The Science of GLUTEUS MAXIMUS Training By Bret Contreras, MA, CSCS By Bret Contreras, MA, CSCS What I m Known For 24 Months 18 Months Building Booties! 12 Months 6 Months 1
What I m Known For My Clients Walking the Walk Identical Twin my own control subject My hips are 5 bigger around than his 5 greater hip circumference than twin bro PhD in glutes PhD thesis Stronger hip extension torque than All-Blacks What Needs to Happen? 2
High Expectations I tell the Physios What to do put my clients themselves expect from in my me? position What creates shape? What creates shape? What are the mechanisms of hypertrophy? What are the mechanisms of hypertrophy? Mechanisms of Hypertrophy Mechanical Tension Metabolic Stress Muscle Damage 1. Mechanical Tension 2. Metabolic Stress 3. Muscle Damage Roles of the Glute Max Hip Extension External Rotation Abduction (Upper Fibers) Pelvis Posterior Pelvic Tilt 3
Roles of the Glute Max Sacrum Force Closure Spine Prevents Lumbar Flexion and Hyperextension, Prevents Anterior Pelvic Tilt Hips Prevents Anterior Femoral Glide Knees Prevents Valgus Collapse Muscles Prevents Hamstring and Groin Strains Fascial Connections Serape Effect through TLF, Protects ACL through ITB Glute MVC Squeeze the Glutes as Hard as Possible Seated vs. Standing Hip Extension Torque/ EMG Angle Relationships Worrell et al. 2001 4
Strength Curves Hip Torque Hip Extensor PCSA 5
Hip Extension Torque in Resistance Training Straight Leg Hip Extension Exercises Squats, Deadlifts, and Hip Thrusts 6
Hip Extensor Moment Arms Nemeth and Ohlsen 1985 Functional Differentiation Muscles possess functional differentiation whereby the brain activates the muscles and motor units within the muscles that possess the best leverages, while others aren t fully activated (Brown et al. 2007) Estimating Muscle Force and Hip Extension Torque Torque = Force x MA Muscle Moment Arms Force = PCSA, Activation, Muscle Lengths 7
Glute EMG during Cardio * Comparing EMG across studies is tricky need same electrode placement and MVC positioning, etc. Woman s Health 2007 Glute EMG during Resistance Training * Comparing EMG across studies is tricky need same electrode placement and MVC positioning, etc. ACE 2006 Analyzing the Squat, Deadlift, and Hip Thrust 8
Analyzing the Squat, Deadlift, and Hip Thrust Torque Pattern and Muscle Length Specificity and Transfer of Training Squat Romanian Deadlift Back Extension Hip Thrust Sprint Enemies of the Glutes Pain Sitting Compression Adaptive Shortening Reciprocal Inhibition Disuse 9
Solutions Self Myofascial Release Static Stretching Dynamic Stretching Activation Work Strength! Use it or Lose it Waterfalls Analogy River (Brain) 3 Waterfalls (Erectors, Glutes, Hamstrings) Hip Flexor Stretches Add PPT to increase stretch s effectiveness 10
Glute Activation Low Load: Quality over Quantity! Vertical Loading Squats Deadlifts Good Mornings Lunges Step Ups Bulgarian Split Squats Single Leg RDL s Olympic Lifts Plyometrics Horizontal Loading Hip Thrusts Barbell Glute Bridges Single Leg Hip Thrusts Back Extensions Reverse Hypers Reverse Hypers Pull Throughs Kettlebell Swings Sled Pushes Sprints 11
Lateral/Rotary Loading Band Hip Rotations Band Standing Abduction Band Seated Abduction Cable Chops Cable Lifts Half Kneeling Cable Chops X Band Walks Pallof Presses Side Plank Slideboard Medball Rotary Throws Posterior Pelvic Tilting American Deadlift Hip Thrust with PPT RKC Plank Look Athletic Strength is Cool Good form is Cool Strong With Good Form is What it s All About! 12
Hip Thrust Strength Women Might Have Greater Relative Strength than Men in the Glutes, Men Have Greater Absolute Strength Hip Thrust Strength is Greater than Squat Strength Hip Thrust Strength is Close to or Stronger than Deadlift Strength Strongest = 3.5X Bodyweight Male 585 pounds Female 405 pounds Back to the Mechanisms Mechanical Tension Hip Thrust, Deadlift Metabolic Stress Hip Thrust, KB Swing Muscle Damage Walking Lunge, Deep Squat Individual Differences? Individual Differences? Individuality Scientific Theory vs. The Real World Become Your Own EMG Instrument through Palpation Ask the Client for Input! p Racquel, Colleen, Kellie, Racquel, Alexis, Molly, Diana I Know Their Glutes Better than They Do! 13
Glute Max EMG Experiment Bret In a perfect world you could do this for each client Program Design 1. Hip Thrust or Heavy KB Swing Type Movement 2. Squat or Lunge Type Movements 3. Deadlift or Back Extension Type Movements 4. Band Hip Rotation, X Band Walk, Seated Band Abduction Type Movements, or RKC Plank Type Movements 5. Mix together unilateral and bilateral 6. Vary the rep ranges. Heavy singles to 50 rep burnouts. 7. Progressive overload AND variety 8. Frequency is key. Glutes are capable of performing a ton of work! Five days per week for some clients. 9. Excessive soreness is counterproductive! We Should Have Listened... Fischer and Houtz 1968 14
Thanks for Your Attendance! www.bretcontreras.com 15