Kettlebell Addressing a Glute Medius imbalance

[Denys Carthusian]

I'm curious how those of you who are KB instructors or simply trainees deal with a one sided glute medius weakness which causes one leg to be more unstable than the other (this would show up on an FMS screen or just trying to balance on one leg). Assume its a long term chronic issue that has resulted in a collapsed arch on the offending side as well as glute medius weakness.

It seems to me that one legged deadlifts and low windmills would be obvious choices. Pistols would be out of the question on that leg although assisted partials might be in order. I would think that as the glute medius recovers, arch recovery would be much easier with specific exercises.

 

[Don Fairbanks]

I'm curious how those of you who are KB instructors or simply trainees deal with a one sided glute medius weakness which causes one leg to be more unstable than the other (this would show up on an FMS screen or just trying to balance on one leg). Assume its a long term chronic issue that has resulted in a collapsed arch on the offending side as well as glute medius weakness.

It seems to me that one legged deadlifts and low windmills would be obvious choices. Pistols would be out of the question on that leg although assisted partials might be in order. I would think that as the glute medius recovers, arch recovery would be much easier with specific exercises.

Clam shells, side lying leg raises, sideways sled drag, mini band shuffle, step downs, standing hip tilts, etc.

 

[Boris Bachmann]

I'm a fan of these though I don't do them as often as I should:

 

[the hansenator]

What seems to be working for me is Aleks Salkin’s 9 minute challenge and single leg exercises like split squats, reverse lunges, and single leg deads.

 

[Brett Jones]

Check ankle mobility (FMS ankle clearing)

 

[wbt1988]

Simple way is feet together lean over without touching floor, bending knees slightly and lean into the weaker glute to strengthen. Doing a Curtsy and leaning into weaker glute strengthens hamstring. I like to lean over with feet together and about 6 inches apart. I put my hands between my knees so balancing helps strengthen the weaker glutes. This really activates the weaker undeveloped muscles in my hamstrings and glutes.

 

[Steve Freides]

For me, 1-legged contralateral kettlebell DL

-S-

 

[Mattye]

I have the same problem, all the above are great. I will emphasize single leg glute bridges/thrusts doing more sets on the weaker side. Dan John's glute bridge/ clamshell is great too Edit: I get confused with bridge/thrust lol just do both

 

[Boris Bachmann]

These done in a deep crouch really do hammer the glute med:

 

[Boris Bachmann]

I forgot about these too:

 

[bluejeff]

Gonna throw a wrench in things I feel….

If you have a muscle that you’re struggling to activate, chances are it doesn’t get to see much length. For the glutes this means hip internal rotation. Jamming your legs out sideways via clamshells, etc will only shorten the glutes more, and keep you more in external rotation.

Try split squats and single leg deadlift variations where you:
a) keep pressure through the mid foot of your working leg. No clawing the floor with your toes! Push down into the floor with your heel and the big ball of your foot.

Allow the working leg and turn torso to move “towards each other.” What I mean by this is that the hip crease on that side should be accentuated a bit. You should feel slightly like your working leg wants to come across your body.

Happy to find videos when I have a little more time

 

[Boris Bachmann]

Gonna throw a wrench in things I feel….

If you have a muscle that you’re struggling to activate, chances are it doesn’t get to see much length. For the glutes this means hip internal rotation. Jamming your legs out sideways via clamshells, etc will only shorten the glutes more, and keep you more in external rotation.

I don't disagree completely and think those are solid exercises, BUT if your glute medius isn't functioning well (and for many it is not), then activating by doing crouched abduction (i.e. the crouched lateral steps w. a band I illustrated above) can jump start an otherwise amnesic muscle that has more than one function.

 

[Mattye]

It's a difficult muscle for sure, many of these exercises are only done in response to injury and don't mimic the natural function which has shut down.

 

[bluejeff]

I don't disagree completely and think those are solid exercises, BUT if your glute medius isn't functioning well (and for many it is not), then activating by doing crouched abduction (i.e. the crouched lateral steps w. a band I illustrated above) can jump start an otherwise amnesic muscle that has more than one function.

For sure I think you will feel it doing those kinds of exercises. I just have a different take on how muscles behave and respond than what has been the norm for a while. I think muscles respond to the position you put them in under load, and for the glutes the load comes from the weight of your body under the effects of gravity 95% of the day. As for “amnesiac muscles,” I have been through the ultimate “amnesiac muscle ailment,” dystonia. It’s important to do things the feel the muscle, but it’s equally important to feel the muscle working in natural movements (which I consider hip hinges and squatting to be, as well as walking and running, etc). That is, the goal isn’t to do clamshells or whatever, it’s to be able to walk, run, squat, hinge etc. Isolated exercises have their place, but let’s not forget about integrating the movements we actually want.

Which leads me to:

It's a difficult muscle for sure, many of these exercises are only done in response to injury and don't mimic the natural function which has shut down.

