What does your pelvic floor have to do with strong glutes? As it turns out, it might be more than you think.
Your pelvic floor muscles are located in the pelvis, which is between your tailbone and pubic bone. This means your glutes attach to the back (posterior) and side (lateral) of your pelvis. In addition to strengthening your glutes, working the pelvic floor has benefits such as helping with incontinence and sexual function. Overall, working your pelvic floor is a major key to your lower-body strength and health.
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While working your pelvic floor, you want to breathe through your diaphragm (the major muscle involved in breathing, located just under the lungs). To do this, take a full, deep breath into your stomach with each inhale, filling it up. Diaphragmatic breathing helps to relax the body and prevents muscle strain. This is important when training your pelvic floor, as you want to regulate the pressure put on your body.
Give these exercises a try for 4 sets of 12 reps each, and you'll feel the benefits from stronger glutes and a stronger pelvic floor in no time!
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1. Sumo Squat
- Begin with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, and your toes turned slightly outward at a 45-degree angle. (If the position feels uncomfortable, move your feet in a little closer.)
- Clasp your hands together in front of your chest.
- Keeping your back straight, push your hips back and bend your knees, bringing your hips down as low as your range of motion allows.
- Drive your weight through your heels to get back into the starting position.
- Squeeze your glutes at the top and repeat.
Tip
Keep your back nice and tall, and make sure your knees track out toward your pinky toe on the way down and back up. Keep your weight in your heels. To add difficulty, hold a dumbbell in your hands between your legs.
2. Clamshell
- Begin lying on your left side with your hips stacked and knees bent.
- Rest your head in your left hand, and place your right hand on the floor in front of you.
- Keeping your heels together, squeeze your glutes to rotate your top leg up to where your range of motion allows.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat on the right side.
Tip
Be sure to keep your hips stacked the entire time. To add difficulty you can place a small resistance band just below your knees.
3. Hip Bridge March
- Begin lying face-up with you feet flat on the floor, arms by your sides.
- Drive through your heels to lift your glutes up until your hips and head are in a line.
- Maintaining this position, lift your right leg up, keeping your knee bent and your foot flexed.
- Stop when your knee is over your hip.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on the left side.
- Continue alternating for all reps.
Tip
Each time you lift your leg counts as one rep.
4. Lateral Lunge
- Begin with your feet hip-width apart.
- Step your right leg out to the side, bending your knee and pushing your hips back like a squat, as far as your range of motion allows.
- Drive your weight through the heel of your right foot, bringing yourself back to the starting position.
- Repeat on your left side.
- Continue to alternate for all reps.
Tip
Make sure you keep your weight in your heels and both feet are flat on the ground. To add difficulty, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
