5 Reasons Why You Don't Feel Your Glutes When You Train
Who am I talking to?
You squat, and your quads work harder than your glutes.
You lunge, and it seems like your calves work harder than your glutes.
You run, and everything BUT your glutes seems to work.
For YEARS, I was plagued with the same maladies and unable to feel my glutes when I squatted, lunged or ran.
It was a total mind-f.
It started out with the aesthetics. Every time I did a show, my physique always changed, but my glutes NEVER did. Even when I leaned out into single-digit numbers of body fat, my glutes always looked like a flat square.
Then, once I realized that the reason my glutes never changed was because of a MUSCLE ISSUE-not a fat issue-I deployed glute training tactics and NEVER felt them fire. It was like they had no nerve activation. At that point, the level of mind-f increased because it had always been very easy for me to get a strong mind-muscle connection with virtually every muscle in my body. Every muscle except my glutes.
I started squatting like a mad woman, but no matter what types of squats I did, I NEVER FELT THEM ACTIVATING. All that happened was that my quads kept getting bigger, and I kept clam-shelling forward.
It was only by a freak injury that took me what seemed to be way off the beaten path, that I've been able to figure out how to properly recruit my glutes and train them so that they actually develop. (The Quest For Beautiful Glutes is still a work in progress)
This is actually the 3rd post in the series: "The Quest For Beautiful Glutes." The previous post hits on the major point of "***Why Your Glutes Never Change.***"
Now that we're all on the same page and agree it comes down to a training issue, the question on the table is, "Why don't I feel my glutes when I train?"
There's a lot of different reasons.
Here's 5 Of The Most Common Reasons Why You Don't Feel Your Glutes When You Train
1) Your Quads Take Over. We call this Quad Dominance. Every time you go to sit or stand your quads take over and dominate your glutes. All of the "work" is powered by your quads and guess what happens? Your quads get bigger, your knees get loaded with extra stress, and your glutes stay small and weak. (Am I talking to you, Quadzilla?)
Guess What? Quad Dominance is curable! (lol)
2) Lack Of Hip Mobility. Maybe it's scar tissue from an old injury. Maybe it's a wad of muscular tension around the hip from any number of things. Hip mobility is integral to your being able to target your glutes. The cool thing is that we can usually increase it with dedicated training and nutrition. (Yes, NUTRITION).
3) Weak Mind-Muscle Connection. Here's a quick test-make a muscle with your glutes. NOTE: I didn't say squeeze your butt hole and cheeks together. I said make a muscle.
If you can't get any part of your glutes to contract like you do your biceps, chances are the mind-muscle connection is weak.
Great News! That doesn't have to be your fate. Jump upon our Gain Train-we've got something called GLUTE AWAKENING to recruit and maximize those neural pathways.
4) Glute Restrictions. Adhesions, scar tissue, distorted fascia...those are some of the reasons why glutes get tight. The glutes are muscles, and just like all other muscles; must be able to expand and contract in order to grow. It's rarely thought about, but glutes require stretching and release work just like all other muscles. One simple tool we use is a golf ball. Place the ball on the floor (non-carpeted) and roll your glutes on it. You'll know when you hit the right spot (trust me).
5) Improper/Escape Movement Pathways. Whether these are born out of habit (from how you sit, stand or work), improperly rehabbed injuries, or musculoskeletal issues above or below the level of the glutes; the long and short of it is you don't move well or correctly. Typically what you see is a leaning towards one side or a rounding out of the back during any motion that requires hinging at the hips (deadlifting, squatting, sitting, stepping upwards, etc.). What's happening is similar to Quad Dominance, only it's other muscles that are absorbing the workload of the movement. These problems can keep the glutes from ever engaging, can negatively affect hip mobility, or keeps the glutes so tense and rigid that there's no allowance for muscle belly expansion within the glutes.
Most people who cannot feel their glutes firing when they train have more than one of these (btw-this is not an exhaustive list; there's more).
The Good News is that with a dedicated and consistent muscular development program, you can overcome these challenges.
Every athlete we've worked with has been able to increase their level of glute activation (aka "feeling" their glutes), oftentimes in as little as 4 weeks and has served as the primer for further development of glute aesthetics, functionality, and performance.
If you or an athlete you work with is struggling with a Glute Plateau and are SERIOUS about busting it, contact me directly by ****CLICKING HERE****
At the end of the day, you can either have what you want or the reasons why you don't.
Choose Powerfully.