The physical orientations of muscles in the body (the places they are found and how they are attached) have led us to most of our current understanding of how they function. For the glute med, those functions are hip abduction, extension and external rotation.

Let’s look at abduction and external rotation (ER). Most glute med exercises have the person moving into or staying in ER. If you abduct your hip you are probably using the glute med. However, it will see the most length in adducted (bringing the legs closer together) positions, as well as in flexion.

Do enough digging and you will find that a lot of people are lacking….internal rotation in the hips! Internal rotation is needed for hip flexion at the 90° mark, also

“In hip flexion all portions internally rotate the hip and it has shown that at 90` of hip flexion the leverage of medial rotation of Gluteus medius is increased eight folds.“

So you need internal rotation to lengthen the glute med (glutes in general).

Last, regarding clamshells, etc… Staying in ER keeps the muscle shortened. Since a lot of peoples issues come from a lack of internal rotation, this seems counterintuitive. Going into ER is fine, never accessing or training IR not so much imo

Quote from

Gluteus Medius

Original Editor - Alex Palmer,

www.physio-pedia.com

 

[Boris Bachmann]

That is, the goal isn’t to do clamshells or whatever, it’s to be able to walk, run, squat, hinge etc. Isolated exercises have their place, but let’s not forget about integrating the movements we actually want.

Well, of course.

Which leads me to:

The physical orientations of muscles in the body (the places they are found and how they are attached) have led us to most of our current understanding of how they function. For the glute med, those functions are hip abduction, extension and external rotation.

...aaaaand internal rotation when the hip is flexed

So you need internal rotation to lengthen the glute med (glutes in general).

I'm not sure we're after "lengthening", but rather activating and strengthening. The anterior of the glute medius flexes to internally rotate the hip. The glute med (and glutes in general) are generally considered phasic and prone to being overlengthened and weak.

 

[bluejeff]

aaaaand internal rotation when the hip is flexed

Another reason I would want access that position when trying to train glutes.

I'm not sure we're after "lengthening", but rather activating and strengthening. The anterior of the glute medius flexes to internally rotate the hip. The glute med (and glutes in general) are generally considered phasic and prone to being overlengthened and weak.

I’m not sure I see where/why the glutes are considered to be overlengthened. For instance, when people struggle to properly hinge, one thing they tend to do is overextend their back instead of lengthen through the glutes. Same issue with squatting I would think.

I vouch for lengthening because, in short, muscles are healthier when they are stronger through a larger range of motion. Exercises that keep it in a shortened position are fine as long as you’re also doing exercises and movements that allow it to lengthen under load.

The hockey deadlift you posted is the kind of movement I find really puts the glutes through the range of positions I discussed. I use similar movements almost daily as a form of maintenance or prehab.


Some more variations (and some more dynamic ones) of the types of movements I have been talking about.

David Grey Rehab on Instagram: "The 5 Best Glute & Lateral Hip Exercises Ok, maybe not the best. But 5 pretty good ones that I use a lot. It’s very important to be able to access this area and be strong here. If you can’t/aren’t then you will ten

2,492 likes, 24 comments - davidgreyrehab on September 5, 2023: "The 5 Best Glute & Lateral Hip Exercises Ok, maybe not the best. But 5 pretty good ones that I ..."

www.instagram.com

 

[the hansenator]

Do enough digging and you will find that a lot of people are lacking….internal rotation in the hips! Internal rotation is needed for hip flexion at the 90° mark, also


So you need internal rotation to lengthen the glute med (glutes in general).

Internal rotation was part of my problem. The physical therapist gave me an exercise which is like rear foot elevated split squat only you reach for the outside of your foot with the opposite hand. That one really helped me find the glutes.

 

[Mattye]

Some food for thought on this thread thanks.

 

[Simon L]

It’s interesting that you mention the collapsed arch. I wonder if what’s going on is a little more complex.

I’m with blue Jeff on a lot of this. You need all the muscles of the hip to be firing to have good balance on one leg. If the external rotators - glutes - are strong and firing but internal rotators aren’t doing their job your hip will end up externally rotated, out of alignment and lacking stability. This is likely to show in the foot too which requires a stable, active hip.

I wonder if this could all be caused by a compensation pattern. If it were me I would be mindful and explore alignment in the rest of my body. Is my pelvis level, are my shoulders square? What happens when I hinge/squat/ walk etc

The more time that passes the more I’m convinced specific remedial exercises are the final 10-20% of sorting movement problems. The rest comes from addressing the entire structure and any restrictions, establishing diaphragmatic breathing, head control and trunk stability. When the hips and shoulders interact with each other as they should everything else often comes into line.

 

[Bill Lets]

I can’t contribute to the topic at hand but I did hear one time that wearing a wallet on the same side all the time affects the glute and also can change the skeleton after many years just as wearing pointed shoes or cowboy boots changes your feet.