Thursday, May 27, 2010

Glut Medius info

People were asking for an article on the glut medius, here is a post I did about a year and a half ago. Remember my gut opinion is it is silly to attempt to isolate out individual muscles (I should know-I was one of them); all the new neuromuscular research since that post backs me up :

http://joestrainingroom.blogspot.com/search?q=gluteus+medius

3 comments:

Jack Martin said...

Joe,
Do the hamstrings take over for weak glutes-especially for the medius. If I do bridges, I can tell immediately if the glute is not firing-which is most of the time. As a layman in the area of athletic training, I rely on guys like you to point me in the right direction. Any chance for visuals to help me along?
As always, Thanks. Martin

Joe Przytula said...

Remember when running & jumping, it is ground, gravity, and momentum that is telling the glutes what to do. Like biomechanist/P.T. Dan Cipriani (San Diego State)says- muscles are higly adaptable, you can train them to do anything. It doesn't mean it's the right thing.

What I'm getting at is the bridge test can be deceiving. I understand there are practitioners out there who still teach it. The truth is Jack it dates back to the work of Janda/Lewitt in the early 80's. Although I respect their research, it's 30 years old. The new testing technology (that we have borrowed from video games!) has given us new insights into how the nervous system works.

In my head, take it for what it's worth; if I had to point to one modern day reason a glute is not firing it's the loss of MOSTABILITY- the ability to fire at the right time, in the right direction, in the right plane, with the right amount of force. The modified Thomas Test will tell you a lot about how the hip is functioning as an interdependant ring.

Like any other functional testing I do; I like to give the body a task and watch what it shows me. If something zigs when I expected it to zag, I look deeper.

Google "The Hips-the Monster Beneath the Bed". It's an article I wrote for the Gray Institute a few years ago.

Jack Martin said...

Joe,
I read the blog-thanks. With that in mind and the reality of trying to work with 100 boys in x-c and 145 in spring track, I need some help.
Can you give me a list of sources-print and dvd that will point me in the right direction and save me some time?
As always thanks for making this "old dog" think and re-evaluate. Somehow, when you are 63, the 80s don't seem that long ago. Martin