Butt Exercise (Glute Max Stretch)

The butt exercise (glute max stretch) will help reduce tension in the hips.

Reduced tension in the hips will allow the lower back to move more freely.  You will then avoid lower back aggravation when bending and lifting.

When the lower back or sciatic nerve is aggravated the glute max muscles can tighten and become painful.  The butt exercise/glute max stretch can help you reduce pain and decrease the pressure on your lumbar discs.

To perform the butt exercise:

1. lie on your back and pull a knee toward the chest with fingers interlocked
2. you will need some arm strength to pull the knee to the opposite shoulder
3. don’t pull too hard as you “need some space to move into”
4. rock back and forward 25-50 mm 10x to warm up the glute max and hip joint
5. repetition no 11 pull a little further to opposite shoulder to move further into the stretch position and hold 10 sec (up to 30 sec if required)
6. swap legs and repeat

Common mistakes:

1. include pulling knee straight up to chest.  This won’t get to stretch the right spot and can end up rounding the low back.  This increases the strain on lower lumbar discs which most people need to avoid.
2. lifting and holding head up to look at hands/knees.  To eliminate pressure on the neck discs avoid this position.