3 Glute Activation Drills to do Before Your Next Run

One of the sessions we held at Rise.Run.Retreat. 2016 was a strength training session with strength coach and total badass, Crystal Seaver. I have followed Crystal for a long time on Instagram before meeting in real life.

Crystal and I post-trail run.

If you don’t follow her feed you definitely should. Crystal is incredibly knowledgable when it comes to strength training and is also an ultra runner. It’s rare that you find someone who is totally committed to a strength training program and running high mileage as Crystal does. What’s even more rare it to find someone who does all that and is still down to earth and willing to share their knowledge with others.

Crystal sharing strength tips with the group at Rise.Run.Retreat. 2016

Crystal came and spoke to our group at Rise.Run.Retreat. 2016 and then demonstrated a few moves with her strength equipment of choice, the Wreck Bag. I loved the versatility of the Wreck Bag so much and had such a fun time using it that I ended up ordering one for myself. I can’t wait to play around with it and use it for some of the key moves Crystal taught us.

During Crystal’s session with us she talked about the difficulty runners have with activating the proper muscles during running. Often times runners are plagued by injury because muscles that should be working aren’t. That weakness leads to imbalances and ultimately injury. Weak glutes are a notorious problem for runners so glute strengthening exercises are a priority, so are activation drills prior to running.

Taking the time to do several glute activation drills before starting your run will warm up the muscles, engage the neuromuscular pathways and help you continue to use the “correct” muscles during your run. Here are Crystal’s suggestions for moves to do before your run:

Donkey Kicks

On hands and knees, keeping the knee flexed, raise it up and back engaging the gluten as you do so.

Single Leg Glute Bridges

Lateral Band Walks