This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in April of 2023. For the original video go to https://youtu.be/7vmS4caPPeM
Mike: Do you struggle with back pain, hip pain, or knee pain?
Brad: You may be experiencing gluteal amnesia. This is a common problem where the gluteal muscles are not firing properly and it's going to cause some problems.
Mike: But, don't worry, we have a simple solution to get your glutes firing again.
Brad: All right. So, many people have trouble firing or activating their glutes, in other words, their gluteus maximus, that buttock muscle that works and keeps you moving and upright.
Mike: If this muscle is not working properly as it should, it can cause lots of different problems, for example, piriformis syndrome.
Brad: Back pain.
Mike: Hamstringing tears.
Brad: Anterior femoral glide syndrome.
Mike: This is also a hip pain issue.
Brad: That's right.
Mike: Also it can cause some knee pain.
Brad: And foot pain.
Mike: So, it's all connected. So, if you fix this, what we're showing, it can help create a solution for those problems.
Brad: Say no more, Mike.
Mike: So here's an easy way to activate your glutes while sitting down.
Brad: That's right. So again, we're sitting while we do this. It helps to start by coming forward in the chair a little bit. You're going to use your hand to palpate or feel if the muscle is contracting or activating. So, here you go, this is a little weird, but it's a legitimate way to know if that muscle's firing. Right side only, I want you to squeeze and feel that glute muscle tighten up for five seconds and then relax, and squeeze and relax, only one side.
Brad: You get a sense of what's going on with your body. A lot of people aren't aware of whether their muscles firing or not. This is going to get you there. Do that 10 times. Repeat it on the left side. Okay. Now, after you've done the gluteal exercises seated, when you get up to walk, the carryover, so that continues while you walk, is that you must avoid heel striking with a straight and locked knee because when that happens, the gluteal maximus does not want to fire inherently.
Brad: So, what we want to do is land on our forefoot or flat, but not like this with a straight knee. When you land on your forefoot, that allows the knee to slightly flex. This is called soft knee walking. That promotes gluteal firing when you walk so that it happens automatically. And this doesn't happen over time.
Brad: You need to practice it. A neat little trick to do that, this is a simple trick. Get some popcorn. You can't get the kind you use in the microwave. Get the old-fashioned kind. Put that on some tape. This is simply painter's tape or masking tape. Put it on your heel. And you're probably wondering, "What are we doing?" And there you go. It's very inexpensive and very effective.
Brad: Now, so you don't have to think about walking on your forefeet, which is kind of awkward, when you do that with the popcorn when you put your weight down and walk the way you used to walk, you feel that popcorn on your heel, and it is going to say, "Oh." You're going to remember right away that you need to walk on the forefoot. Give a little demonstration, Mike.
Mike: I'm not going to walk on my heel. So you walk on your forefoot to activate your glutes, keeping a soft knee. If I land on my heel first, it feels like I'm stepping on a pile of Legos and it's very uncomfortable. So, it's just a reminder to constantly walk on your forefoot versus your heels.
Brad: Right. You're not going to do this all day long or for days in a row. You may do it once a day for a half hour. You can leave it in longer. You'll find out. You can put more popcorn in or less popcorn, depending on how aggressive it feels.
Mike: And you're going to have to shorten your stride and think about walking a little more at first, so it's kind of a lot to process and it's going to take time. Just stick with it. I've been doing it for a few months and at first, it feels like you're learning to walk again.
Brad: Yeah.
Mike: It's a little odd.
Brad: Yeah.
Mike: But you'll get used to it. Now it's becoming second nature. You're going to have to slow down your pace and take slow steps. Try in your house, you can go just in your socks or even barefoot. If you have a raised heel like Brad's shoe is, it's going to be a little harder because naturally, your heel wants to land first. My shoes are more minimalist, so that's not a problem with these.
Brad: Right. So, that's a flat sole. So, are you done?
Mike: I am done.
Brad: All right. No, nice job, Mike. So, again, it carries over into the walking. The seated glute training that I talked about earlier is what you're going to start with. And I think we pretty much gave them more than they want to know, Mike. All right. Stay healthy.
Mike: Stay happy.
Brad: And be careful.
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