Glute Activation - I don't get it 

Finally...someone said it. Im pretty sure my glutes have never been activated.

It took me a while but here's what ultimately worked for me. I practiced walking at first by kind of deliberately leaving the rear foot in contact with the floor for as long possible (a bit like nordic skiing). What that did is to help me transition from a vertical stride to a more horizontal stride (using the glutes and armstrings in addition to quads and kalves). I went by feeling. Once I could feel what was happening, i transferred it to running at low speed to really focus on form. I had gone from running 80K / week to bearly 20 and now I am back to 50K, which is not as much as you do but still a decent amount.

The entire body's biomechanics is revolved around the glutes. We as humans, evolved to have big gluteus maximus, as opposed to other primates, because these are essential in climbing, digging, throwing, running, and other activities that require stabilization of the trunk against flexion. Why against flexion? Because, for example, when running the gluteus maximus is key for hip extension which propels us further. It's also key to hip stabilization. So when your glutes are activated while running, your hips don't drop. Strengthen and maximize your glutes range of motion, and you become a better runner. Glutes matter.

I’m in the same boat as you. What helps me most is just doing squats, lunges and deadlifts

Everything you described sounds exactly like my issues. I had to go to a Physical Therapist for confirmation. The main issues were Core weakness, Hamstring weakness, I'm quad dominate. Also had Proximal Hamstring tendinopathy. My Rx was daily core/ab work and strengthen Glutes and Hamstrings

99% of RU-vid tutorials for running will tell you that you need to use your glutes when you run. They say it's so easy. Just make sure your pelvis is rotated like this and then all the sudden your butt cheeks slammed down to the ground and they start skipping across the floor and your legs go straight to the air and your butt cheeks propel you across the road like a rocket ship.

Per my comment in the livestream chat, I think “activation” is an unnecessarily esoteric and misleading term. Strengthening it is, pure and simple. It’s only logical the biggest muscles should power the engine to the greatest extent. I agree that the various symptoms you list are related since everything in our systems are connected, and any weakness from top to bottom (or the reverse) forces the rest of the chain to assume more workload to compensate. One impressive image that always strikes me about glutes: Check out those African female track racers. They seem to all have haunches like thoroughbred fillies, and I suspect this is both built into their gene pools from their ancient histories, and cultivated by their training. It’s a beautiful sight to behold and I think this picture is worth a thousand words about glutes!

Maybe being older is different (I'm 60+), but it was a shock when I realized that my glutes were gone one day. I mean, I played soccer in college and had a solid butt. But the day I realized it was gone, was a revelation. I too had some knee issues, so started testing out many of the channels you highlighted in your video. Now, a month later, I can definitely feel some muscle building in my glutes. Knee issues seem fixed but I'm going to continue the glute bridges, clam shells with band, and a few other exercises I found on a regular basis - because life does seem to get me sitting too much and I think that had a lot to do with my glutes "turning off". Good luck with your training. :)

Thanks for the video! I’ve had some terrible lower back pain as of late that I think is directly related to a weak core. Keep these videos coming. I think they would help me a lot!

I am someone who went from weightlifting (olympic/classical lifts), squatting a bunch of times a week and incorporating various mesocycles of hypertrophy and strength etc..."glute activation" became a buzzword in the lifting world bc everyone all the sudden wanted to be a powerlifter and have a nice butt. Squts didnt activate the butt, yaddayaddayadda But its not something that is essential or even holding you back. So when I came to the running world and saw "activating glutes", i was like WTF? Do you want me to flex/donkey kick when Im toe-ing off? In the end, just do your squats, lunges, whatever, or hip thrusts...work your posterior chain and keep running. A lot of of this stuff is just buzz words and not essential or even a thing to "fire" your muscles.

I think you're spot on about the shoes. I feel that the shoes aren't the problem, but they are just highlighting an underlying issue. I know 100's have people have commented already, but I'll just give you my experience. I've had both IT Band related knee pain, and patella related knee pain. Fixing both of them have involved strengthen exercises. IT band, I worked on Glutes a lot, with the patella I worked a lot on Quads. But honesty the best thing I did was go see a physio, and we've put a long term plan together. 6 months ago the pain was so bad that I couldn't run, but now I'm feeling strong again and the pain is almost gone. Good luck to you buddy

I think you make so many good points about the confusion and too many sources. It took me a year of deadlifting before I really found the my full hip extension. For running I still struggle. For me if I don't have some glute soreness after a hard session or some fatigue of the glute while running I'm probably not pressing the hips forward enough. In addition to the glute bridges, I think the single leg bridge has been really helpful for me. Even if you can't do single leg, lifting up with two and slow eccentric controlled down with one leg really helped me as you need that single leg control at end of motion.

