Magic muscles - ELITETRACK

I guess this is a little bit of a continuation of the posts on isolating individual muscles. Can a muscle like the Glute Medius do everything the experts are saying it can do? Is this another of those magic muscles? No doubt the Glute Medius is important in many movements. If that is the case why isolate it? If is ?shut off? then lets find exercises that wake it up as part of integrated movements. The whole hip girdle area and the glutes are very important in movement. Not only are they very powerful muscles but they act as important shock absorbers. The best way to train them is to understand how they function in the big picture and train those movements. I believe very strongly in daily remedial work (not prehab, whatever that is). A big focus, no pun intended, is on the hip girdle. This areas should be addressed in movements during warm-up to wake up and activate the muscles. I have found that daily remediation forestalls a lot of the little niggling tightness and restrictions that occur and go on to cause bigger problems. This work consists of walking med ball rotations (walking not lunging), mini band work, crawls, stretch cord flexion/extension, abduction and adduction standing and hurdle walkovers. On other days do hip drops, single leg squat/touch and reach and single leg squats. It totals ten to twelve minutes of work, but it is time well spent.

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Vern Gambetta

Director at Gambetta Sports Training Systems

Vern is the Director of Gambetta Sports Training Systems. He has been the a conditioning coach for several MLS teams as well as the conditioning consultant to the US Men's World Cup Soccer team. Vern is the former Director of Conditioning for the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He has lectured and conducted clinics in Canada, Japan, Australia and Europe and has authored six books and over one hundred articles related to coaching and sport performance in a variety of sports. He has a BA in teaching with a coaching minor and an MA in Education with an emphasis in physical education from Stanford University.