We see it all the time. Social marketing that encourages us to do squats and lunges to get that Apple Bottom Booty. There’s also a plethora of influencers showing off their “cakes” in the Lulu leggings and encouraging the masses that “they too could get snatched! Just follow XYZ…”
While I’m not downplaying the self confidence boost that comes from filling out a pair of leggings with strong glutes, there are actually fundamental health benefits around having strength in them, too! In fact, there are downright health IMPERATIVE aspects of strong glutes that will determine your quality of life as you age.
Did you know the number one reason people go into assisted living is because they can’t get in and out of a chair? Do you know what helps a person with that action? The glutes girlfriend!
Relationship Between the Glutes & Pelvic Floor
Did you know that your gluteal muscles and pelvic floor muscles work together to stabilize your sacrum and tailbone? When one is too tight or weak, it causes imbalances that can lead to hip instability, discomfort, and postural issues. Many people focus on one and ignore the other, but to maintain proper pelvic alignment, both need to work in harmony.
To go even further with that idea – all aspects of the glutes need our attention, not just the gluteus maximus which tends to get the majority of publicity. That means we need to work the internal rotators, external rotators and the smaller stabilizing muscles.
What functions suffer when the glutes are weak?
- Balance – without good balance you are more prone to falling which has a host of issues that can last a lifetime; you cannot walk with ease; it tends to create more disparities between sides because one side will dominate and the other will continually get weaker
- Pelvic Floor Health – having weak glutes puts a strain on your pelvic floor muscles. There’s a push/pull relationship between them that stabilizes the sacrum. If they are weak, they can’t do their job which is going to create hypertension in one or both groups of muscles. This is also going to compromise the SI Joint and there are many nerves that innervate that area, it needs to be stable! Just remember weak glutes = pelvic floor has to compensate. Weak pelvic floor = glutes have to compensate = low back is going to suffer. All that is a perfect storm for envoking pain.
- Low Back – If the glutes are weak or not firing when they are supposed to, not only does the pelvic floor health suffer but so do the muscles of the low back. They will fire on to compensate. I’ve seen it many times where a student will go into extension and their glutes simply don’t turn on and instead their low back does all the work. Keep in mind, the glutes are the biggest group of muscles in your body – they can handle a big load whereas the low back muscles, not so much. This compensation is going to eventually lead to both tightness and weakness in the low back which further leads to spinal arthritis, bulging discs, herniated discs and nerve impingement conditions like sciatica and pudendal nerve pain.
- Unstable Hips – strong glutes help support the head the femur bone in the hip socket. They also assist with internal and external rotation along with pelvic floor muscles like the obturator internus.
- Metabolism – your glutes are the largest muscles of the body. Muscle plays a huge role with insulin resistance. The more muscle you have, the better your body can properly use glucose to provide energy for your muscles instead of being stored in the fat cells. This is a super basic explanation to help you get a little picture of it’s role in this area.
Signs That Your Glutes and Pelvic Floor Are Not Working Together
- Low back pain
- Hip instability
- Tailbone pain
- Pelvic floor dysfunction
- Urinary Incontinence, bladder leaking, inability to empty completely
- Vulvodynia – pain in the external genitalia due to nerve compression
- Painful Intercourse
- Hypertonic muscles in the pelvic floor and low back
- Knee pain – Your glutes play a role in knee alignment. Weakness in this area can cause improper movement patterns, leading to joint pain.
These are just my top reasons why working your glutes should be a priority. I’m not just talking about weightlifting either, I’m talking about functionality. You don’t have to push heavy weight to create functionality. Although if you want to push some weight, more power to you! Just balance it with some of the more nuanced work as well so your body knows what to do with that strength.
I have many classes that help not only create stability in the glutes but also a neurological connection so that the muscles fire when they are supposed to. Anything that happens in our body happens as a reaction of nerves getting the signal to that area to respond to what’s needed. You touch a hot stove, the brain sends the signal to the hand to pull away. You extend your leg, your brain sends the signal to the glutes to engage. In RECRUIT THE GLUTES, we cultivate this booty/brain connection as well as develop more stability with the not-so-sexy-to-talk-about aspects of glutes like internal and external rotators. Oh baby! 😊
Not a member of pelvic yogi classes? Use code BLOG50 to get half off your first month.
I’ll see you on the mat! Booty bump!
Peace,
Chalee Nyenhuis
Pelvic Health Yogi
