The largest muscle in your body can be a big-time slacker. Sure, the gluteus maximus keeps you upright when you stand and helps you climb stairs. But it’s capable of a whole lot more. Strong glutes enhance your athletic performance and help ward off back, hip, and knee pain. Weak glutes do none of the above. In fact, weak glutes are a symptom of Dormant Butt Syndrome.
The term Dormant Butt Syndrome was coined at Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in 2016 to describe the combination of tight hip flexors and weak gluteal muscles. It’s not a new condition, but this memorable and rather humorous phrase might help you better understand a key component of performance and wellness – strong glutes.
First, take a look at what’s going on at the front of your hip.
Tight and Overactive Hip Flexors
Most of us do a lot of sitting during the day. At night, we may side sleep with our hips flexed. And if our pelvis tends to tip forward in standing, our hips flex in that position as well. All of this flexion puts the glutes in a lengthened and disengaged position. This includes not just gluteus maximus, but gluteus medius and minimus as well.
When the glutes aren’t engaged, the hips tend to flex, internally rotate, and adduct. This constant deviation from a neutral anatomical position can stress the hip joints, pull the low back forward, and cause rotational and inward force at the knees.
At the same time, our function can suffer from overactive hip flexors. When we go up stairs, hike up hills, or sprint, we tend to focus on advancing our leg forward with our iliopsoas – the main hip flexor muscle group. We’re trying to ‘pull’ ourselves forward with our hip flexors. If you have Dormant Butt Syndrome, you need to think about ‘pushing’ with the glutes.
Activating the Glutes
Your glutes can drive you forward. They can push you up stairs and up hills. And they can put extra power into your sprint. Consider whether your glutes are just along for the ride or if they actively helping you with these movements. Then, focus on engaging them more throughout your workouts.
It’s important to note that your hip flexors may also need to be strengthened. They play a crucial role in movement. Typically though, our hip extension strength lags far behind. A good rule of thumb is to make sure your hip extensors are just as strong as your hip flexors.
Here are just a few ways to get your glutes going. Click on the links for more info:
- Lunges and squats – We tend to focus on the downward motion. You can definitely work on eccentric strengthening of the glutes in the downward motion of lunges and squats. You can also focus on the concentric/upward motion to get more gluteal activation. Do this by really squeezing the glutes as you come up from your lunge or squat.
- Try Romanian Deadlifts.
- And do any of the many variations of Bridging Exercises.
You can also try this 10-minute Glute Workout:
What Doesn’t Help
On a final and somewhat frivolous note, let’s look at butt pads… in case you’re out of the loop, they’re a thing nowadays (for both women and men). Butt pads give the false appearance of strong glutes and they’re all over the place on social media. Interestingly, they’re often pictured with the model’s hips in a flexed position, a position in which the glutes are usually not engaged and active. While harmless props, I think butt pads do mask a whole lot of Dormant Butt Syndrome.
Appearances aside, if your butt muscles are slacking, do the work. Stretch your hip flexors and engage your glutes. Your joints will be happier and you’ll move better.
Stay fit!
The information presented on this website is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or an assessment by other wellness professionals. To reduce and avoid injury, you will want to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.