Gluteus – aesthetics or something more?

When someone says gluteus, first of all, the beautiful butt of a “booty workout” video can be found on Youtube channels, and most often the big butters shake their legs sideways and backwards and laugh.
This article is not about it.
This article is not about female but also male gluteus.
This article aims to raise the level of awareness of the importance of gluteus as a muscle and that it is not only reserved for mirror but already plays an important role in health. I personally do it on every training and the strengthening of the gluteus has solved almost all the problems I had with my back.
Big thanks to Dušica Svilar who allowed me to put her text on this site.
What is the function of gluteus muscle?
M. gluteus maximus performs its function at the moment of extension of the body, which leads to the conclusion that it plays a major role in maintaining proper posture and stability of the body. Proper posture, among other things, implies joint activation of the abdominal muscles and gluteus (and the last lodge).
Consequently, if one or both of the muscles are weak, posture is disturbed and the person, most often women, falls into the position of lumbar hyperlordosis. In that position, the butt seems “eye-pleasing” because it is “bigger”, but is it really so?
It is not. If the posture was properly adjusted, the abdominal muscles and gluteus were activated, the buttocks would be considerably reduced as we can see in the figure below.
When does it comes to gluteus inactivation?
There are several reasons why the gluteus weakness or inactivity is present, and the most common is asymmetry in daily or sport activities where the dominant side of the body causes irregularities in muscle strength.
This can be valid for any muscle of our body, but gluteus is the first on the wall when it comes to inhibition (weakness / inactivity), according to Czech therapist Vladimir Jande.
Asymmetry in everyday activities.
Short or dominant hips (psoas, sartorius, tensor faciae latae, rectus femoris) have a significant effect on the activity of gluteus maximus by a system of ‘reciprocal inhibition’, meaning that, for example, if psoas is weak and shorter, it automatically acts on the gluteus, extending it and weak.
Sedentary lifestyle affects gluteus inactivation
Sitting also plays a major role in creating compression on the muscle itself, resulting in reduced blood circulation and disruption of the nerve function. Generally weak gluteus significantly affects postural adaptation, and poor posture affects the gluteus weakening: a vicious circle.
Inactive gluteus is a weak gluteus.
However, the most important reason for the weakness of this muscle is inactivity. EMG research has shown that activities of everyday life activate the muscles of our body to a relatively high degree. For example, getting up from the chair triggers our quadriceps, pushing our triceps table, climbing up the stairs of our sheets and quadriceps … The examples are many, but it’s important to note how they are activated and gluteus, but not as much as other muscles.
Bret Contreras, the world’s fitness known as ‘The Glute Guy’, says that gluteus activates only 10% in such actions, while maximizing its capacity in heavy and explosive activities as well as many other exercises.
Weak gluteus and knee pain are connected?
It is interesting to illustrate how weakness of the gluteus affects pain and potential knee injury. The gluteus maximus and the back fibrous gluteus medius perform its function by external rotation of the abdomen and its abdication.
If the muscles are weak, it is clear – there is an internal rotation of the abdomen and its adulthood. Walking, running, squatting, if the gluteus weakens, comes to the other mentioned activities and thus creates great stress on the knee joint and all the joint structures, and also creates a high risk of anterior cross ligament injury.
But, as mentioned, each individual is a separate case and should be treated. You may be walking with a one-sided gluteus weakness for many years or working the squat so that you are curious aside, all these are “memorized patterns” that will, if you decide to fix them, need a relatively long period of reeducation that begins by creating a proper neural component and then strengthening and strength of the muscle itself.
Strong gluteus means no back pain
It is important to emphasize how powerful gluteus ‘keeps back’. Namely, the already mentioned hyperlodrosis (excessive torsion of the lower back) is a common problem of today’s population, mostly women (which does not make this article damsel-oriented). In hyperlordosis, the thing is clear: shortened hip ribs (psoas), shortened erector spine (lumbar part), weak rectus abdominis, weak gluteus and last lodge. How does this reflect on training?
During the squat, the hyperlordosis is very difficult to withstand. The abdominal wall weakness prevents the creation of abdominal pressure that will save the back, and the backs that are in themselves in the hyperlogy will be subject to very high stress due to cargo. The discs are pressed, the spine is pressed, the back is badly damaged because the person tilting too much forward.
We need to strengthen the gluteus.
The solution is found in the strengthening of the gluteal region needed for the stable placement of the pelvis and the upright position of the body. Strengthening the abdominal muscles will ensure this stability in the foreground, but in this case you forget about the crunches and the abdomen, you are already using stabilization exercises for the belly – ultimately it is a stabilizer.
In the case of truncated hip ribs (most commonly psoas), it is first to examine whether the abnormality that has come as a result of weakness or strength of the muscles. However, the weak muscles are shrinking in order to protect, and I can say that the psoas in the sedentary population are usually very weak.
Glute exercises by activation level
According to the EMG study (Bret Contreras), the ‘best practices’ for the upper, middle and lower fibers of the gluteus maximus and the gluteus medius are given and the exercises will be listed in their original English title, so we suggest that you look at the exercises on Youtube although not we can guarantee the accuracy of the performance shown.
Gluteus Medius
Middle activation: Quadruped Hip Circle, Band Standing External Rotation, Barbell Hip Thrust
Maximum activation: Quadruped Hip Circle, Quadruped Band Donkey Kick, Quadruped Hip Extension
Upper part of Gluteus Maximus
Middle activation: Barbell Hip Thrust, Band Skorcher Hip Thrust, Quadruped Hip Circle
Maximum activation:Quadruped Hip Extension, Barbell Hip Thrust, Bird Dog
Middle part of Gluteus Maximus
Middle activation: Band Standing Hip External Rotation, Band Skorcher Hip Thrust, Barbell Hip Thrust
Maximum activation:Band Standing Hip External Rotation, Band Skorcher Hip Thrust, Cable Standing Hip External Rotation
Lower part of Gluteus Maximus
Middle activation: Deadlift, Band Hip Thrust, Band Standing Hip External Rotation
Maximum activation: Single Leg Hip Thrust, Shoulder Elevated Single Leg Hip Thrust, Deadlift
Author: Dušica Svilar
This post is also available in: Croatian