TheScienceof

GLUTEUSMAXIMUS
Training
ByBretContreras,MA,CSCS

By Bret Contreras, MA, CSCS

WhatImKnownFor
18 Months

24Months

g
Building
Booties!
6M
Months
th
12 Months

What
Known For
WhatIIm
mKnownFor

My Clients

Walking
the Walk
WalkingtheWalk
Identical
IdenticalTwin
Twin my
my
owncontrolsubject
Myhipsare5 5 greater hip
i
f
th
circumference
than
bi
biggeraroundthan
d h twin
bro
his
glutes
PhD in g

PhDthesis

Stronger hip
extension torque
than All-Blacks
All Blacks

What
Needs to Happen?
WhatNeedstoHappen?

High Expectations
HighExpectations
ItellthePhysiostoputthemselvesinmyposition
What do my clients expect from me?
What creates shape?
Whatcreatesshape?
What are the mechanisms of hypertrophy?
Whatarethemechanismsofhypertrophy?

Mechanisms of Hypertrophy
MechanismsofHypertrophy
MechanicalTension
Mechanical Tension
MetabolicStress
MuscleDamage
l

1. Mechanical Tension
2 Metabolic
2.
M t b li St
Stress
3. Muscle Damage

RolesoftheGluteMax
Hip
Extension
ExternalRotation
External Rotation
Abduction(UpperFibers)
Pelvis
PosteriorPelvicTilt
Posterior Pelvic Tilt

Roles of the Glute Max

RolesoftheGluteMax
Sacrum ForceClosure
Spine PreventsLumbarFlexionand
Hyperextension,PreventsAnteriorPelvicTilt
Hips PreventsAnteriorFemoralGlide
Knees PreventsValgusCollapse
Knees
Prevents Valgus Collapse
Muscles PreventsHamstringandGroinStrains
Fascial Connections SerapeEffectthroughTLF,
ProtectsACLthroughITB

Glute
MVC
GluteMVC
SqueezetheGlutes as
HardasPossible
Seatedvs.Standing

HipExtensionTorque/
EMGAngleRelationships

Worrell et al.
al 2001

Strength Curves
StrengthCurves

Hip Torque
HipTorque

Hip Extensor PCSA

HipExtensorPCSA

HipExtensionTorquein
ResistanceTraining

StraightLegHipExtension
Exercises

Squats Deadlifts and Hip Thrusts

Squats,Deadlifts,andHipThrusts

Hip Extensor Moment Arms

HipExtensorMomentArms

Nemeth and Ohlsen 1985

FunctionalDifferentiation
Musclespossessfunctionaldifferentiationwhereby
the brain activates the muscles and motor units
thebrainactivatesthemusclesandmotorunits
withinthemusclesthatpossessthebestleverages,
whileothersarentfullyactivated(Brownetal.2007)

EstimatingMuscleForceand
HipExtensionTorque
Torque
Torque=ForcexMA
Force x MA
MuscleMomentArms
Force=PCSA,Activation,
F
PCSA A ti ti
MuscleLengths

GluteEMGduringCardio
g
* Comparing EMG across studies is tricky need same electrode
placement and MVC positioning, etc.

Womans Health 2007

Glute EMGduringResistanceTraining
EMG during Resistance Training
* Comparing EMG across studies is tricky need same electrode
placement and MVC positioning, etc.

ACE 2006

AnalyzingtheSquat,Deadlift,andHipThrust

AnalyzingtheSquat,Deadlift,andHipThrust

TorquePatternandMuscleLength
SpecificityandTransferofTraining

Squat
R
RomanianDeadlift
i D dlift
BackExtension
HipThrust
Sprint

Enemies
of the Glutes
EnemiesoftheGlutes

Pain
Sitting
Compression
i
AdaptiveShortening
ReciprocalInhibition
Disuse

Solutions

SelfMyofascialRelease
Self Myofascial Release
StaticStretching
DynamicStretching
ActivationWork
Strength!
Use it or Lose it
UseitorLoseit

Waterfalls Analogy
WaterfallsAnalogy
River(Brain)
3Waterfalls(Erectors,Glutes,Hamstrings)

Hip Flexor Stretches

HipFlexorStretches
AddPPTtoincreasestretchseffectiveness

Glute
Activation
GluteActivation
LLowLoad:
L d
QualityoverQuantity!

VerticalLoadingg

Squats
Deadlifts
GoodMornings
Lunges
StepUps
Bulgarian Split Squats
BulgarianSplitSquats
SingleLegRDLs
OlympicLifts
Plyometrics

Horizontal
Loading
HorizontalLoading

HipThrusts
BarbellGluteBridges
SingleLegHipThrusts
Back Extensions
BackExtensions
ReverseHypers
Pull Throughs
PullThroughs
KettlebellSwings
SledPushes
Sprints

Lateral/RotaryLoading

BandHipRotations
BandStandingAbduction
BandSeatedAbduction
CableChops
CableLifts
HalfKneelingCableChops
X B d W lk
XBandWalks
Pallof Presses
Side Plank
SidePlank
Slideboard
y
Medball RotaryThrows

Posterior Pelvic Tilting

PosteriorPelvicTilting
AmericanDeadlift
American Deadlift
HipThrustwithPPT
C l k
RKCPlank

Look
Athletic
LookAthletic

Strength
St
th is
i Cool
C l
Good form is Cool
g With Good Form is What its All About!
Strong

Hip Thrust Strength

HipThrustStrength
WomenMightHaveGreaterRelativeStrengththan
MenintheGlutes,MenHaveGreaterAbsolute
Strength
Th
S
hi G
h S
S
h
Hi
HipThrustStrengthisGreaterthanSquatStrength
HipThrustStrengthisClosetoorStrongerthan
D dlift St
DeadliftStrength
th
Strongest=3.5XBodyweight
Male
M l 585pounds
585
d
Female 405pounds

Back to the Mechanisms

BacktotheMechanisms

MechanicalTension HipThrust,Deadlift
MetabolicStress HipThrust,KBSwing
MuscleDamage WalkingLunge,DeepSquat
IndividualDifferences?

Individuality
y
ScientificTheoryvs.TheRealWorld
BecomeYourOwnEMGInstrument
throughPalpation
g
p
AsktheClientforInput!
q ,
,
,
q ,
Racquel,Colleen,Kellie,Racquel,
Alexis,Molly,Diana
y
IKnowTheirGlutesBetterthanThey
Do!

Glute Max EMG Experiment Bret

GluteMaxEMGExperiment
Inaperfectworldyoucoulddo
thisforeachclient

ProgramDesign
g
g
1.
2
2.
3.
4.

5.
6
6.
7.
8.
9.

HipThrustorHeavyKBSwingTypeMovement
Squat or Lunge Type Movements
SquatorLungeTypeMovements
DeadliftorBackExtensionTypeMovements
BandHipRotation,XBandWalk,SeatedBand
Abduction Type Movements or RKC Plank Type
AbductionTypeMovements,orRKCPlankType
Movements
Mixtogetherunilateralandbilateral
V th
Varytherepranges.Heavysinglesto50rep
H
i l t 50
burnouts.
ProgressiveoverloadANDvariety
Frequencyiskey.Glutesarecapableofperforminga
tonofwork!Fivedaysperweekforsomeclients.
Excessivesorenessiscounterproductive!

We
Should Have Listened
WeShouldHaveListened...
FischerandHoutz1968

Thanks
for Your Attendance!
ThanksforYourAttendance!

www.BretContreras.com