Strengthening Your Glutes to Improve Running Health

The glut med stops the hip from dropping when standing on one leg, and stops the leg turning in at the knee. Sarah Connors, ASICS PRO Team Physiotherapist, gives her top tips on keeping the gluteus medius muscle in good shape, so that you can correct your running technique accordingly.
How to check the strength of your gluteus medius:

• Stand with your back against the wall with your feet slightly apart and about a foot distance away from the wall.
• Lift one knee up.
• If you’re leaning your upper body or shifting the weight to keep yourself upright, your glut med isn’t functioning the way it should.

A weak glut med can affect your running technique as your pelvis will be dropping and/or shifting across. This will cause an abnormal posture and loads the joints and muscles incorrectly, causing a lot of torsional forces in the lower leg and knee. This pattern can cause the runner to think they are over pronating, leading to wearing the wrong running shoes as well as further mechanical problems.
Bridging exercise to strengthen the glutes:

• Lay on your back with your knees bent.
• Roll your pelvis backward so your back is flat on the floor.
• Slowly lift your spine from the floor until the hips are in line with your knee.
• Make sure the glutes are doing the work by squeezing your buttocks.
• Hold for 10 seconds.
• Repeat 10 times.

Incorporating this exercise into your running plan will help strengthen the glut meds and improve your running technique in the long term.

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