I resonate with this one heavy, I have a weak bum/glutes and I've been trying to do the glute "activation" stuff before most of my runs.. but I still seem to have the lower back/hamstring tightness/front knee pain. I've started doing more glute specific body weight work to see if that will help after a while... I'm hoping. Good luck with your journey on getting a stronger bum!

The glute muscles comprised of 3 sets of muscles namely, maximus, medius & minimus. When performing clam shell exercises, it is to target the medius muscles which sought to stabilize your knees during landing. I suggest you perform the medius muscles exercises after your run or after you had performed the maximus muscles exercises. This is to fatigue your stabilizer muscles (so that they don't come in play when you are performing your medius targeted exercises). For the maximus muscles, it is to give you the power when you are running. It's a very powerful set of muscles. You can use it for the whole marathon. Because it is a powerful set of muscles, you have to use heavy weights to target it. You can add weights to your bridge. I personally love the Bulgarian split squats to spare me the time which also target the quads and hamstring depending on your foot placement

I have this same question, I've seen some people about knee pain and I'm always told that it's because my knee is over compensating for my glute. However, I never understood what anyone means by using my glute more.

Glute activation is a silly term because it involves many pieces of integrative training than just doing lots of glute exercises. From what you said(subjective information) in the video makes sense- tight hips, scraping calf, low back pain and lack of glute activation. These are very common problems with runners- dysfunctional core and hip stabilization. 1. tight hips Most hip issues and glute dysfunction is due to overactive hip flexors. If your hip flexors are tight, you will never be able to optimally activate your glutes. You need to first address foam rolling tfl and rectus femoris. Then ball roll ab region for the psoas and most of all the iliacus. Then you need to regain length. Have you ever done the couch stretch? Get some length to the hip flexors so you can hip extend. 2. Low back bothers you, you need to address core stabilization( its all related). -glute bridges are good but work up to 20 reps and slow. The muscles need muscular endurance and neuromuscular efficiency. -plank/side plank -floor cobra -dead bug 3. scraping of calf is a sign of underactive glute medius. So exercises like the monster walk, hip hike, calm shells and jane fondas are good but again work up to 20 reps a set(muscular endurance and neuromuscular efficiency). Altered reciprocal inhibition is a common pattern for runners, for example when a psoas is overactive and a glute max is underactive. Lastly, getting an assessment can pin point the problem. A recent study showed a person with knee pain still had knee pain 18 years later. And a lack of mobility in the shoulder and the ankle can just as much be part of the problem. The body works as a whole, not in pieces. Don't chase pain.

I've had similar feelings with regard to glute activation. A few months ago, while working on a lower leg injury, I discovered that I had a crossover gait. So, I began to really focus on stride width, while I ran. My injury healed. Interestingly, with the increased stride width, when I do my long runs, the next day my glutes get sore. I guess, I activated them by widening my stride. You mentioned that at times you tend to scrape your shins/ankle and from your videos, it seems like you may need to widen your stride a little. It may work, it may not. It seemed to have worked with my biomechanics (like you I tend to supinate during footstrike and I'm a midfoot striker). If you do give it a try, it'll feel totally weird at first, almost like its too much (but it's not; because I checked on a rainy day when I could see my prints and my feet were about 2 inches apart but it felt like a foot). It took a while to adjust to the change. My overall pace slowed. But two months later, I think I may be a few seconds faster even. Good luck.

I think you're my spirit animal. Yoga is too slow for me too ... but I'm also the guy who forgot to go to a time management course ;) Something I think does help is plyometrics ... box jumps / altitude drops / lateral jumps ... that's all your knees need.

You're doing all the right things now! My physical therapist boyfriend always tells me to strengthen the hips, glute medius, for knee issues. I think single leg exercises like single leg glute bridges and single leg deadlifts will help with imbalances by strengthen the hips and butt together. I have the same problem with my left hip! Also, get that filling fixed! Lol just saying because I have a couple friends who got sick a lot from having holes in their mouths!

I know this is no laughing matter considering the circumstance but I LOL'd when I read the title to this video. You would benefit most from seeing a PT. I get the reason why you'd hold off on that though. I coached at a climbing gym for 4 years and saw all types of imbalances in people. I think of glute activation in the same way I think of posture. It's a sense of awareness. For me, if I want to stand with good posture, I have to consciously focus on tightening my core, pulling the shoulders back and down, pointing my heart up and my keeping my head tall. Over time it's not a conscious effort and becomes natural to the point that when I hunch it feels wrong. Through bringing awareness to the kinetic chain by training the entire body in all ranges of motion we can actually feel where our weakness lies. Rather than focusing on one plane of movement. Tight hamstrings and weak glutes from sitting too much is a common issue. Strengthening and lengthening the hammies is 1 thing. Another is strengthening the hip abductors(smaller joint stabilizing muscles) with exercises like clam shells, crab walks, side lunges, banded side kicks or curtsey squats. Activating these muscles is different for everyone. You have to do the work to know your body to feel where you're weak and where you're overcompensating. I hope that makes some sense. Just keep working through all of those ROM exercises and in time you will hone in on the source of the problem.

