(Note: If you’re having trouble viewing this video, please try watching it directly on my YouTube channel and see if that helps)

Another real benefit of having strong glutes, is that it protects your low back.  In fact, many of the people that suffer from low back pain have a diminished use of their glutes. They have what I call, “butt amnesia”. Their butts don’t know how to work. It’s been dormant for such as long time that when it’s called upon to do work, it doesn’t know how to and ends up passing the work along to other muscles…mainly your low back muscles. Eventually your low back can’t take the excess work and it ends up getting strained.

One reason for “butt amnesia” is a simple case of too much sitting.  Sitting for long periods of time tightens and shortens your hip flexor muscles. Your hip flexor muscles are large powerful muscles that originate from your low back vertebrae and attaches to your upper thigh region.  Since your hip flexors are much larger and stronger than your low back muscles, when it plays tug a war, your low back muscles lose every time. Ironically, the muscles that’s strong enough to counter act your hip flexors…your glutes…get shut down when it’s needed the most. When your hip flexors are tight and over activate, it inhibits your glutes from being activated…go figure? So what can you to do?

Before trying to wake your butt up (no pun intended), you need to deactivate your hip flexors. And the best way to do so is to stretch them out.  Stretching your hip flexors for 30 to 60 seconds prior to exercising your glutes will help enhance your ability to activate and “wake up” your glutes from it’s dormancy.

Now that you know how to deactivate your hip flexors, you can take advantage of it and really work your butt!

Take a look at the video above for a simple, but very effective glute exercise that you can do to start strengthening your butt to help you alleviate low back pain, increase athletic performance and of course get you that tight and toned backside.

Try this exercise and let me know how your butt feels.

Do you notice that your glutes get activated more after you stretch out your hip flexors?

P.S.  Just another reminder…I’m doing my first MAX Workouts Transformation Contest!  I’m giving away $1000 for the top prize winner, $500 for the second prize winner and $250 for the third prize winner.  And all of the winners get a 1 year free membership to my online fitness club.  I’m super excited about the contest and I can’t wait to see the results in a few months from now.  So if you haven’t had the chance to sign up yet, go to MAX Workouts and sign up today.

Let me know what you think?  Please post your questions/comments below