(This is actually my glute/butt area but its well covered in the right places!)
I was dreading this session.
The part of my body I really do avoid foam rolling 😂 Especially those glute medius muscles 😬
As with last week, if you want to know the back ground of the massage technique cupping, refer to my first post HERE
So lets get a little technical when it comes to your glute muscles and how cupping can help relieve some of the tension.
Your glute/butt area is made up of different muscles:
Glute Maximus - main butt area
Glute Medius - side of butt
Glute Minimus - under the above muscles
As well as the Piriformis muscle that is connected in that region (as you cam see on the right side of the above picture)
Our glutes are the biggest muscle group in our body and do so much for us.
They help to extend, rotate and abduct our hips. Having strong glutes can improve every day living from climbing the stairs, sitting, standing and of course our posture is better.
We can strengthen our glutes until we are blue in the face but what happens if we don't stretch them, roll them, ease them up and release them?
SO many issues can arise from having a tight glute. Seriously, it's crazy.
Unless we actively use this muscle group, it can go very much unworked.
An article by 'The Glute Guy' wrote about how much we under use our glutes.
This shocked me. We only use 10% of our glutes when getting up and down from our chair. Makes sense that most of the strength would come from our hamstrings when you think about it 🍑 But still. And a lot of our society have desk jobs where we sit for 8 hours.
So the saying "lazy bums" is actually true 😂
Toilet Squat Challenge -
Everytime you go to the bathroom in work or at home, do 10 squats and make sure to squeeze those bum cheeks HARD!
So we can strengthen our glutes through strength training such as deadlifts, squats, single leg work, sprinting etc but we can also strengthen in yoga. Some pose examples would be:
Opposing Arm Leg
Fire Hydrant
Donkey Kick
Glute Bridge
Just to name a few. But you must work on that feeling of how to activate the glutes. I always so some activation moves such as glute bridge and good mornings in the gym before I start a leg workout to make sure my glutes are switched on and ready to work.
Liebenson (2006) states that if a lack of coordination is seen when walking backwards, it indicates the gluteus maximus is weak.
So off you go, try it out and see what you think 😉
So lets go back to what happens when they tighten and why a technique like cupping can help.
Issues that arise:
- Low back pain
- Tight IT band
- Sore knees (runners knee)
- Heel Pain (plantar fasciitis)
- Achilles tendinitis
- Shin Splints
- Tight Piriformis muscle (from being overworked)
I tend to suffer with glute tightness because I am lazy AF with foam rolling! And my lower back aches sometimes. I think that is cause more from tight hip flexors though.
We started on my glute medius and whoa!!! This was done using the suction cups and general massage along with some elbow grease 😬 It helps to bring blood flow to the area while working out any knots.
My piriformis was pretty tight too and more so on one side than the other. It's normal to have one side stiffer than the other for different muscles.
Mines kind of strange. My left leg is stiffer than my right but my right glute med and piriformis are tighter than my left!!
We then moved on and the elbow was used to get in deep into the glute maximus. Ouch!!!
The pain is an oddly satisfactory pain though. Although you need to breathe through it, you know it's for a good reason.
The feeling after it? AMAZING!!! Worth every bead of sweat 😂 Honestly I felt so relaxed and spacious in the car on the way home!
Is it now 3 days after the session and they still feel good. Obviously you will need more than one session to really work the kinks out, especially if you have let it build up over time.
During yoga class this morning we were practicing hip openers and they did still feel a little tight but it is up to me to keep on top of having them loose by massaging the butt area with a torture ball like the peanut 😈 This is the one I have:
Ways to soften up your tight glutes:
- Cupping/Sports Massage
- Foam Rolling with a hard ball
- Epsom Salt Bath (magnesium helps relieve muscle pain and aids in relaxation)
- Stretches such as Pigeon Pose, recline twist (my favourite), cow legs (really good for getting into the glute med & piriformis)
So to round up:
- Strength Glutes through strength training and body weight exercises
- Release tension in Glutes through massage / self massage / soaking
Easy peasy lemon squeezy 😊
Let me know if you have any questions about this topic. I'd be happy to help out!
Lastly,
COMPETITION TIME
This might be your last chance to enter and receive a free cupping/sports massage session with Kev!!
Have a tight spot you want checked out? Feel you need to loosen up in a certain area? Well why not enter this competition and get a freebie, on us!!
Simply tag a friend on my Instagram post and follow myself & Kev. That is your entry.
Easy!
I hope you enjoy this little butt education 😋
Again, I am here if you have any queries!
Elisa x
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