As the winter sports season gets underway, it is so important to ensure the powerhouse of your body is ready to fire! Our glutes are designed to be the strongest muscle group in our body. They allow us to push-off, land well, change direction and squat. All these movements are crucial to success in sport and play a really important role in injury prevention. Unfortunately, we do love to sit on our bums and therefore things in that region can become a little lazy and tight in the off-season. Taking the field or court without strong glutes can lead to injuries in the lower limb, hips and spine as your body compensates for the lack of stability in your pelvis. There are two important layers of glut muscles. The layer everyone is generally familiar with, the gluteus maximus, doesn’t work in isolation. It is our major push-off and squat muscle but without the help of the deeper, smaller glut muscles, it cannot control the position of the pelvis during these movements. Without that stability, you can hit the ground with your knee at the wrong angle, lower back twisted or an ankle with a mind of its own. Your speed and agility will not reach its peak and your opponent might get the better of you. If you think that grabbing a barbell and doing some heavy squats will be the answer to your seasons’ physical success, think again. Your buns of steel might look excellent in those skinny jeans (who doesn’t want that) but they alone will not give you the joie de vivre you need to thrive on the field or court. You need to strengthen that deeper glut layer in conjunction to allow you to outsmart the opposition. So, I release you from your dreaded dead lifts to try these multi-sport friendly exercises to wake your glutes up and give you the edge you need against your opponents! 1. Clam your way to success
2. Bridge curl
3. Knee lift with a lunge- In standing, use your abdominal muscles to lift one knee to your chest - Then swing your leg back behind you so that both feet are facing forward and transfer your weight in between the middle of your legs - Slowly lower down into a lunge, ensuring your front knee does not travel in front of your toes - Use your glutes to push yourself back up and swing the back leg through, bending it toward your chest * Go slowly and really focus on your balance and breathing. Try to do 10 on each leg Aim to do these exercises at least THREE times per week leading up to and for the first six weeks of your sports competition
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July 2023
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