The EXACT pain you are describing in the hip is what just put me out of action for a while. I've been through physio for the last couple of months. My glutes are now firing on all cylinders. I think you'll find the further into your long / hard runs you get your technique slips (which was my problem). Glad to share any exercises or tips I've learnt if you're still struggling.

I think it's pretty amazing that you've been able to run so many miles a week. Getting a hand held impact messager can help with those hard to reach muscles and tissues. You have some glute activation already. Your turnover is a little flat. You're rear foot doesn't kick as high as it should at your higher paces. It looks like you're dragging your leg through the gate cycle instead of letting the circular momentum of your foot carry its own weight. Pulling your leg underneath you the way you do could be part of the cause of that added stress on your knee and or hip. I know every one is different but clearly your having some troubles so take a look at Kipchoge's cycle just as an example. Strength and flexibility in your hip, glutes, and hamstrings, I think this would help. I'm no doctor but it seems that your unique running style is approaching its limits.

As part of my work as a university academic, I used to travel to China. After returning to Australia after one trip I ran a club cross country with my son and ended with severe hamstring pain in both legs. I eventually figured out that all the sitting had deactivated my glutes and the run caused piriformis syndrome. I started doing clams, side leg raises and glute bridges. It "cured" fairly quickly, I still have some piriformis problems when I sit a lot but I do clams, side leg raises and glute bridges, among other warm up exercises before every run. There is something in all of this.

Get well soon coz a lot of running shoes wait for review this year man. Cant wait for that!

Yes, it’s hard!! They are really lazy muscles. Hamstrings and other nearby muscles often pick up the slack which leads to injuries.

I’ve been injured recently due to my glutes not activating properly on one side. I spend all day sitting at a desk which shortens the hip flexors. This stops the glutes from being able to activate properly and other muscles compensate to stabilise the leg. I’ve particularly enjoyed running down my road holding my glutes to see how they’re activating and wondering why I get funny looks...

100% agree still super lost, and having the same symptoms.

Foam rolling and Glute activation truly helped me overcome my knee pain. After lockdown, I just started to run after a long time and my only goal was to shed the fats and weights I gained during my passive long Japan long hour work. First month helped me lose weight, but the knee pain resurfaced. Then I begin building my whole body muscles combined with Yoga. It’s a magic, after a week, my whole body was transformed and now running without any trouble.

I had knee pain for a year and thought it was glute related, had no idea my quads were insanely tight and it was causing the pain. Wall quad stretch multiple times a day for a week and pain was gone.

I welcome any correction if this is wrong, but I think running strides or any other brief sprints forces you into better running form, thereby working the correct muscles in the way they were designed. You won't need to think about activating glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors...it will happen naturally. Of course always warm up and do proper dynamic stretching first. Also, don't ignore that lost filling for long. You don't want to end up with a root canal and crown. Dentists are all about disinfection and sterilization.😁

It's quite simple. It has to do with posture and mobility. If you're tilted forward in your pelvis you won't activate your glutes. And your hip flexors need not to be too tight in order to run tall. If you fix that and concentrate on being somewhat locked and not tilted in your hips you will activate your glutes.

I did a lot of glute strengthening exercises when I was a beginner to deal with ITBS which really helped but it's been two and a half years and I still haven't figured out if I should be "activating" my glutes on slower runs since doing so seems to increase my pace/effort.

I've started relaxing my feet, ankles, calves and knees.....and started mentally running from my hips, it seems to be helping prevent injuries.

I understood glute activation as just "using" the glutes, not as turning them on or off. One easy application I consciously made when running, was to run tall running uphills as opposed to leaning forwards. I could feel the power of the bum glutes after that compared to the old way of running uphill with burning thighs. Glute scissor exercises and the other one like it (sticking your leg straight back and then pushing it the other way and back) helped my knee patellar soreness

I’ve been in your situation. I had back tightness/soreness and right knee pain. Now I don’t have either. Dynamic stretching and banded glute activation. I put the band around my ankles and do about 10 raises to the side and back with each leg. “Activates” the glute max and med. You don’t necessary “feel” it on your run. You just no longer feel the negative if that makes sense. Maybe not lol

Have you tried resistance band exercises for the glutes and knee pain? For me what works: Clamshells - Seated, feet flat together, knees at 90 degrees, resistance band on thighs just over the knees. I had read this improves knee issues by strengthening glute medius (good results for me) and reduces the cause of inner dirt marks on ankles. Leg pullbacks - Standing, vertical torso, resistance band on ankles, pulling one leg straight back and slightly upward, holding on to something to keep the vertical posture. I noticed stronger hips and glutes after a couple weeks. Good luck!

Some running drills focusing on improving running form are always good.

