Weak Glutes | Back Pain (HOW TO FIX IT!)

Weak glutes and an underactive gluteus maximus muscle are one of the fastest ways to experience low back pain. The reason is simple, when your glutes are weak your lumbar extensors are being asked to perform too much of a job that they should be sharing responsibilities with the glutes for. This leads to an overactivation of the lower back muscles and an eventual breakdown and injury.

In this video, I’m going to show you one of the quickest and simplest things you can do to fix the issue by incorporating a simple tweak into the exercises that you are already doing. The problem is not that we aren’t doing enough glute extension exercises, but rather that we aren’t fully extending during the exercises that we are already doing. For instance during a deadlift, when you get to the top of the lift you may feel is if you have completed the necessary range of motion.

Check your form in the mirror, or better yet squeeze your glutes consciously together and if you find that you have additional range of motion of the hips then you were not at the top of the movement. You simply did not contract your glutes hard enough at the top and that is causing you to come up just shy of neutral in hip extension on the deadlift.

The same can be said about the squat as well. Most of us worry about getting back up to a standing or vertical position without every really focusing on what is going on at the hips. Likely, you would see that when you perform the squat you never get all the way back up into neutral hip extension at the top of the rep. When this happens, your body looks for the extension in other places in an effort to get your head level and your chest upright.

The first place your body is going to go knocking is at the lumbar spine. This is almost always true of any injured or weak area. When you look at the part that is injured you should very rarely look to blame this muscle group or area for its own troubles. Instead, you should look either immediately above or below the site of the pain and in the case of the lower back you should be looking at either the thoracic spine or the hips.

When the hips are either not strong enough or are just not consciously being contracted into extension, your body will smartly look to find a compensation somewhere else. This leads to an excessive extension being performed by the lumber spine. Over time, this can lead to breakdown and wear and tear on the discs in your lower back with eventual injury.

Instead, if you just focused on finishing the reps that you are already performing you would be amazed at just how significant of an improvement you could see in a relatively short period of time. Remember, the hips do not really travel far into extension in the first place. With only 10-15 degrees of concentrated hip extension movement available at the hip joint, it’s not this that will unlock your gains. It’s the fact that you haven’t done anything to address getting your hips back to neutral instead of keeping them in that semi-flexed position on your major exercises.

[andreaarnold]

I'm a massage therapist who specializes in treating issues related to poor posture. This man REALLY knows his stuff!!!It's so exciting to see someone bridge the gap between working out and working out correctly.

[donyoung]

"A weak-ass is never a good thing to have or be." This guy is entertaining and very informative, thanks Jeff. Hands down the best YouTube channel on proper training.

[adityajoseph]

It has been nearly five years since the release of this video and it still remains to be the best one I've seen to date on fixing glutes for all the everyday exercises that we do at the gym. Can't thank you enough Jeff for your tips, they really do make a difference!

[austinmcwhiney]

Every time something is hurting on me this dude has a video for it and it works every time! This guy is a genius!!!!

[andrenewell]

This guy is the truth. So glad I am subscribed to this channel.

[Frdgamer]

My squat shot up and back stopped hurting as much once I started addressing my glutes last year, unfortunately I got injured and dropped 15 pounds. In absence of squatting I completely forgot about doing this as it wasn't a habit yet. Thanks Coach Cav, you have really helped my athletic development the past few years.

[zordonthevoyagesof]

Can't thank you enough. Hard training was a part of my life I thought I needed to begin to slow down, and I'm not even 30.. The knowledge I have gained from your videos has improved my quality of life, and I feel reinvigorated knowing that my body is still able. Sometimes I forget to keep learning as well as to keep growing. Keep them coming.

[conkrstuff]

All of these videos on relieving sciatica symptoms by educating the public about things like the posas, hip mobility, weak gluts, etc. and raising public awareness about poorly prescribed PT Rx that occur too often & the logic for the wrong Rx & why is not appropriate Rx (ex. knee to chest, lacrosse ball glut smash etc) have been EXTREAMLY HELPFUL. I've been managing my sciatica for over 30 years (17-48 yrs old). I recently (2 yrs ago) suffered an lower back injury in Crossfit doing the snatch into a squat position (too heavy a weight & too much pride). I successfully lifted it o the 5th try, because my pride was heavier than the weight, but strained my back in the process and have been managing the lower back pain & tightness on one side, numb toes and general discomfort for close to 2 years now. I've gone to two PTs in 2 different hospitals on 3 different occasions, BUT after watching my videos on relieving sciatica by understanding that the cause are weak gluts and the other videos, I have found some real solid solutions & relief. Keep up the excellent work with PUTTING SCIENCE BACK INTO FITNESS & STRENGTH TRAINING!

[kalebday]

I am 17 and I needed this. I need to fix my glutes for my anterior pelvic issue. luckly, simple glute exercises have fixed half of it so far..

[Kiskassklan]

Great video, Thanks!....I'm 63 and after over 40 years of workouts I now see how important your glute strength is. I have always thought I was just tight in my hamstrings and lower back but all it was was weak glutes. It had gotten worse with age and thats why you see old people having a hard time getting out of a chair, bending over, walking upright etc. Amazing how after a couple of weeks my lower back pain and muscle spasms disappeared. Hoping now that my knee pain will resolve. I started back dead lifting even.

[derfalsche]

Seriously, I really wished I had you as my physical therapist - could have needed your help big time the last couple of years. Soo grateful that you are sharing your knowledge on Youtube!

[memphus]

Jeff always explains that he takes his shirt off so we can see muscle activation. By that logic, shouldn't he take his pants off in this video?

[aveoturbo]

Anybody else straighten up in their seat when Jeff talked about posture?

[DanTraxex]

How to stop watching training videos and actually start training

[ikaika]

this video may have fixed my back pain...I now know the reason why it hurts in the first place. thanks so much.

[leahbernstein]

Thanks for helping me manage my hip dysplasia pain.  After doing your workouts, my back and hip pain is greatly diminished.

[Envengerx]

Having a really bad back pain for past few days after doing squats.
Wish your video was a bit earlier and I had known about this.

Thanks a lot man. This was really helpful.

[kzfingerprint]

I adore your channel. Love the physical therapist part added into the fitness aspect - the ultimate duo!

[Wahabqamar]

I had my left glute weak and i didn't even knowing it. I did full body weight lifting for a year, which caused my left side all weak and in pain. Now I'm trying to balance myself and this strengthening glutes video helped me realise what the actual problem was. Now i feel so much balanced and better. Thank you so much for these exercises and tips.

[rodglazer]

"Jessee, I need you to grab the camera, and look directly at my crotch"
"W....what?"
"You heard me. Focus right on my crotch. Really stare at it."
"Ok....?"
"I'm gonna tell you to look up at me. At that point I want you to pan up and look me straight in the eyes. Look right in my face, and then look back at my crotch."

is probably how the discussion of this video happened.