Warning Signs That Your Glutes are Weak

Warning Signs That Your Glutes are Weak

You’ve probably heard people get teased for having chicken legs but no one seems to care about glute strength. Even those who train glutes regularly only want to lead to a bigger and rounder butt.
Weakness in the glutes can do more harm than you may realize. All the muscles in the body are interconnected, which means weakness in one muscle can affect other body parts. It’s for this reason that tight calf muscles cause ankle pain.
Weak glutes can cause pain, poor posture and stiffness.
Today more than ever people have weak glutes because of sitting for long hours. The fact that most workout plans don’t have glute exercises doesn’t help either.
Don’t assume that your glutes are strong because you do squats. As I mentioned in this article, squats aren’t the best glute exercise. In fact, they only target the gluteus maximus, ignoring the other two glute muscles – gluteus medius and gluteus minimus.
Glute bridges are the best exercise for targeting all three glute muscles.
If you’re not sure whether your glutes are strong, here are signs of weak glutes.

1. POOR POSTURE

When most people hear poor posture, they think a hunched back or forward head posture. Well, to maintain proper posture you need more than an upright upper body. When standing, your hips, knees and ankles should be aligned in a straight line.
Weak glutes cause the lower cross syndrome. An arched back, tilted pelvis and slightly bent knees characterize lower cross syndrome. Note that weak abdominal muscles worsen this posture problem.

2. UNEXPLAINED KNEE OR HIP PAIN

If you do non-weight bearing exercises and your knees still hurt, it could be a sign of weak glutes. This is especially true if you also have pain on the outside of the hips.
Doing high impact exercises like jumping rope or sprinting when your glutes are weak can increase risk of injury. Therefore, strengthen your glutes before doing these exercises.

3. YOU CAN’T STAND ON ONE LEG

The gluteus medius helps stabilize the pelvis when we are standing on one leg. This explains why people with weak glutes can’t stand on one leg for more than 60 seconds.
To test your glute strength, stand upright and lift one leg off the floor. Raise both hands straight overhead and then stand for 60 seconds. If you can’t, it’s a sign your glutes need to be strengthened.

4. LOWER BACK PAIN

When the glutes are weak, the lower back muscles tend to be overworked and this causes pain.
It’s also worth mentioning that weak glutes force the pelvis to tilt forward which in turn puts pressure on the lower spine.

5. YOUR GLUTES ARE NEVER SORE

If your glutes have never been sore, it’s a sign that you’re not targeting them properly.
Exercises like lunges and squats won’t make your glutes sore since they barely target them. You’re better off doing hip raises and step ups.
I may note that playing tennis makes my glutes sore more than any other exercise.

6. HEEL PAIN AND INFLAMMATION

There’s more pressure on the heels when running or walking if the glutes are weak. The excess pressure usually causes pain and blisters on the heels.
If you’ve confirmed that your glutes are weak, use these 3 exercises to strengthen them.

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