We Like Good Butts and We Cannot Lie

The gluteus muscles are beauteus muscles, don't you agree?

Not just attractive, but of such powerful function. The big ones, gluteus maximus and medius, form the basic shape of your backside. We'll come back to these darlings of the derriere in just a moment.

A smaller, deeper layer of muscles is set underneath, which I like to call the piriformus gang. I consider these muscles to be a gang because they're really closely knit, placed in dangerous area, like to stay relatively hidden until they decide to make their presence known, and as such are notorious trouble makers. Piriformus, the sideways pear-shaped fellow who is their leader, deals out a fair amount of functional pain in the form of reoccurring syndromes of the sciatic nature. I believe the term "pain in the butt" might have originated from this very place.

The maximus and medius, though, these are the muscles that literally propel you forward in life. Walking, running, leaping, lunging...just about anything that involves moving you around with your lower limbs needs some glutes to do it right. More glutes helps you do it with joy.

Now, many of don't have the rear ends we could and should have, because many of us spend a fair amount of time on our bums in this modern era. Much more than people did in days past. As evidenced by how in days past, more butts seemed to look more like this:

This is Perseus. He has recently donned winged sandals to go get the Gorgon Medusa who turned everyone who looked at her into stone. Good job Perseus, but you're going to need to take those flying shoes off soon and get back on your feet if you want to keep that tushy tight.

The Journal of Orthopaedic Sports & Physical Therapy tested for the most effective exercises for activating and recruiting from gluteal muscles. These experts point out that there is a bunch of evidence showing how weak fannies are likely involved in all sorts of other physical problems and pains. Knee pain and hip pain associated with IT band problems, ACL sprains, chronic ankle instability, and more.

So, we best heed their advice and work our butts up, right? Not off, up. That's a much better goal in my opinion! Which exercises work best? These 3, with links to videos which do a good job demonstrating them.

Pick One Thing: Your Glutes

(^What are we going to do when we get to Your Nose?)

The Conclusion, in the July 2009 issue of the above- mentioned journal: "The best exercise for the gluteus medius was side-lying hip abduction, while the single-limb squat and single-limb deadlift exercises led to the greatest activation of the gluteus maximus."

1. This video shows a good Pilates approach to hip abduction exercise using body weight only. She shows it two ways, with a more traditional version being her second demonstration, and the first being more specifically included in Pilates matwork as one of the Side Leg series of exercises. Pilates people: when you're dying at the end of said series and your leg feels like a hundred pounds, that's the gluteus medius hollering at you. Side Leg/Hip Abduction

2. This video shows a gal doing single leg squats starting with a nice modified version on a tall box (or bench), moving through to more challenging versions of the same. Not for the weak of knees or new exercisers. If you know you've got good form and can manage a decent set of squats on two legs, then try single leg with caution. When the knee angle goes past 90 degrees, it can cause problems for some people, so handle yourself with care. Single Leg Squats

3. This video shows a Single Leg Deadlift (with an intro that demonstrates a regular deadlift with dumbells). Watch out for that standing leg, you don't want to hyperextend your knee. You might also reach your back leg back a bit more to help keep your low back from curving too much. Go slow. It's a hinge at the hip, and stand up with your glutes, not your head.

Stretching and muscle release in this area is also important for all of us, especially athletes. Heavy lifters, skaters, dancers and sprinters need to take the time to roll out their gluteals on a foam roller tube, or tennis ball even, quite regularly if you don't get massage or physical therapy to help. If you have access to a personal trainer, make sure you understand how to stretch on your own. Check out this simple .pdf for a simple at-home stretch you can do. And here's some pictures of one of my favorites, "the #4 stretch" as I call it, because you form the number four with your legs. If you take a yoga class, you'll also recognize the Pigeon pose.

From now on, add your glutes to your care and keeping list. Keep your glutes cute. Avoid the squooshy tooshy. Work that butt up.

Letting the Experts Take Weight Off My Back

Backing up some of my common advice on backs and spines, enter the Chiropractors:
A Laid Back Approach to Spine Care

What could be better than a quick link to a simple document published by experts in the exact field of care I am trying to encourage people to give to themselves this week?

Well, there are some things that could be better like a day at the beach and a rest under a cool pine canopy in the Rockies and sauteed spinach with garlic and pecorino romano. But not much better, when it comes to a writer like me who appreciates succinct, helpful writing done by others.

