Glute Stretches

May 16, 2023 | Joel Runyon

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The glutes are some of the biggest muscles in the body so if they get tight, they can cause a chain of problems. The glutes are a group of three separate muscles that make up the buttocks. These muscles are called the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus and they run from the ilium and sacrum to the femur. In short terms, they help the hip extend and rotate through its range of motion.

As you can imagine, the glutes are incredibly important. If they are tight or sore, you will definitely notice and feel some movement impairment. Tightness can be caused by a number of issues. Sitting too much can definitely lead to tightened or weakened glute muscles. Also, over-exercising or just plain overuse can bring on tightness.

Stretches for your Glutes

Because the glutes are such a large muscle group, they can impact many other parts of the body. If you have tight glutes, you might feel the tightness in other areas of your body. It could appear in your hips, lower back, or legs. Where this pain appears can vary greatly from individual to individual.

The good news is that tight glutes can most definitely be fixed. Find a consistent stretching routine. This could be done first thing in the morning, at night, before your workout, or after your workout. It doesn’t really matter when as long as you do it at some point in the day.

Other than stretching, there are certain exercises that you can do to help strengthen your glutes. If you are mostly sedentary during the day, there’s a good chance that weakened muscles could be the reason for your pain. Start slowly incorporating some strengthening movements into your routine. But always listen to your body and be smart about what you do.

Below we have listed some exercises and stretches. These will help everyone, from those who are sat a lot to those relentlessly pounding out squats in the weight room.

Loosen your glutes up and you’ll feel the benefits across your whole body. Get after it.

Joel Runyon

Joel Runyon

Joel is the founder of IMPOSSIBLE and the founder of MoveWell. Joel founded MoveWell after sustaining an injury while running an ultra marathon on every continent. Joel writes about mobility, pain management and health and wellness overall.

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