The glutes - the great big mass of muscles around your hips, between your legs and your lower back… These are made of multiple muscles, including the more renowned gluteus medius, minimus and maximus, amongst others, and are an imperative member of what is commonly considered our “core”. The help support our entire body – effecting posture, protecting our back and knees, and when active and strong, make all the difference to the power in our movement from hill walking to lunges & squats. In sports the benefits range from a stronger golf swing to tennis spring, impacting both your sprint (football) and your jumps (netball).
Glutes get weaker as we get older, and not entirely due to aging cells but more a case of the cumulative effect of days, weeks, months and years of bad habits, in this case in particular - too much time sitting.
The solution? Reactivate those muscle fibres with simple exercises.
Using a looped band (start with medium strength or 3 dots) – or alternatively tying a physio band so it’s approx. hip width - around your ankles.
To work the right glute: Stand with your feet approximately hip distance apart, knees gently bent, shoulders relaxed and chest up, and place your body weight and balance on your right leg, primarily on your right heel. Lift your left foot so only the top of your toe touches the floor.
From there gently move your left leg out by 2-4 inches, tipping your toe to the floor and returning to the starting position. Repeat for 10 “toe taps” in and out, keeping your right leg steady throughout. There should be no movement of your right knee or hip.
Repeat on switching the body weight to the left leg, and “toe tap” the right.
Repeat x 3 times.
As your strength improves, increase repetitions to 20 per set, and then increase the band strength to “heavy” or 4 dots, or “ extra heavy” or 5 dots.
Watch Zana’s video to see how straightforward the exercise is.
Zana Morris, Founder