Glute Camp
Your butt does more than fill out your jeans. Strong glutes can improve posture, ease back pain, and strengthen your stride.
By Alisa Bauman
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Although you sit on it every day, your butt probably doesn't get much of your attention. If you notice it at all, most likely you're complaining that it's too fat, flat, or flabby. But however you feel about your back end, the gluteals—the muscles that form the buttocks—do crucial work every day, stabilizing your body and moving you through life.
No matter how weak or flabby, the musculature of everyone's tush is composed largely of the three gluteals. The biggest of these, the gluteus maximus, is also the heaviest and strongest muscle in the body. The muscle along the sides of the buttocks, the gluteus medius, and the smaller gluteus minimus underneath it allow you to lift your leg out to the side. "Your gluteals are one of the main muscle groups responsible for holding your body upright," says Mark Uridel, a licensed physical therapist, certified kinesiology instructor, and yoga teacher in Austin, Texas. "In short, without your glutes you wouldn't be able to walk."
Getting these muscles in shape can help you stand straighter, make your back feel better, power you uphill and upstairs, and ease the strain of heavy lifting.
Unfortunately, however, the modern world asks very little of your glutes. You probably sit in chairs most of the day and ride elevators and escalators instead of taking the stairs. And when was the last time you walked uphill just for the fun of it? If you think about it, probably the only time you use your butt in the course of a normal day is when you go from sitting to standing.
bring up the rear
Fortunately, yoga can help counteract the effects of modern life. Nearly all standing postures, including Virabhadrasana I (Warrior Pose I) will strengthen your gluteus maximus; so will Salabhasana (Locust Pose) and other backbends, although whether and how much to engage the glutes in backbends is controversial among yoga teachers. (Most people do use the glutes in these poses, but you should take care not to overclench the buttocks.) The medius and minimus are strengthened by all of the one-legged balancing poses, including Virabhadrasana III (Warrior Pose III) and Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose).
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