Sleepy Glutes?

Hey SoulShiners! Are your glutes on vacation? If your glutes are forgetting what to do and when to do it, then your body really won’t be happy and it will throw off some warning signs. The glutes are the powerhouse of your body. They extend and rotate your hip, abduct the hip (move away from the midline of your body) and adduct the hip (move toward the midline of your body), tilt your pelvis, and thrust your pelvis. Strong and efficient glutes help you stand from a squatted position, climb stairs, walk uphill, and maintain your balance. Here are some signs that yours might be on a bit of a vacation... Sleepy glutes = unstable hips. Unstable hips = low back pain. If you have a loss of hip mobility then you will most certainly have a back that is working too hard and tight psoas muscles. Activate your glutes and see what happens to your back, I dare you. ;) Sleepy glutes = poor control over the femur. Lack of femur control = knee pain. The knee only does what the foot will allow and the hip can control. Poor hip control can also lead to chronic ankle sprains due to vulnerability in your gait, plantar fasciitis due to flat feet, and hamstring pulls due to hamstrings being overworked. Sleepy glutes = unstable shoulders. Unstable shoulders = shoulder and elbow pain. The glutes connect via fascia across the body to the opposite shoulder. When the glutes aren’t activated the fascia becomes tight and the range of movement is restricted. Pain in the elbow relates to this as well. If your right elbow hurts, check out your left glute to see if it’s having a problem working properly. Some also say that inhibited glutes can lead to tension headaches due to overuse in the neck extensors leading to muscular tension in the back of the neck and the head. What a pain! Here’s your test for today. Look sideways into the mirror at your lovely backside. Is it flat or is it plump? A plumping set of glutes means that they are awake, active, and most likely efficient. A flat booty will most likely mean that you are having the body pain that I described above. Now, lay down with your legs straight and try to contract your glutes. If you can you maintain a strong contraction for over 30 seconds, then you’re looking good in this department. If it’s hard for you to maintain a strong contraction then I suggest adding some glute bridges, multidirectional lunges, and squats to your exercise program or just come to any of the classes that I teach....it's all about the booty!!! Vacation = Awesome! Glutes on vacation = Not awesome! Be Awesome. Here’s our SoulShine Schedule for this week: Monday – HIIT at The Rec – 8:15-9:15 am Tuesday – brand spankin' new PiYo outside at TPVS – 8-9 am Thursday – brand spankin' new PiYo – 12-1 pm Friday – HIIT at The Rec – 8:15-9:15 am Here’s to drinking a ton of water, sleeping well, standing tall, using your glutes, sweating, sleeping, laughing, eating food that grows in your neighborhood, and fireworks!!!!! Cheers, Jode xo