If you’re a KBPT client, you’ll be familiar with the glutes section of our training sessions. Leg raises, pulses and other glute exercises all help to strengthen the largest muscle in your body. But why is it so important to do this?
OK, let’s start with the science… The gluteal muscles (commonly known as the ‘glutes’) are the muscles around your buttocks, thighs, hips and pelvis. Made up of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, they are essential for things like keeping you stable when standing up and propelling you forward when walking or running.
Spending hours at your desk or generally having a sedentary lifestyle can weaken your glutes. And, if your glutes aren’t activated and firing well, your sling system (the connection between your muscles) won’t work properly. As a result, you might experience pain or even a serious injury, such as runner’s knee.
“It’s so important to have strong glutes” explains KBPT’s Founder, Kate. “In every client’s first session, we go through a full body analysis process that reveals any gluteal weakness on either side of their body. If we spot any injuries or major imbalances, we recommend getting a deeper analysis from a physio so we can work on corrective exercise during their training programme.”
There are two types of glute exercise:
1. Individual – this is where you isolate the glutes from other muscles. Exercises include single leg glute bridge and clam.
2. Compound – exercises such as deadlifts and step-ups target multiple muscle groups and you can add leg weights to make them even more effective.
#glutes has over seven million posts on Instagram so it’s clearly a key part of many people’s workouts. We encourage our clients to work on these muscles because of the many health benefits – from better posture to improved balance, a more efficient running style to injury prevention. Strong glutes can even help to future-proof your body (later in life, you’ll find it easier to kneel on the floor and get back up, for example).
So, who’s ready to fire up their glutes?
Email kate@kbpersonaltraining.co.uk to discuss your fitness goals and find out how KBPT can support you on your journey.
