The Importance of Glutes

The importance of glutes is often overlooked by a of lot runners, myself included. Having suffered an injury that was caused by a weak glute, I decided to write this to help others be more aware.

Why are glutes so important?

The gluteal (buttocks) muscle surround the pelvis and are the powerhouse muscles that can affect the whole leg. Having spoken to my physio, Clive Richards at Salthouse Clinic, he referred me to a Runners World article. The author of the article, Nikki Kimball, had this to say on how the glutes work;

“When we run, the glutes hold our pelvis level and steady, extend our hip, propel us forward, and keep our legs, pelvis, and torso aligned. So when our glutes are faulty, our entire kinetic chain gets disrupted. Studies link glute weakness to Achilles tendinitis, shin splints, runner’s knee, and iliotibial-band syndrome. Indeed, many injured runners I treat come to physical therapy with strong abdominals and backs but weak glutes.”

Iliotibial-band syndrome is what caused me to withdraw from my first marathon earlier this year. Its a very frustrating injury that takes a lot of time, patience & hard work to recover from. I had previously heard of the IT band but only when it came to foam rolling. That was pretty much the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

When I saw Clive and he informed it was caused by a weak glute, I was shocked. Having always done squats and lunges I assumed, wrongly, that my glutes were strong.

So having had it massaged by Clive, he also used ultrasound on it. He then gave me some direction on how to recover from it. His advice was run/walk intervals on grass and more importantly, glute strengthening exercises.

How to strengthen glutes

Squats and lunges are a great place to start but the key is to use a resistance band. When looking into glute exercises, I found many articles and YouTube videos on the subject. I also had some advice from fellow runners on Instagram.

First off, get yourself some decent resistance bands. I had some pretty basic ones that I bought from Aldi over 18 months ago. These were fine to start off with and I certainly noticed a difference after I started using them. However they weren’t particularly strong so the effect they had soon wore off & one of them even snapped.

So I recently bought these from Amazon. Now I’m sure you can find more expensive ones at a proper sports outlet but for someone on a budget like myself, they’re perfect.

Resistance bands

They come in 4 strengths, light, medium, heavy and extra heavy. I skipped the light one and have started with the medium one. The difference is incredible. After the first workout with them my legs were like jelly. Due to the more intense nature of the workouts, I’m no longer doing these exercises pre-run. Instead, I’ve been doing them as a warm up in the gym or at home on rest days.

My preferred glute strengthening exercises

I do five main resistance band exercises along with squats and lunges, which can also be done with a resistance band.

Leg raises

The first of these is leg raises. Place the resistance band around the ankles, lie on your side and raise your leg. Control the movement of the exercise and don’t raise the leg too high. I do 50 reps each side but if you’re just starting out then obviously start lower, say 20 reps each side.

Clamshells

The second exercise is clamshell leg raises. Position the band around your legs just above the knee. Lie on your side with your legs almost in the foetal position and raise your leg. Again, control the movement and don’t raise the leg too high. Another tip for this one is to hold the leg in the raised position for 2 or 3 seconds on each rep. As above, I do 50 reps on each side.

Glute bridge

The next exercise is the glute bridge. Lie on your back with the band around your legs just above the knee. With your feet flat on the floor raise your hips into a bridge. Control the movement and activate the glutes as you raise the hips. I do 50 reps of this exercise.

Bent knee fire hydrant

Next up is the bent knee fire hydrant. Its a bit of an odd name but it works. On all fours with the band around your legs just above the knee, raise your leg out to the side and back down again. Like the rest of these exercises, the movement has to be controlled. Again, I do 50 reps each side.

Lateral walk

Last but not least is the lateral walk. To do this, position the band around the ankles, just above the knee or around the feet. Once the band is in position, lower your body into a cross between a squat and a bent over row. After that, take small steps to the side keeping the resistance in the band tight. I tend to do 10 steps in each direction at least twice.

Like I mentioned above, I also tend to throw in some lunges and squats.

Disclaimer

I’m not a personal trainer or a medical professional. These are exercises I have researched and have had success using. There are many more great glute exercises out there. If you have any of the issues stated in the quote at the top of the article I recommend going to a physio or your GP.

I hope you found this article helpful and if you are a runner, I cant recommend glute exercises highly enough.