Thanks for your honesty. I was kind of puzzled bye this talk of glute activation when I started, but I started to notice it becomes more important the faster I run....when I got faster than about 4:30/km I need to generate more power from my hips to increase stride length without over-striding. I like to experiment when doing some intervals trying to open up my stride more but keeping good form

So glute activation is when all the motor neuron units are firing, thus activating the corresponding skeletal muscle unit it controls. Its like having all the rowers in a boat rowing instead of some of them sitting it out not doing any work.. Often it happens that all units are not firing- especially because many of us spend a large part of each day sitting. The brain controls this firing so this can be quickly corrected by 'waking up' these non firing pathways between brain and muscle nueron with targeted exercises, sprint work like strides, and what works for me is weighted squats and deadlifts. You will notice quite a difference in only a few days- more power and most of all, fewer injuries because other parts of the body are being over utilized. The glutes specifically are large muscles that can do a lot of work and tire less easily. When my glutes were weak, I got a serious hamstring injury around my left knee that took months to heal. I do weights now twice a week as well as a lunge matrix to wake these muscles up and keep them working efficiently

I think you are looking in right direction..the hip and glute muscles are definitely not used a lot of the time.. it's not easy get it all working together but when you do you immediately feel it all the way from mid back to toe off..a long,gradual uphill at moderate to hard effort does it for me..air squats,glute thrusts and clam shells or pulling against a band can work the inside of legs and outside of thighs..anytime my legs/hips give me issues I know I've gotten lazy with those things..a dead giveaway is 1 foot hitting the back or inside of the other leg..don't neglect the lower back muscles that are the top of the kinetic chain..low back fatigue or ache is very common weakness

From a sports exercise background: Building glute strength is good. important as it can reduce fatigue as muscle is stronger and takes less effort to produce a certain force. Glute Med is an abduction of the femur and tends to be massively underdone compared to other muscles and you see a lot of people who are weak here run with a valgus(look it up but the knees collapse towards the middle). Activating before a run is to do with preparing muscles for upcoming exercise. Not only will it warm them up and stimulate blood flow but a lot of it comes down to stimulating the neural system to use the muscles in the correct way which is what we want to create a more efficient stride and to become a more powerful runner. In doing so it readies you for a run. Much like a 10 minute warm up jog before a jog. Typically before running I would foam massage before to make my muscles feel relaxed. Do some mobility(dynamic stretching) and then progress to glute bridges and a few other exercises usually only 5 reps of each one to prepare my body but without fatiguing it before hand. Then I do running drills to make sure i'm reinforcing good running technique and then I begin my running warm up 5-10 min before a session. While its time consuming the activation and rolling ect is probably a 15min thing and I use the time just to relax before a run and it helps me mentally prepare as well. Go well!

The way I think about it (zero expertise other than being.a runner) is activation (as a warm-up, and distinct from strengthening) being a sort of pre-run neuromuscular reminder that might help you to use those muscles more in your run. Kind of reminding yourself how it feels to use those muscles. I have no idea whether it’s effective, but I quite like to incorporate some glute bridges in my pre-run routine.

Mike, I would highly recommend that you visit a dental professional to evaluate your tooth even though it might not be symptomatic. Fillings don’t normally fall out without good reason. Perhaps there was decay under the filling, maybe the tooth might be fractured, or maybe the filling was old and finally succumbed to wear and tear. Rest assured that most dentists will take necessary precautions to ensure a safe visit for not only you but also themselves and their staff.

I've struggled with "glute activation" as well but think you're on the right track. "Turning on" glutes isn't a truly accurate statement... It's more do the exercises to create muscle memory with specific focus on achieving hip extension. Before a run "turning on" is more making sure that muscle memory is still there and ready to go since you can't really run and consciously fire each glute each step. A good PT will help but also a good chiropractor who understands running can be a benefit. Once I fixed a lot of alignment issues specifically in my hips, my times quickly dropped.

I'll say this much. Try running fast, almost as if you're sprinting, while you do that you can feel your legs become so much more free and you'll be able to activate almost every single muscle in your lower body. My glutes are definitely activated while I run. The heel flick is very important for hamstrings and glutes activation. For example, in this video, Kofuzi doesn't activate his glutes or hamstrings. That's mostly because he's doing an easy run, I think. I'm talking about 0:35 It's more quads than anything else that he's using. It's kinda like walking, when you're walking, you're not really using glutes or hamstrings. You want to do something more intense and explosive, once you get a feel of that... then, you can incorporate that into your easy or long run days. I could be wrong about Kofuzi's form, but it's just an observation.