So I'm letting the docs take the lead on how you can Pick Your Spine this week, to care for, keep well and honor. Please click on the link above to visit the site that explains a host of special, EASY tips. I capitalize easy because in comparison to to alternative, which is lousy posture, back pain or injury, these tips will cause very little disruption to your current lifestyle. Incorporate one each day and keep them with your for the rest of your life. There is no overestimating the benefits of a healthy, pain-free spine.

You've got your own back now, and I've got mine, and so back-to-back, we've got the rear view covered....
almost.

Next, enter the glutes. We'll work on avoiding the squooshy tooshy. Until then, stand tall. With an equally distributed stance. :-)

Who's Got Your Back?

In the middle of your back is an incredible conduit of information and direction known as your spinal column. Your spine is a fine, fine piece of technology. Aside from its straightforward job of keeping your head attached to your body, your back bone houses a communications network that rivals the awesomeness of any sci-fi creation.

If you do nothing else for your torso, ever, in your life, please do yourself this one favor: take care of your spine. Protect it from harm by avoiding unhealthy levels of impact which can lead to fracture and disability, as well as unhealthy levels of strain, which can lead to pain, stress, surgery and limited mobility.

Your spine is so darn important, no wonder it so often tries to get your attention. Here's a way to say hello to it and make sure it's doing okay. You can be near your screen, but make a bit of room to stand and reach:

1. Stand up now and bend over slowly to reach down to your toes. Hold those abs while you straighten up again from bottom to top. Make sure your breathing in and out, deeply. Do that five times.

2. Now split your legs to be shoulder-width apart, reach your hands back around you to support your low back and bottom, then arch your chest and face gently up to the sky. Return to standing with squared shoulders and hands hanging at your side, then slowly roll your head from one side to the other as if you are listening to the ceiling with left and right ear. Do that sequence five times.

3. Finally, while standing with your feet a little wider still, reach your arms out straight to your sides and exhale. Then inhale deeply while you bend sideways, lowering one arm down the side of your leg, the other arm reaching over your head. Support your bended body with your lower arm on your leg, but don't press hard into the knee, and don't shrug your shoulders. Exhale and inhale, sinking into the side bend. Then slowly rise up, returning to the starting stance, and ready to go the other way. Do this three times on each side.

I'm not assigning you with a fourth twisting motion, because who knows what shape your back is in. We'd need to meet in person to decide on that. But you should have a little bit better idea about your back now that you've done this simple stretching sequence. It's just basic standing therapy for the spine, and it can tell you a lot about your tight spots and crooked parts.

Did you get stuck halfway down when you reached for your toes? That's a tight low back and hamstrings--very common condition and a very common cause of lower back pain, and worse. If you leave your low back (lumbar spine) unattended for too long, stuff starts to bulge and slip and wedge. Especially if you do things that compress it, like walk, jump, run, lift heavy weights over your head, or even just sit a lot. If your lumbar spine is messed up, it often stops you from performing your normal activities. Why not keep that low back loose and the muscles that support it strong? You can avoid what is the most common complaint brought to orthopedic doctors--low back pain.

Did you get stuck trying to look up at the ceiling or rolling your head side to side? That could be trouble with the cervical spine--your neck--or maybe the upper thoracic spine which is related to movements in the shoulder carriage and chest. Pretty much everyone knows what happens if you break your neck, right? Paralysis of some sort is likely to ensue. That should give us a clue to the value of keeping our upper spines top of mind. Those motor signals coming right down frin command central in your brain need a clear connected pathway in your neck to reach the lower extremities. If you fell off your bike, were in a car accident, or had a skiing mishap, you'd want your neck and upper back to escape serious injury. You can help that protective factor along by keeping your upper back and neck aligned and tending to them when they get rigid. Stiff necks are a painful reminder of how much you really do depend on that part of your body!

Did you get stuck moving sideways? The muscles of your torso are more than just the glamour muscles featured on the covers of body building magazines. There are deep stabilizers in there, which connect your top to your bottom and your front to your back. The largest geographic areas of muscles expanse are located in your back and up to your neck. Your abs are there to help your spine move, and thus should be honored as they can protect your back from damage. In Pilates, we call all this, plus the gluteus muscles, the "Powerhouse." I like that term. It makes sense. All your power is located right here. And it's your spine that provides the mode of transportation for every movement in most of your body.

Pick One Thing: Your Spine
Keep your spine fluid and your spinal fluid moving and uncompromised. Have some back bone. No one can take care of your back better than you, and no one feels it more when you don't!

There are so many great yet simple things you can do in the care and keeping of your spine, we need a second installment to get into more detail. So let's meet again to give all 33 of your vertebra a voice.