Gluteal Exercise Progression
Progression is vital with any training program, whether it be rehabilitation, conditioning or strength. Our bodies naturally like to be comfortable and dislike change, however, without progressions to our exercises we do not grow and improve our current state. The human body has an amazing ability to adapt to whatever stresses are applied to it as long as it is a gradual and sensible progression. As our bodies adapt to the new stimulus (get stronger) our baseline also improves and as a result the stress must constantly be increased until we are satisfied with our results.
Rehabilitation and training are essentially the same thing, however, with rehabilitation we are starting from a lower baseline as we are injured or recovering from injury and may or may not be dealing with pain. When we are injured or in pain, our muscles, bones and ligaments gradually decondition. Another commonly forgotten variable is proprioception – knowing where our joints are positioned within space. The extent of deconditioning depends on the severity of the injury and the degree of compensation due to pain that occurs within our body. Initially the exercises may start off simple with the goal to remove or reduce pain or work within tolerable pain ranges to maintain range and function. Our pain will eventually improve with these exercises however we must remember that our baseline is not the same as it was pre-injury even though there is no more pain.
To choose which exercises are suitable for you to be doing, first we must determine what the underlying cause of your injury is. Poor glute activation? Poor hip stability? Or do you not have any pain and want to get better at a specific sport or activity? Run faster? Jump further?
Basic glute exercises start off in a non-weight bearing position and have a greater focus on activation. This generally means you are either lying on your side or on your front to perform the exercises which produce a small isolated movement. Some examples include side-lying clams and the prone figure 4. As you become better at activating your glutes, you can progress to light strengthening exercises incorporating activation with partial weight bearing such as glute bridges lying on your back.
The next step up is getting you up into a more functional position, i.e standing. By this stage you should have good activation of your glutes and are progressing more towards strength building and returning to functional activity. Some good exercises in this position include monster walks and isometric wall pushes on one leg. If you are returning to an activity which requires dynamic or explosive movement, there is one more stage which is VERY important and that is the return to sport/play stage. This stage includes exercises which simulate the activity you are trying to return to and are more dynamic. By this stage you should have good activation, strength and stability in your glutes and are now focused on improving the power in your glutes whilst incorporating everything else you have learnt up to this stage, with the goal of improving performance and preventing re-injury. Some examples may include single leg mini squats + knee drive and box jumps.
Box jumps form an important component of the POWER phase.
The final and most important stage of rehabilitation is MAINTENANCE! The best way to minimise risk of re-injury in the future is to ensure that you keep up with your exercises even when you no longer have pain or feel strong enough to do your activity. This will ensure that your muscles stay strong and your joints stay stable. Many people think that once their pain is gone or once they can return to their sport healthy that the journey is over, however, our goal should be to make sure that we don’t have a repeat of the same problems again.
Want to know more or have some exercises tailored specifically for you? Call 9873 2770 or Book online today (https://bookings.nookal.com/bookings/company/39XKS).