How many of you out there suffer from a flat butt? Well there is a solid chance it is just as much to do with your pelvis position as it does with the lack of muscle there. Most individuals with this condition have a common ailment of tight hamstrings, tight calves and underactive glutes and erectors.
How can we attack this problem and fix it? Well it all starts with getting mobile. First, stop sitting with your legs clutching your chair. That just shortens the hamstrings when done repeatedly without a mobility and posture intervention. Also if you are a runner, cyclist, or have a job where you run around like a chicken with your head cut off then you also likely suffer from the same issues.
The very first thing you need to do is have a professional assess your hip/leg movement via a couple different methods. The first one I use on my clients is the Overhead Squat Assessment, and to confirm my suspicions I follow it up with the Functional Movement Screen active straight leg test. That will help me determine if hamstrings are tight or just one of them.
Once we have figured out the issue then we attack it with foam rolling. For your hamstrings you are going need a pvc pipe covered in tape to roll on. Typically your cushiony foam rollers will not do the trick because they have to much give and your hamstrings are a group of very dense muscle that need a little more pressure to create some sort myofascial change. Here is one of my favorite ways to foam roll my hamstrings
Next we are going to want dynamically warm up the hamstrings and the calves. I like to use a thick resistance band to do this. When you finish your lifting you can stretch them more statically . Below is one of my favorite techniques to dynamically stretch the hamstrings and calves. The Walkout is a little more dyanmic, you will feel it in both your calves and your hamstrings.
The last thing you need to do to attack the problem is to activate the glutes. Now you can do this via clam shells, glute bridges, or banded movements such as the Sumo Walk. You can also attack your glutes via deadlifts and squats when you get yourself mobile enough to do the movements without any issues. To find out more information on you can improve your mobility and decrease your pain. Setup a free consultation today. Contact corytullock@gmail.com
