› Forums › Lifting › Glutes = Clutch?

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    • 05/22/2013 at 4:49 pm #70214
      AvatarBailey Martinez

        The hips and shoulders are often referred to as “engines”. The trunk or core is often referred to as the transmission.

        Using these analogies, to create a mental picture of my movements, I feel like the glutes act as the clutch.
        The extent to which I can engage my hamstrings and my inner quads seems fairly dependent on how hard I’m squeezing my glutes through full range of motion. 
        Am I thinking about this the right way, or am I over-thinking the issue?
      • 05/23/2013 at 11:51 pm #72007
        AvatarAnonymous

          Another impacting factor is if you are standing over extended.
          If you are it can be cutting off the signal.
          Your glutes set the position of your pelvis so yes how much you contract your glutes can have an impact.

        • 06/03/2013 at 9:24 am #72084
          AvatarBailey Martinez

            Exactly. If I stand over extended, this is a position where my “clutch” isn’t engaged and if I go into a squat from here, I can’t activate my hamstrings as well, and the transmission of power is severely diminished.

            I guess my next question is that when I go into a squat, about half way down I feel as though my glutes can’t do any more work and my quads start to kick in. I’m wondering if this is normal, or if I don’t have fully developed glutes, and perhaps they should still feel engaged throughout the entire squat ROM?
          • 06/04/2013 at 11:30 am #72091
            AvatarAnonymous

              Thor–
              You need to correct the position you are standing in.
              Start position is mob 1 finish position is mob 2.
              If you aren’t in the correct start position this is where you start.
              If you don’t start in a good position you can’t end in a good position.
              Sounds like you may have restriction at the hip which is causing you to compensate your position which shuts your glutes down. Your quads do the work as a result of the compensation.
              Daily Rx from June 3rd hits one way to address.

            • 06/04/2013 at 4:31 pm #72093
              AvatarBailey Martinez

                So based on what you are saying, it sounds like I should be able to feel the contraction throughout the ROM without feeling as though the glutes are disengaging. Thanks a ton!

                And I think you’re on the right track. My hip and groin area’s have always been tight, and I’ve been working pretty hard to address them.
                When you say the Daily Rx from June 3rd…Is that 2013?
              • 06/04/2013 at 7:45 pm #72095
                AvatarAnonymous

                  Yes, the Daily Rx from June 3, 2013.
                  Are you seeing improvements with you hip and groin?

                • 06/05/2013 at 8:15 am #72101
                  AvatarBailey Martinez

                    It doesn’t look like I can access the Daily Rx’s. 🙁

                    I work on hip and groin mobility everyday, so there’s some improvement, probably still not where I need it to be though.
                  • 06/07/2013 at 11:13 pm #72122
                    AvatarAnonymous

                      It may be an area that needs alot of work so it will come with exposures to it. Hit a dose and see where its at.
                      You may not be hitting the root cause of the problem.
                      Are you looking up/down stream as well?

                    • 06/08/2013 at 11:01 pm #72125
                      AvatarBailey Martinez

                        Oh yeah. 

                        I do most of my mobility work on my hips, even though my pain is in both my knee’s. But I do lots of tacking and flossing on my knee’s and ankle as well. 
                        I think I’ve been able to figure out how to contract my glutes the entire time throughout a squat now. But I can still feel my inner thigh and groin area being extremely tight. I really have to do a decent amount of mobility work before doing squats in order to have decent form and to allow the glutes to stay engaged the entire time.
                        I’ve contemplated going to a professional to help me with some manual adjustments to accelerate the work, but I’m not sure who I should go for that when it comes to the hips. Do I see a massage therapist, a physio, a chiropracter, or some other profession I’m unaware of? 
                      • 06/09/2013 at 11:05 am #72129
                        AvatarAnonymous

                          Thor–
                          It may be a situation that it would be beneficial to see a physio to help correct then you can maintain what is addressed. Getting help with something when needed is the smart thing to do to get it back on track.

                        • 06/10/2013 at 10:20 am #72136
                          AvatarBailey Martinez

                            Will do! Thanks Kaitlin!

                          • 06/11/2013 at 11:18 pm #72156
                            AvatarKeith Borg
                            Participant

                              Thor,

                              KL nailed it and you are correct.  People just think the glute is the high butt.  It’s lower too.
                              kstar
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