Lower Back Issues Part I – Tight Glutes

I did the introduction to lower back pain last week and today I had a few free minutes to take some pictures of helpful solutions.  I intended to make a video for each section, but with the Bull Strength Manual and the online consulations picking up I haven’t had the free time to do it right!  Hopefully you can see what I am talking about from the pictures, if not feel free to contact me at CoachHashey@synergy-athletics.com with questions, additions or comments. 

Lower back pain can be caused by a large array of issues.  Today we will look at the issue of tight glutes.  Tight glutes causes a pulling effect on the lower back which may cause pain and discomfort.  Imagine that something is hanging from the back of your hips and pulling you down.  Obviously if this pulling continues your back will start hurting.  Tight glutes essentially doing that same motion.  This effect usually occurs from lack of flexibility or muscular imbalances. 

This issue is easy to solve with some patience and continued stretching, foam rolling, and work with active release techniques.  Below are some pictures and descriptions of the work we do to PREVENT (don’t wait until pain occurs, be proactive!) or fix tights glutes. 

Step 1 – Get a lacrosse or tennis ball.  I greatly prefer the lacrosse ball since it is harder.  If the tight muscle is painful, start with the softer tennis ball. 

Step 2 – Lie on the ball and roll it on your upper glutes.  You should perform small circles with the ball while rolling.  Shop around a bit and find a tight spot.  If a spot is extremely tight, lie on the ball and don’t do the circles, just let the pressure of the ball release the muscle tension.  Hold it in that spot for a 15 count. 

Step 3 – Increase the tension on the glute by putting one leg over the other.  Roll delicately in the small circles.  Again if the muscle is too tight, just sit on the ball for a 15 count.  Repeat that 2-3 times on the extra tight area.

Sit more upright if the pressure is not enough.

Step 4 – Stand and roll the ball closer to the side of your glutes.  This area is sometimes very tight so make sure you stand first.  If that pressure is not enough lie on the ball and perform the small circles and pressure on the tight area. 

Standing

Shown on the floor

Step 5 – Foam roll the glutes.  If you do not have a foam roller, a piece of PVC pipe will suffice for the glutes, however it would be too hard to roll out your IT band on.  Sit upright on the foam roller to maximize the pressure on the glutes.  Roll back and forth, just over the glutes, 8 times.  Perform the motion slowly!

Directly on the Glutes

Adding pressure on one side

Hitting the side

Step 6 – Stretching!  Here is one of my favorite glute stretches.  Sit down and bring one leg up and rest it on the other.  Sit upright and push the knee of the elevated leg towards the floor.  Lean forward as far as possible while keeping a big chest and neutral spine.  This will put the stretch on your glutes and not your lower back.  Perform each stretch 2 X 30 secs.

Front View

Side View

I’m glad I had a free hour or so to take the pictures and make this post.  After hitting a heavy leg with Jim Smith of the Diesel Crew yesterday, I needed a good stretch! Perform these stretches and movements often to loosen up those glutes!  Hopefully I’ll get around to making a video of all of our stretches in the next month.  Part II will concentrate on the opposite side, tight hip flexors pulling your pelvis forward and creating lower back issues. 

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Also, here is a post by Bill Long over on his site.  He has some good things to say about the anticipated Bull Strength Manual!  CLICK HERE to check out Bill’s post this past Friday. 

-J. HASHEY, CSCS-

Friday Football Video – Lineman Appreciation!

Friday sport video this week gives appreciation to the under-appreciated position of offensive lineman.  These guys have to be strong and agile to succeed.  Offensive lineman don’t get the stats or the highlight film attention as a running back or quarterback, but if you ask any coach worth their salt, they would say games are won and loss on the line.  Here is a short highlight film of Orlando Pace He was the lineman that sport writers created the category of “pancakes.”

-J. HASHEY, CSCS-

Thanksgiving, Family, and Tire Flipping.

Very rarely do I leave my topics of strength training and sports.  The one exception is holidays, but don’t worry this post will have a training theme! 

This year Thanksgiving is with my family (my wife and I rotate years) which is always interesting.  My younger brother will be home from college, my other younger brother will be coming into town and my older brother and I will all head over to my mother’s house.  When we get the four of us together, we revert back to the same way we were when were teenagers. 

Last year we attempted a move that we learned from watching The Ultimate Fighter reality show a few seasons ago.  One of the heavy fighters had to plant themselves firmly and place their hands on their head.  A lighter fighter had to jump on the back of the larger fighter and climb completely around them without touching the ground.  About a dozen house shaking falls and one coffee table later I made it around once.  I can’t recall how many times the figher (I believe it was Joe Stevenson) went around, but it was in the neighbor hood of a hundred.  Of course my brothers and I are all around 6′2-6′5 and 240-275 lbs.  That didn’t stop us from trying!

To bring this back to training, that particular stunt was suggested by my youngest brother, Pat.  As a football coach, I do not get many free weekends to see him play in college.  Fortunately I was able to catch him play Morrisville at Colgate (in a previous post HERE) and again at Cortland.  I went to walk the stadium at halftime to check it out, and I found the same thing I did at Colgate and other colleges in the last year, tires!  It’s about time colleges started adopting these strongman style lifts into their programs! 

More Tire Pictures from College Football Programs

Some Smaller Tires In the Corner

Some Random Rusty Weights

Family Picture for Thanksgiving!

You better believe I gave those tires a halftime flip!  I hope everyone enjoys their Thanksgiving! 

Time to “Carb load” on Pumpkin Pie. 

-J. HASHEY, CSCS-

The Bull Strength Manual Buzz

Awesome! What is the Bull Strength program going to be about?

If you made it I’m sure it’ll kick ass! Can’t wait to learn more. -Elliott Hulse

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The Bull Strength Manual is coming!

Elliott, thanks for the kind words.  I was going to send you an email, but I figured I better let everyone know since I have been getting emails about it!  “Bull Strength” is a term my father used to explain “working man muscles.”  He was a furnace man with those huge strong hands from threading pipe and hauling boilers around.  He would always say to my three brothers and me “you want a real workout, get on the business end of some black iron pipe for a day and let me know how you feel!”  Him and his co-workers were the strongest people I knew. 

I’ve created the Bull Strength training manual, geared towards athletes, to create this type of real world strength through serious gym lifts, underground strength training, and strongman style lifts.  I’ve spent a lot of time working, experimenting, and balancing these exercises into a training template for the manual.   It includes an exercise index (with a lot of our crazy stuff!) that I’m excited to get out there for people to read.  I expect it out in January.  

It will be available online and I will be opening up the sale to our newsletter subscribers first!  Have to take care of the people that take care of you! 

Thanks everyone for their emails, it will be available soon!

 -J. HASHEY, CSCS-

300 Workout – A Mental and Physical Battle

The concept of a 300 workout is 300 reps of different exercises as quickly as possible while keeping good form.  I do not use this high rep, low rest concept often for many reasons.  However, it is a great mental training tool and definately a physical challenge!  I had two of our kids hit it today due to time restraints and they killed it.  Here was the workout:

50 Push-ups

50 Band Assisted Chin-ups

50 Keg Power Clean and Presses

50 Band Pull-A-Parts

50 Thick Rope Tricep Extensions

50 Sandbag Curls (Dustin getting a face full of ROM!)

The goal is to mentally and physcially power through this workout with minimal time.  Both boys, an 8th grader and a sophmore, showed great resilience and killed the workout.  We even hit some grip at the the end!

-J. HASHEY, CSCS-