Hopefully the title get your attention and every fitness professional is about to shout at me. Before you do, let me add a little context here and mention the question I received from a former PT client this week:
"I’d love to know your thoughts on which glute activation exercises are best for running - for both strengthening the glutes and preventing injuries in the hips, hammies, quads and knees. Even the ankles! Also core exercises to reduce strain on the lower back"
Firstly, i love the question (thanks Jacqui!) and this blog will be an attempt to lovingly dissect the statement above, take all of its parts, reframe it and then ultimately answer the damn thing so that we better understand the bigger picture needs for effectively warming up to run. The full statement actually starts to answer itself as you will read further on.
1. Glute activation exercises
"I’d love to know your thoughts on which glute activation exercises are best for running for strengthening the glutes..."
Its quite a popular subject and i will answer this (the main part of the question that was asked) at the end of this blog. First, lets look at all the muscles involved in running and there main functions :
Primary
Quads - used in the drive phase
Hamstrings - Provide power and propel you forward
Glutes - Help posture, Stability and proper knee alignment
Hip flexors - Helps stabilise hip and trunk
Calves - Absorbing, providing spring and balance
Secondary
Core - Helps balance, support and running efficiency
Upper limbs - Rhythm and running efficiency
Joints
Ankles
Knees
Hips
So my comprehensive effort to fully answer to the question above would start with thinking 'why just the stop at activating the glutes when there are so many other areas to address?' Then start to build a full warm up that targets all the joints, muscles and movements involved in running. This will be the subject of my next blog "The Ultimate Warm up for Runners"and be kind of a Part 2 to todays subject.
Just putting a thought out there and say "Are the glutes the most important part to 'activate' when warming up to run?
Quick answer: In my opinion they are just as important as calves, quads and hip flexors and maybe shouldn't be given any special preference in terms of warm up.
Back to the statement...
2. Injury Prevention
"...and preventing injuries in the hips, hammies, quads"
Tight and weak glutes are not a great compliment to successful running and usually will result in lower back strain and/or 'knee pain' through bad patterning and excessive repetition. Strong, functioning glutes are an essential injury prevention tool for runners.
3. Joint mobility and Care
"Even the ankles!"
You need your ankles, knees and hips to all work together. Without getting into too much detail (of the joint by joint model) in this post each joint needs to have either adequate Mobility or Stability to be an efficient part of the (runners) chain and help reduce overuse injuries like knee pain, lower back pain and shin splints.
Ankles - Mobility
Knees - Stability
Hips - Mobility
“Lose ankle mobility, get knee pain, Lose hip mobility, get low back pain"
Mike Boyle
4. Core
"...Also core exercises to reduce strain on the lower back"
When people mention core they immediately think of abdominals and sometimes mention obliques and lower back. I think its important to think of your "core" as the engine room for all athletic endeavours and is comprised of:
- Deep core muscles (TVA, Diaphragm, pelvic floor)
- Hip flexors
- Obliques (internal and external)
- Lower back muscles
All these muscles work synergistically with the glutes during all physical activity. Having a weak 'core' would be absolutely detrimental to running performance and would likely promote injuries
What are your favourite glute activation exercises for running?
A. Banded Hip Thrust
The hip thrust has been popularised by Bret Contreras over the past 5-10 years and has become the go-to exercise for Booty development. Its easy to execute and very effective so for me its a great choice for favourite glute activation exercises.
Try the following Isometric method:
A1. 20-30s hold at the top postion
A2. 15-20 x hip thrust (squeeze at the top)
A3. 20-30s hold at the top position
1 or 2 high quality sets should be enough "activation". You can also use the mini glute band version if you don't have a hip thrust set up in the video (shown below).
B. Loaded band side walks
Band side walks are a fantastic inclusion in any training program and especially for those engaging in activities that require running, jumping, pivoting and twisting. Progress from light to heavy bands and goblet hold variations with time.
Try the following combination for awesome Core/Glute/Hip activation:
B1. Loaded band side walks 3 x 15/side (controlled tempo, keep feet shoulder width)
B2: Side plank variation 3 x 20-30s/side
C. Prone hip extension
This exercise which is one of the hot 26 yoga sequence at a class I attend regularly. It ticks all the boxes for me in terms of being a trainer:
a) Simple to teach
b) Easily replicated by clients
c) Can be done anywhere (with a clean floor)
d) Isolates glutes effectively
Again I like the isometric/concentric method on this, 2 high quality sets is enough:
C1. Isometric hold L 2 x 10s (at top position)
C2. Hip extension L 2 x 10 (1s pause at top, control tempo)
C3. Isometric hold R 2 x 10s (at top position)
C4. Hip extension R 2 x 10 (1s pause at top, control tempo)
Thats all folks!
Next Blog "The Ultimate Warm up for Runners"
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