Sophie Faulkner talks about Glute Activation

Sophie Faulkner talks about Glute Activation

Glute Activation!


You may have seen the phrase ‘Glute activation’ thrown around but not actually known what it means. So… in simple terms its basically a case of getting the glutes (the muscles in your bottom) firing, optimising your performance- this is particularly important when weight training.

Many of us suffer with 'sleepy butt syndrome’- basically meaning our glutes don’t fire- often due to tight hip flexors and weak glutes (often caused from excessive amounts of time sat down).

The glutes are a huge muscle and have a big part to play in many compound lifts (squats and deadlifts as an example) therefore it is important they are firing optimally to improve your strength and also prevent unwanted injuries. If your glutes aren’t firing optimally you may find you get a lot of pain in the lower back when performing these lifts because your back is compensating for the fact that your glutes aren’t firing, tight hip flexors may also be a factor if you are struggling with lower back pain.

So basically… before you do any lower body session you should always do glute activation exercises before starting any lifting. Tight hip flexors will also potentially affect your compound lifts as they can limit your range of movement, therefore restrict you from being able to perform the exercise optimally.

There are lots of different glute activation exercises you can do, below are just a few examples:

  1. Clams- using resistance band.

  2. Glute Abductions- with or without resistance band.

  3. Glute Bridges- with or without resistance band.


If you haven’t got any resistance bands, they are a great piece of kit to have in the gym bag.

Sophie Faulkner

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