I'm undergoing this process of what the hell activating your glutes really means, especially when running. Here's what I've figured out: - When you are able to contract your right and left glute independently, you are "activating" your glutes. - When you do glute bridges and you feel your glutes tense up more than your hamstrings or quads. Ok cool I get that, but I have trouble activating them during a run. When I run I try to contract my glutes during the kick-off with my leg swinging towards the back I have trouble contracting my glutes, does that mean it isn't activating? Does that mean that instead of using my glutes I'm putting more pressure on my hamstrings and calf muscle instead? If yes, how does one contract their glute during the run since it's such a short period where you have the time to actually contract that glute. Maybe it's the way I'm arching my back which causes my pelvis to tilt downwards preventing me from being able to activate them. Not sure here. Lol.

Great topic Kafuzi. I noticed all my issues are down my right hip and side and found that glute just doesn’t fire. I know this because with a two leg glute bridge the left is super tight and flexed and the right is doing nothing, soft and limp. It can’t even hold a one leg bridge. This happens mostly from office jobs and sitting all day. The key is to turn it on (warm it up) prior to exercise or running and hopefully it will naturally engage and work hard in the run like it’s meant to, taking the pressure off the other smaller muscles that have been covering for it. The best one for me is to lean forward on a wall with two hands, feet about 2 feet from the wall and lift one knee up as high and hard as you can towards the wall. Hold it for 5 seconds or so but only when you feel the glute on the planted leg engage and at full flex. Do this both legs multiple times. One leg is easy and one hopeless for me. To really activate I lift the knee to the side firstly, then pull it round to the front position. That helps a lot. Good luck!

Same here. Although I did notice that ever since I actually started working out my legs at the gym a month ago with weighted squats and lunges, my stride has improved and my feet almost touch my butt which allow better propulsion.

I’ve also watched 300 videos or so on the subject and it took me a while to finally “feel it”. The short summary suggestion I would give is to keep strengthening it and squeeze your gluteus when stretching your quads, so you feel your front hips stretching too. Then, while running, try to do the same, so your hips are stretched with the pelvis forward. That is when I feel a nice spring throughout my legs, as if it would “coil forward” towards the next stride. Not sure if it makes sense. The gluteus work as the base of this coil/spring, and if not tight/flexed/squeezed/activated the coil won’t respond properly. Without strengthening the “activation” won’t hold long enough. I hope it makes sense and helps...

Never really noticed my glutes getting worked out in road running but for trail/mountain running with vertical, yes.

Once everything calms down seeing a specialist might help. Also in the mean time going in and doing the fleet feet foot evaluation can help see what places on your foot are most stressed when you run. Hope it gets better though!

I’ve watched a ton of Coach Nate at TRE’s videos. Great content. Have you thought about reaching out to them not only for help, but video collab? Same with Sage? VO2Max did a collab and running analysis with the athlete special, could be interesting to get other people’s opinion. That said, when I had knee problems, I had to see a professional because I couldn’t analyze my own running issues. I needed outside influence. Thanks for posting your thoughts, it helps remind me what I need to do to build my own strength up

Because the glutes and hip flexor muscles work with eaxh other to provide that strength around the center of the body, they can cause muscle imbalances between the two. Weak glutes cause the hips to drop back instead of cock forward causing improper foot strike, hence the runner's knee. Making sure you have strong glutes allows the hips to push forward relieving tension that goes down your leg to your knees. Usually happens when you sit too much.

You’re not alone. I think a better term would be “engage”. I have suffer from sciatica type pain for years and until recently have started those exercises. It’s helping. I am not sure if when I run I am supposed to feel the glutes the same way as when doing the exercises. Are the glutes supposed to feel that burn as when I am doing the strength training? I don’t know. I can tell you that the pain is less and that is good.

loved this video, I hate reading about glute activation. I relate to a lot that you said and seem to experience, and I think what's helped me to reduce injuries and "bad" soreness, but will also help with running faster is one daily hip stretch routine (for me that's six different stretches that I will do every day) as this is a big one, and then two sets of 2x20 lunges for each leg, which just does a little bit to make you feel your quads and glutes and help them build up a bit. Those things together have helped me, and I think doing this and doing more glute work with lunges and squats is what will help me. And this might help you. It actually falls into the same category as "lifting your knees" and similar advice that feels totally useless because it feels weird and wrong when doing it on a run, and it seems like it's mostly related to hip tightness combined with interval sessions..but yes

Great video! I too have tried numerous glute training over the past four weeks. I suggest keep focusing on those exercises you want to do and see how you feel in about a month For me I found yoga and standing more probably the two biggest things that helped me. But I did find doing more glute band work reduce my knee pain with my recent marathon as well. So yeah, try find what works for you 😀

Most people(even a lot of high level athletes) tend to be weak in glute Max/med which leads to knee and ankle injuries. ”Activation” is a fancy word which basically means....strengthen those muscles. More you strengthen, they will “activate” when you do your runs. Other muscles are trying to compensate for any weak ones. You can also see PT without medical necessity. A lot do injury prevention or even “tune ups” to improve exercises and the such.

