hamstrings compensating! So if you really struggle with the basic glute bridge, try this variation!
To do the Mini Band Glute Bridge, you will perform a two-leg bridge with the band around your knees. To set up, place the band right above, below or at your knees. Below will be a bit more challenging than above. Make sure though that wherever you place the band, you feel your glutes working. Above the knee can help if you struggle to feel your glutes activating and instead feel your quads taking over.
With the band around your knees, lie flat on your back with your feet flat on the ground about hip-width to shoulder-width apart. Make sure your feet are just beyond your fingertips when your arms are down by your sides. You can move your feet slightly further away if your hips are tight. Make sure that your feet are at least about hip-width apart so that you are forced to press your knees out and open against the band to keep them in line with your ankles and hips.
Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and press your knees out against the band. Then, driving through your heels and upper back and arms, bridge up. Keep pressing out against the band as you bridge up. Do not let your knees cave in. Fully extend your hips and squeeze your glutes at the top. Do not hyperextend your low back at the top. Keep your abs engaged.
Hold for a second or two at the top then lower back down and repeat. Do not let your knees cave in as you lower back down. Keep pressing out against the band the entire time!
Adjust the band placement or even use a heavier band to make the move harder. You can also vary the move up by doing a Single Leg Mini Band Glute Bridge.
2. Band Y Reverse Hypers:
Being able to use your glutes to extend your hips, and even hyperextend your hips, is key. Too often during Reverse Hypers we allow our backs to do all of the work instead of actually extending at our hip.
By adding in the mini band, we can help engage our glutes better to prevent our lower back from taking over.
Because if we are using our lower backs to power this move, we are often going to simply perpetuate our anterior pelvic tilt by perpetuating overuse of our lower back muscles instead of activating our underactive glutes!
To do Band Y Reverse Hypers, place a mini band right below or above your knees or a booty band right above your knees and lie face down on a bench with your hips right on the edge of the bench. Grab onto the bench as you legs hang straight down. Push out against the band as your feet are on the ground so that your feet are wider than shoulder width apart. You want your legs to create a Y with your body.
Keeping tension on the band, press your hips down into the bench as you squeeze your butt to lift your legs up to parallel to the ground. Keep your legs pressed out against the band and make sure you are using your glutes to lift and not feeling your lower back take over.
Pause at the top and really even brace your abs by pushing into the bench. Then lower back down without letting your legs come together and repeat the lift.
3. Band Squat Pulses:
While often during activation moves we want to isolate our glutes as much as possible to focus on really establishing that mind-body connection, it is also key we learn how to do this in a variety of hip flexion positions and postures.
That’s why the Band Squat Pulses are key to include. The constant tension and smaller range of motion, really help you create that burn in your glutes!
To do Band Squat Pulses, place the booty band around your legs above your knees and stand with your feet about hip-width apart.
Sit back and down, pressing your knees out against the band so your ankles, knees and hips stay in line. You do not want your knees to cave in.
Sink to about parallel to the ground and then pulse a few inches up and down from here. You do not want to start below parallel and you don’t want to stand fully up as you pulse. You want the range of motion to be about 6 inches around that parallel position.
Once all pulses are complete, stand up.
Make sure your knees don’t cave in as you pulse and that your heels stay down and feet are flat on the ground. Do not round over. Make sure to keep your back flat and chest up.
Beginners may pulse over a bench or even hold on to help them balance. You can also stay up higher in the pulse squat instead of sinking as low.
4. 3-Way Seated Abductions:
As you begin to work on activating your glutes, you may find you aren’t as easily able to FEEL the correct muscles working during certain postures.
This may mean you need to first start with the variations you feel in the correct muscles before then moving on to those other positions. But you want to work to improve that mind-body connection from as many positions and postures as possible to help you avoid injury.
That’s why these 3-Way Seated Abductions are so amazing to include.
While you may start with just one based on what you can feel working during the move, especially if your TFL tends to take over (and you feel it in the front of your hip NOT the side of your butt), you can also use all 3 in a row. If you find you struggle most in one position, use that in the middle after you already feel the correct muscles working BUT before you’re at all fatigued!
To do 3-Way Seated Mini Band Abductions, place the mini band right below your knees and sit on a bench. Start by sitting toward the front of the bench so you can lean back and put your hands on the bench behind you. Place your feet about hip-width apart.
Then press your knees open against the band as you lean back. Your feet may rock open but focus on using your glutes to press the band open with your knees. Do not let your knees cave in as you come back to the starting position. Complete all reps then move to sit up nice and tall.
Sitting nice and tall repeat, pressing out with your knees so you feel your glutes working. After completing all reps, lean forward and repeat the movement. You can hold on the bench outside your legs to lean forward or just lean over even lightly resting your arms on your legs.
Complete all reps in each of the 3 positions. Make sure you’re really focused on pressing your knees out to feel your glutes while controlling the band back in. To reduce tension, you can start with a lighter band or put your feet slightly closer together, but make sure there is tension on the band even in that starting position.
5. Side Lying Extended ROM Lateral Raises:
Lateral raise movements are essential to include to activate your glute medius.
You DO need to be very conscious though that you don’t feel your TFL taking over! So you may find that you foam roll it between rounds or slightly kick back as you raise to the side. You may also slightly internally rotate your foot or turn your toe to the ground as you lift!
The added bonus of these extended range of motion is that stretch you put on the muscle at the bottom. This can really help you build strong glutes through the full range of motion your hip is capable of and even PROGRESS that basic side lying lateral raise without you even needing to add weight!
