Glute "activation": What does it mean? Is this a myth?

People that sit all day, most of us, have glutes that are essentially turned off, not activated as they should be hence the need for bridges, hinges, drills etc. Faulty exercise selection that neglects the posterior chain doesn't help.

It's neither a panacea or hocus pocus. Stretch what's tight, strengthen what's weak.

A couple of follow up questions:

1) Is the posterior chain, the muscles on the back side of the body, or is it the skeletal structure itself?

2)What are typical safe exercises (with simple movements?) to start with?

Glute activation problems are the injury du jour in the PT community. It's probably a real thing, but it's probably overdiagnosed. You can probably find plenty of exercises online. Clamshells are often prescribed. Sideways walking with resistance bands is another one. Give the workouts a try and see if they help.

Kruppe wrote:

What is the current consensus on glute activation?

It means using your gluts.

Using your gluts, is using your gluts, for example doing any of the following;

running up hills

touching your hands to the floor and standing back up

standing back up from a sitting position

getting out of bed and standing up

running at a good pace

repeatedly sitting in a squat position

standing back up from a squat position

doing numerous squats, sitting in squat position, standing back up

OP, I'm talking about the muscles in the back of the body. Whether it be rhomboids, lats, flutes and hamstrings. Typical gym goers do squats which work the glutes but primarily work the quads but neglect hip hinging and thrusting. We're basically front side dominant whether it be the chest and anterior shoulders or legs.

Lunges in every direction, step ups, glute bridges, 1 legged Romanian dead lifts, and sideways and diagonal band walking should be added.

If someone truly had 'inactive' glutes they wouldn't be able to walk.

Yeah, some people barely use them and that is a problem, but people seem to think the largest muscles in your body can turn off and yet still be able to walk around, go up stairs, etc.

All things considered, everyone could benefit from hip thrusts! (or what I like to call, "marriage savers")

Regarding "inactive glutes" this is from NASM' s corrective training textbook in the chapter on human movement impairments and altered muscle recruitment.

Altered reciprocal inhibition can lead to synerGnostic dominance. For example a tight psoas decreases the neural drive and therefore optimal recruitment of the gluteus maxi.us. This altered recruitment and force production of the gluteus maxi.us (prime mover for hip ectension) leads to compensation and substitution by the synergies (hamstrings) and stabilizers (erectile spinae).

So although they don't "turn off" fully they don't produce sufficient force, they're not doing their jobs efficiently. If we sit too much we need to stretch out the hip flexors and wake up our glutes

Synergistic dominance, sorry for other phone typos

Coach wrote:

Regarding "inactive glutes" this is from NASM' s corrective training textbook in the chapter on human movement impairments and altered muscle recruitment.

Altered reciprocal inhibition can lead to synerGnostic dominance. For example a tight psoas decreases the neural drive and therefore optimal recruitment of the gluteus maxi.us. This altered recruitment and force production of the gluteus maxi.us (prime mover for hip ectension) leads to compensation and substitution by the synergies (hamstrings) and stabilizers (erectile spinae).

So although they don't "turn off" fully they don't produce sufficient force, they're not doing their jobs efficiently. If we sit too much we need to stretch out the hip flexors and wake up our glutes

The key word is the psoas. That is what tightens up from excess sitting. Muscles quit working because they are being overworked. Not because they are weak.

Go to julstro.com and look under low back pain for a simple psoas stretch.

"Glute activation" is a pseudo-concept. The moment you hear anyone use that phrase, smile and walk away; you're talking to a fool.

Coach wrote:

Regarding "inactive glutes" this is from NASM' s corrective training textbook in the chapter on human movement impairments and altered muscle recruitment.

Altered reciprocal inhibition can lead to synerGnostic dominance. For example a tight psoas decreases the neural drive and therefore optimal recruitment of the gluteus maxi.us. This altered recruitment and force production of the gluteus maxi.us (prime mover for hip ectension) leads to compensation and substitution by the synergies (hamstrings) and stabilizers (erectile spinae).

100% pure pseudoscience.

I'll take nasm's position over an anonymous poster.

A few points-

-we spend most of our day sitting. This starts as children when we are expected to sit at our desks from 8:30-3pm only getting up during recess(30 minutes) and lunch (45 minutes). The rest of the day is sitting!

-Think about sitting from 8:30-3pm starting as a 5 year old all the way up til 18 years

-Then again at most full time jobs

-sit in the car on the way home

-sit on the couch

...So should we be lying down more rather than sitting?

stand every once in a while and move around to loosen up the hip flexors and use the glutes. Lying down is healthier for you than sitting.

Exacerbater wrote:

...So should we be lying down more rather than sitting?

I have just put in a request at work for an office bed to replace my office chair.

Exacerbater wrote:

...So should we be lying down more rather than sitting?

-We should be standing up and moving around.

-sitting in third world squat is better than sitting in a chair.

-most schools don't let kids get up and walk around. Schools make kids sit in their desk without getting up during class time.

ATHLETE.X wrote:

If someone truly had 'inactive' glutes they wouldn't be able to walk.

The term being used for healthy people is a misnomer, and a scam red flag.

Coach wrote:

I'll take nasm's position over an anonymous poster.

Glute activation = more core crap

Core is the new static stretching. There is no evidence anywhere that core does anything at all for performance, with the exception of the performance of personal trainers' bank accounts. All it does is waste time and energy that would be better spent doing something that might do you some good, like plyometrics.