Earlier in the summer I had piriformis syndrome in my left butt cheek. I've now resolved that problem, but that's when I noticed my right knee hurting. I've since switched to wearing zero drop shoes at work. I also go on ten mile city hikes with these shoes. On my runs I've increased my cadence, which is exhausting b/c I'm 5 foot tall.Last Saturday I started doing the glute activation exercises everyday. I also got a a foam roller because I never stretch. I am feeling a difference. I'm giving these butt stretch's a week to figure out if they're effective

Call it activation or whatever, but just having some warm-up exercises before a run feels tremendously nice. I feel I have far less bad runs when I have a warm-up prior rather than going out relatively cold. Is it because of whatever glute activating took place? Maybe!?

When you're warming up, try running without bending your knee and keeping your knee straight. No, you won't be able to keep your knee completely straight, but that's the feeling your going for. Your hip joint will be forced to move more and your glutes are one of the large muscles that control hip movement. Try to engage/squeeze the glute muscles as you are pushing the leg backwards (hip extension). Then try to continue this feeling when you start running regularly. At least this seems to help me and I think it helps my body/brain put glute activation in the context of running instead of gym exercises.

Same here. I think I understand the concept... but don't really know how the concept 'actually' works. I still do those recommended trainings for glutes though, in my routine strength training sessions. At least those glute bridges and one leg glute bridges also strengthen my hamstrings (and I know that I actually use my hamstrings for running).

I think you should definitely look at bulletproof knee and ankles from another RU-vid channel, Strength Side, also OTA. One being force absorption and another with leg specialization. I don't think it's the whole activation before running at least from my experience sure stretching does wonders but building the muscle strength not so much size is what I found value in the most. Emphasis on glutes, hamstrings, quads, and tendon strength. Flexibility is also key. Tight muscles is a no no after injury, pain, or rehab.

Hey man, huge follower over here I am looking forward for your brooks hyperion 2 review !!! Abrazo

The Kenyan flexibility video (on RU-vid) is quite good/easy to follow. Glutes ‘switch off’ if you been sitting a lot/or not using them, and the muscles around the glutes start to over compensate. This cycle continues and your brain starts to switch on the support muscles instead of the glutes. So a retraining process is required. Bridges, banded walks, rdls, lunges all work well.

Totally have this issue! My physio says I have weak glutes and imbalance in the muscle which is causing me to have tight calf’s and put too much pressure on my foot (get pain in ball of foot). She identified it by my knees collapsing inwards when running and laughably poor ability to do squats. Been doing similar exercises to you, no improvement yet!

I have the exact same issues. Every pain I get when running is on my right side. Like clock work I start feeling outside knee pain at 5k and even though it has gotten a little better, right side hip pain. I can keep the knee at bay until 10k. I keep a short cadence, run on the balls of my feet, stretch my glutes, foam roller, warm up etc. I’ve watched every video in IT band stretches (50% say to stretch, 50% say not to). Not sure what to do anymore…..

If your knee hurts it’s more than likely a tight IT band. Try rolling it out and see how it feels.

Many times glute activation isn’t the best term. Usually runners have weak glutes and that causes them to fatigue quickly and further pushes the muscle imbalances. Other times the glutes are activated just not at the correct time in the stride. So active just means help it fire correctly. Activate glutes just seems like a catch all term.

Do butt kicks warm up exercises before running, but accentuate the "bull ground scratching" effect with your feet, then try doing same while running, coupled with a nice toe off.

I just do some squats before a run.. I feel like it activates it enough and fires the muscles up pre run

This is an old video, but activation of the glutes is less about strengthening (though that isn’t a bad thing to do,) and more about understanding the function of the muscle. I recommend watching Eugene Teo’s video on the glutes anatomy to better activate the muscle through all its ROM’s. On a side note, runners tend to get tight in the hip flexors, so loosening and lengthening them can actually make your glutes activate inherently since the glutes prime function is to bring the knee “behind” the body and externally rotate the leg. Peace and stay peachy 🤙🏻

I hope you can figure it out and be able to run pain free :) Running is so frustrating - just because of the injury aspect of it. I had to take a whole year off for having stress fractures all over my legs. I am back to running 60 - 70 miles a week and right now a have pain (not a lot) on both my ankles, calves, and toes :( it’s always something.

You could try higher intensity hill repeats on 8-10% grade and you will definitely feel glute activation. Plyometrics (skipping, bounding) can be a way to develop that type of power

Your glutes are going to activate when you run no matter what. The question is how much compared to other muscles like, for example, quads. That being said, I don't think there's a magic way to activate your glutes more when you run. Strengthening the glutes could be useful, since if your glutes are weak your body's naturally going to try and shift the load to your stronger muscles. So called "activation" exercises or drills are also a good idea, because they rewire your neuromuscular connections and teach you how to feel if your glutes are working or not. But it's not like a switch you turn on and then go running. When you run, you have to try and replicate that same feeling in order to be shure that you are activating the glutes, you have to make a consciuos effort. Finally, lower drop shows, specially zero drop shoes, usually tend to take some load off the quads and shift it more to your glutes and hamstrings.

