The pigeon stretch, figure-four, and lying glute stretch are the main stretches I use for tight glute muscles. Repeat this on both sides of the hip, then move on to static stretching. This should really allow you to dig in to the glute muscles, particularly the piriformis. Next, repeat with a tennis, softball, or lacrosse ball (ordered in ascending intensity). If you find a trigger point with just the foam roller, work it for a couple minutes. With one leg crossed over the other, begin by foam rolling over the glute muscles broadly. Similar to hip flexor tightness, restricted glute muscles can be a culprit of back pain as the muscles all interact with the lower spine and hip region. Legs splayed during the recovery or at the catch is also common with rowers with tight glutes. Inhibited compression, posterior pelvic tilt, and poor reach during the recovery are common results from gluteal restriction. Because full hip extension is never reached in rowing, the hip extensors are not often worked through their full range of motion. On the opposite side of hip flexors, the gluteal muscles are in a constant semi-stretched position during long bouts of sitting. Rowing fault: Poor compression at the catch, poor leg drive, shortened reach during recovery Importance of Glutes for Rowing Location: Posterior hip, “the butt muscles” Restriction: Gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, piriformis Much like the hip flexors, glutes can get fatigued, sore, and achey without any acute injury or condition, and are well worth the time in preventative massage, flexibility, mobility, and strength training for rowers to enjoy healthy bodies, good performance, and long careers. Not only are they responsible for a serious amount of power in the drive, but they are also major stabilizers of the hips and spine in all parts of the stroke and daily life. The glutes are super important muscles for rowing. In Part 2, we broke down the big bad hip flexor muscles. We’ll now discuss the hip flexor’s counterpart, the glute muscles of the posterior hip. In Part 1, we discussed what “tightness” really is (and what it isn’t), why mobility is so much more than just flexibility alone, and how to address mobility restrictions in the thoracic spine.
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