To do the Extended ROM Side Lying Leg Raise, lie on your side on a bench so that your bottom knee is bent and your bottom leg is close to the end. Prop yourself up on your elbow and position yourself so that your top leg can hang down over the edge and your foot is just a few inches off the ground. You can hold a plate weight on the outside of your top thigh, or wear ankle weights.
Then lift that top leg up and kick slightly back, feeling your glute medius, or the side of your butt, working to lift your leg. Keep that foot parallel to the ground or even turn your toe to slightly face the ground. This can help if you tend to feel your TFL or hips engage with lateral raises.
Do not rotate open as you lift. Lower that leg back down so that your toe touches the ground or hovers just an inch or so off the ground. You want to make sure you can lower that leg past parallel to the ground.
The bench allows you to have an extended range of motion from what you would have when side lying on the ground.
To modify, start with just your own bodyweight.
So…Should I Never Stretch My Hamstrings?
But what about those hamstring stretches you still see in warm up routines and recovery sessions?
Should you not be stretching at all?
While your focus should NOT be on stretching your hamstrings if you do have excessive anterior pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors and underactive glutes, this doesn’t mean you have to avoid hamstring stretches like the plague.
Especially in your warm up, you may find that dynamic stretches to put your hip through a full range of motion DO include a hamstring stretch component.
You do NOT need to avoid these. But spending a ton of time in your warm ups or cool downs focused on stretching your hamstrings IS going to be a waste and potentially even HINDER your results.
And this is of course talking about hamstring tightness due to anterior pelvic tilt.
With certain postural distortions you MAY still need to stretch your hamstrings. For instance, if you actually have POSTERIOR pelvic tilt, your hamstrings MAY actually be shortened.
However, the best place to start if you have a desk job, anterior pelvic tilt, tight hip flexors and/or stretching hasn’t really helped in the past, is to FOAM ROLL your hamstrings and NOT stretch them.
Foam rolling can help relax that overactive muscle so you can get your glutes activated and strong no matter WHY your hamstrings feel tight!
If you’re ready to improve your hip mobility and activate your glutes?
We NEED to work on our ability to recruit those muscles to stabilize from the ground up.
Our feet and lower legs are our foundation. And we need a strong and stable foundation if we want to be stronger further up our body.
That’s why in my Booty Burner (2.0) I made sure to include a BALANCE routine, which of course you have to repeat even though you’d love to skip it.
My Booty Burner 1.0 had the Yoga Booty Burner, which people hated…And this new one has The Balance Booty Burner, which oddly stinks in a different way! YAY!
(And if you find balancing is a struggle, I coach you in the follow along workouts, providing variations you can start with to build up!)
These Booty Burner workouts are so key though because of the “ankle-butt connection.”
They help you improve your balance and mind-body connection as you build a strong foundation and activate your glutes!
Especially if you’ve ever had foot or ankle issues…even ones 10 years ago that no longer “bother” you… your current knee or hip pain may be connected!
And all of the glute activation in the world won’t fully add up IF you aren’t doing the right moves to establish that mind-body connection from the ground up!
It’s why you NEED glute activation series like this one!
So try the Balance Booty Burner from my Booty Burner 2.0 below!
Complete 1-3 rounds of the circuit below, pausing briefly to rest and switch sides after all 4 moves are complete (up to 20 seconds). You want to complete all 4 moves on one side before switching. If you find you can’t complete all 4 moves without pausing, you may want to switch sides after the first two moves or rest 40 seconds between rounds.
CIRCUIT: 20 seconds per side Warrior III 20 seconds per side Warrior III Squats 20 seconds per side Standing Clams 20 seconds per side Side Shift Skaters
The quick reference image below is taken from the 28-Day Booty Burner Book, BUT with the program you’ll also get video workouts so you can workout with me and I can coach you through the moves!
When we perform bent over rows or flyes, we want to create a neutral spine, a flat back, a long spine, an extended spine. I’ve heard it cued all of those ways (and they can all be great cues!).
But often because we lack thoracic extension and even our pecs and lats are tight, we end up arching our lower back in our attempt to extend and create a “flat back.”
We end up compensating to try and replicate a movement. We seek out mobility from other areas, which ends up creating overload.
So if you feel your lower back during those bent over rows and flyes, even though your form “looks” pretty good overall, it may be time to try some tweaks as you also work on your thoracic mobility!
If you find this happens, it may be helpful to start with a single arm row, where you can have a hand and knee on a bench. This can take some of the load off of your core.
Or you can even place your other hand on your leg to help brace while in a staggered stance. This can help you elongate without arching. The staggered stance alone can also sometimes help.
Of course you do want to be working to learn how to extend your thoracic spine without hyperextending or overloading your lower back, but as you work on that mobility and core bracing, you can tweak your positioning during rows and flyes to avoid pain!
You can also modify the bent over dumbbell fly, or even the bent over row, by doing them while prone.
Lie face down on a bench or incline bench so your chest and torso is supported. This can help you brace against the bench and use that to help you extend without arching.
To make the most out of these tweaks, you need to be conscious of what muscles you truly feel working!
You can’t just rush through moves or go through the motions!
Love these tips and tweaks? Want some killer upper body and arm workouts?!
In my Arm Burner program, I share tweaks and modifications for moves so you can avoid injury and build the lean, strong back and arms you’ve always wanted!