The footage at 3:00 with your single leg exercise you can clearly see your knee drift inwards during the movement, a classic sign of glute weakness!

I don't get why we don't just call it flex instead of activate. If you are sitting down, flex your glutes. Your glutes will push you up and your torso will pop up a little bit. Same thing. When running it pushes your hips forward. I don't claim to know if this fixes all the stuff the videos say, but I will say I had hip flexor pain issues when I run steep hills and flexing the glutes fixed that. I also did hill repeats with flexed glutes, so maybe that just built strength, I don't know and don't really care as long as the issue was fixed.

I can't say if I had the same problem as you've described with Saucony shoes and discomfort in your right knee . I had issues with my left knee and i used to run in NewBalance. After seeing a physio, she said I is likely due to issues to do with my spine pinching a nerve that goes from the lower spine, down to my left leg and to compensate for the pinch nerve sending the wrong signals, different muscles were used when i run or climb. One of the tests she did on me was testing the strength of my left big toe compared to my right toe, my left toe was much much weaker in comparison. Anyways, I went through a period of couple months doing daily and nightly spinal stretches (e.g. similar to ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-623T_bNbyM0.html ) and single leg ~30 degree squats. After that, I am back up and running again (and also switched over to use all Altra and Salomon)

I suspect it's more the terrain you are running on vs the shoes causing your knee issues. For me, any time I run on downhills for too long it causes patellafemoral knee (runner's knee). I still have the muscle imbalances in my hips, but even just running on flat terrain has significantly reduced the issue.

I found the best thing is A) Stand still ànd clench each buttock alternately. Repeat 20 secs each side just to get the feel of your glutes B) Now walk 5 steps and as your full weight is on your foot, clench the buttock that side and ignore the temptation to push with your calf or knee C) rest for 5 seconds and repeat Get used to the feeling of being propelled by your glute with each step Dont overstride Once you get the timing of the buttock clench to match your foot rolling through to toe off you can try slow jogging using the same method. Seems much harder but persevere 😃

Just watch videos on lower cross syndrome. You need to stretch the hip flexors and quads and strength the glutes and abs. You do do hip thrusts on the ground with no weight to feel it.

Whoa, first comment AND view. That's a first! *pun intended* Also: I share your sentiment towards activation of any muscle. like... what does that mean? D:

It sounds like your hip flexors, quads, psoas could be too tight. That pulls on your lower back to cause back pain. Also knee problems can come from tight quads.

I’d check out JP Gloria’s channel. Tons of stuff on the different glute muscles and how they work specifically for running along with the exercises to strengthen them.

First off - get the filling done dude! I spent days in hospital literally 1 cell width away from having the infection spread into my eyes, ear and my brain because I didn't get a filling fixed. The surgeon said I was very, very lucky. For your glutes - this is how I got mine working. Do some deep squats random;y during the day, maybe five at a time. When you run, have some forward pressure on your hips (just slightly) and move your feet in a circle so that when they hit the ground, you're 'pulling' the soles of your feet along the ground. (keep your body upright while you do this) If your hamstrings and glutes are a bit sore the next day, you know you're on the right track. Next step is run uphill, again with a nice and tall posture, with forward pressure on your hips. This will really start to fire them up. Then try the uphill running with a weighted pack on (I'm using 7.5kgs at the moment). This will really get those muscle groups working. Pro tip - if you have access to a treadmill they are fantastic for trying out these techniques - trying to run with different form and posture and seeing which muscles fire and which don't. Then you can learn how to use different muscle groups at will just by changing your form. I hope that helps :-)

No Joke. I got an email this morning from a pilates instructor friend of mine explaining how important glute strength is for preventing injury. I think that staying on you feet is important as we sit a lot throughout the day (when we are not running). I would look into ballet movements and small flexibility exercises (think Purebarre). Yes, I said it. Getting your hamstrings strong (up there towards your butt muscle) can help your gait.

I think you will benefit more if you are mindful of the glutes being active /used not just while running but while walking and if possible standing too. The more time you spend being aware about them being used , the better you will get at it. Being aware that they are being used during running alone will limit your benefits.

Hi.....thanks for the video! I watched at the end of the video when you stated that you were holding off for now seeing a therapist. If you are continuing to have problems, I would recommend that you see an athletic therapist as soon as possible. If not, most likely the problems will only continue....which will hamper your performance and be discouraging as well. Back in May of this year, I got back into running and ran 600 to 700 miles without any problems. Then all of sudden, I was experiencing an aching pain in the upper part of my leg and despite a change in shoes, the problem continued and was affecting my running performance. I recently saw an athletic therapist and found out that the problem was a weak glute. As a result, one of my hips was over-rotating which also resulted in the leg pain. With treatment from my therapist and doing daily exercises, things have greatly improved! All the best with your running!

I'm with you Kofuzi! I understand what the Gluteus Maximus is and how it functions...what confounds me is the term "activation". I don't really understand how you can move your hip or thigh without contracting your glutes. Does "activation" result in a stronger muscle contraction? If so, how?

before your run spend 3 min using a wall for balance and just extend your leg backwards and flex your glute. You can put your hand on the muscle and feel it. It should be flexed. That's how you activate your glutes. If you do it before you run you can feel it while you run with an appropriate backswing motion. People who feel a lot of calf pain after run among other things aren't using glutes. You have to do glute isolation exercises (there are quite a few) and you can learn to feel the glute. Only strippers can bounce their glutes on command lol....don't aim for that. Also if you think about pushing off you are using your thighs more for power whereas if you think about pulling your leg back for forward motion you use hams and glutes. Its just a shift in your mindset. Pulling leg back uses glutes but pushing leg back does not (to the same extent)

Activate your glutes for everything! Squats, lunges, walking up stairs... you'll relieve a lot of your knee pain immediately. Try it out right now! Get up and do a lunge with/without activating your glutes and feel the difference. Also, it improves your balance while walking.

I think you have to shout it out on the top of your lungs like when they do a move in anime, GLUTES ACTIVATE! to get them activated.

When I was strength training (heavier weights) along with running, I totally could feel myself activating my glutes. Since Corona I've been doing more body weight stuff (p90x) and lighter dumbbell...along with running. And I don't feel the glutes activating. So that's the answer. Basically you can't activate something that's not there.. Change things up and begin a strength training routine (squats, bench press, deadlifts...) Not this glute bridge yoga stuff. I'm talking real weights when you fail at 6-12 reps Also, you'll feel your glutes activating more (along with core) when sprinting. Do a strength training routine along with sprints for 6 weeks then you'll understand what it means to use your glutes. Maybe sprints on your lifting days after the lifts. For squats, use a Smith Machine bc it takes too much time to learn proper form. Smith machine allows you to make sure your knees stay behind toes. Push up through your heels. Also leg press, leg extension, curl, calf raises...

I'm also had issues with my knee. The outer lower side. My physiotherapist said I had week calves and told me to focus more on strengthening my calves. So I did, and my knee-problem went away 😀 So my tip: go see a physiotherapist 👌

Don't overthink it. Pickup a set of resistance bands and look up a few hip flexor excersizes. Create a workout around these. I learned a bunch of them (but of course, cannot remember the names) at PT. I do my little routine twice a week takes about 15 mins. I even get my daughter in on it. Your ass will be good and sore (this means it's working) What I was explained is that the hip flexors keep your entire lower posture/stride, strong and straight. After some time, you should feel it in your running gate. It's hard to explain, you'll just feel stronger and more efficient (well, at least for me) now, I just do it, I have it on my schedule and just do it.

Check out the videos of Aaron at Squat University. Everything about hips and glutes. As a bonus, his video about tibial rotation (never heard of before) was the most powerful resource for improving my squat. He knows his stuff

@kofuzi - This is a great video, thanks for making it. I keep watching various videos looking for explanations too and there’s a lot of talk online but nobody really explains this well in a way where it makes sense ... until recently... There is a very good video from James Dunne where he explains it’s a complex motion. Just ‘activating’ glutes is mostly BS, it’s a combination of pushing your knee higher as you extend your stride, extending your hip flexors and at the same time ‘activating’ your glutes. You’re most likely not doing anything wrong!

I broke my hip and running, so I learned a lot about glutes and Glute activation through my recovery process. Doing monster walks with a band before running will wake up those little muscles that don’t get used enough because in modern society , we spent too much time sitting now. that will take the tension of your knees. but also, doing hip thrusts, clamshells and side lying hip abduction‘s after running, will help you strengthen your TFL, and glutes, so in the long term you will avoid injuries on your knees and hips.

Functional Patterns is the answer.

Myofascial Release to break up that fascia and loosen up those glutes and then some exercises that incorporate contralateral reciprocation to retension.

Ive been running for about 5 years and until about 6 months ago, I was running without my glutes activated. How do I know? Because now, when I go for a run, my legs are not so sore after a run but my ass sure is! Prior to that, my ass never hurt or never tender. I was told the glute muscle is used as part of the running mechanic, so if your glutes aren't firing, then the other leg muscles have to pick up the extra work. I asked how to activate them?, and I was told to do a lot of lunges, squats, glute bridges, core exercises etc and when your glutes are strong enough, they will naturally kick in. And that's how it worked for me. For me, at the beginning I could barely do a couple of 1 legged glute bridges without getting a hamstring cramp (because my hamstring was trying to do the glutes job), but now they aren't so hard.