Episode 4 - Real Glute Strength Happens Through Length

Episode Summary:

In this episode Alison delves into the importance of glute strength and proper foot mechanics for runners, particularly focusing on the concepts of lengthening muscles to optimize performance. She shares her personal experience with weak glutes, which led to hip pain and pelvic floor issues, and discusses how traditional exercises like clamshells and hip thrusts may not fully address these problems. Instead, she emphasizes the need for finding muscle length through internal rotation, particularly during mid-stance in the running stride, and explains how proper foot pronation plays a critical role in this process. Alison provides practical strategies for improving these mechanics, including specific cues for deadlifts that integrate the action at the hips/glute with those of the foot. 

Key Takeaways:

• Glute Strength Requires Lengthening: Strong glutes aren't just about contraction or clenching; they need to lengthen and load effectively. Finding length in the glutes through internal rotation, particularly during mid-stance in running, maximizes your ability to manage ground reaction forces and contributes to an efficient stride.
• Foot Mechanics and Pronation are Critical: Proper foot mechanics, especially true pronation, are essential for optimizing running performance and glute activation. Pronation allows for effective loading and stability. We discuss some effective strategies to encourage proper pronation to improve glute engagement.
• Strength Training Can Integrate This Functional Movement: Strength exercises like deadlifts can be approached with a focus on movement mechanics that mirror running. Deadlifts are not pull exercises but should involve pushing through the ground to stand up, which parallels the mechanics of running and helps integrate glute and foot function for better performance.

Time Stamps:

[00:00] - Introduction and my Personal Experience with Pelvic Floor Symptoms and Hip Pain

[03:07] - The Importance of Loading Glutes Through Length

[9:12] - Using the Deadlift or Other Hinging Pattern Exercises to Load Through That Length

[16:53] - Glute, Pelvic Floor and Feet

[18:22] - The Role of the Feet in Finding that Length

[25:47] - Wrap-Up & Closing Thoughts

Resources Mentioned:

• Glute Accelerator: A FREE 7 Day Crash Course on Building Strong Glutes for Female Runners 
• The Foot Fix:Ditch those frustrating foot symptom flare ups for good by addressing the underlying cause!

Quotes:

“I just thought I was destined for that pancake butt forever and blamed it on my genetics.  Thanks, mom. Well, genetics is definitely part of that and Sir Mix-a-Lot is never going to be writing any songs about me.”

“Length happens through internal rotation. Internal rotation happens at mid stance in your stride. This is where you put the most force into the ground and where the ground puts the most force into you.”

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