Welcome to the CoreWalking Podcast, with your hosts Jonathan FitzGordon and Alex Mabilon. Join them on a journey into the body and mind gaining insights for moving, healing and aging gracefully.

Today's Episode:

Episode 21

The Glutes (Relax Your Butt)

Jonathan feels guilty that, in his yoga classes and anatomy lectures,
he often refers to the butt as one unit of muscle. Today,
he helps us to understand that it is actually three different muscles
each with a very specific function. We delve into the three
gluteal muscles and what their role is in finding proper posture,
alleviating pain in the body and filling the back pocket of our jeans

Listen to Episode 21

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In this Podcast...

We discuss:

• The differentiation between the three gluteal muscles

• The birth of the gluteus maximus and the importance of the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus

• Everyone's need for a bigger butt

• Why the gluteus maximus becomes underactive

• The relationship of the hamstrings to the gluteus maximus

• How muscle balance in the glutes can alleviate knee pain

• The glutes' role in proper posture for optimal pain relief

• Exercises to for balance and strength in the gluteal muscles

Time guides:

2:28

9:40

16:58

24:46

33:13

40:09

47:41

54:43

"I've always flirted with the idea of giving my work away to some extent..."

When you go to stand up, gluteus maximus and the hamstrings engage as extensor muscles, they pull down on the pelvis and hte sit bones, they rotate the pelvis up..."

"We are dynamic creatures so that when we are standing with optimal posture, we're not still. Stasis is death; you never stop moving."

"The left foot is up and I turn my left hip forward and then I do the standing bird dog, which is I squat the right knee and touch the left hand to the right ankle..."

Think about Olympic figure skaters and their butts. So take up figure skating. Or ice skating..."

How does sitting figure into all of this? I've read conflicting reports about how our sedentary lifestyle contributes to weak glutes or, as som would have it, a flat butt..."

The body is designed to move in all different directions, it can do anything. But it has an ultimate function, or a better function. So I think gripping your gluteus maximus to go up higher [in bridge] is doable..."

-"I'm done playing basketball so it doesn't matter anymore."

-"I'll tell you this about playing basketball..."

Show Notes...

Blog Posts:

The Gluteus Maximus: The Case for Bigger Butt Muscles

Walk Correctly? Stick Out Your Butt

Gluteus Medius & Minimus

Strengthen Gluteus Medius

Anatomy: