Lower back pain will statistically affect almost everyone in their lifetime.
Whether or not it will happen is not the question – the real question is : can you find a timely solution to the pain?
Today I want to introduce my top four best glute exercises for lower back pain.
Believe it or not, your glutes are a major spinal stabilizer and it is imperative that you strengthen this muscle in order to relieve your lower back pain.
Lower back pain is a multifaceted issue and the more strategies you can have for dealing with it, the more likely you are to relieve your lower back pain.
Pain and chronic pain can be incredibly debilitating to deal with.
Trust me, I have been there.
When I was younger, I used to have such bad lower back pain that I couldn’t tie my shoes without an incredible amount of tightness radiating across my lumbar spine.
I had been to traditional physical therapy and it helped a bit but it wasn’t until I started seriously researching and applying new strategies on my own that I was able to get out of pain.
With the help of some mentors along the way and mountains of research, I found what worked for me and gradually began expanding my repertoire which ultimately would one day help my clients with their lower back pain.
Little did I know that my own struggles with pain would lead me to help so many people and change the quality of their lives forever.
So, with that being said – let’s talk about butts.
Can Weak Glutes Cause Lower Back Pain?
Yes! A weak butt may in fact contribute to the pain you are experiencing.
Although weak glutes are not the only cause, it certainly can be a contributing cause.
Therefore, if you focus on strengthening the glutes and activating them, you will have another strategy in your toolbelt to manage your lower back pain.
I have written extensively about lower back pain and before embarking on a strengthening regimen, I would highly recommend that you check out this article
I wrote it to help you understand the biology of pain and how you can use this information to manage your lower back pain.
Believe it or not, the very act of learning about pain can reduce pain symptoms!!
Knowledge is freedom.
What is The Cause of Lower Back Pain?
It is important to make the distinction that the body does not contain “pain receptors.”
It contains receptors responsible for transmitting electrical signals.
The brain evaluates these signals and responds in a unique way based on the individual circumstances at hand.
These are a blend of physiological processes, context, mental state, and social reality.
It is ultimately your brain that decides if something subjectively feels painful.
So the real cause of your lower back pain could really be said to be – your brain.
However, what is it about the way your body is moving that is telling your brain to create the sensation of pain?
Thats where evaluating your movement mechanics comes into play.
For example, if I notice that one of my clients has particularly weak glutes and cannot feel them when he or she performs an exercise, I might add that to the list of contributing factors to their lower back pain.
Is it the only cause of their pain?
Well no.
In short, the experience of pain is a blend of input mechanisms, processing mechanisms, and output mechanisms.
It is neurological, psychological, and sociological.
It is complex!
But, I have noticed that the majority of my clients with lower back pain have some sort of weakness in their glutes and it is a good place to start.
The Best Glute is a Strong Glute
As I mentioned, having weak glutes is never a good thing, especially when it comes to your lower back.
The best glutes are strong glutes, so how exactly can we strengthen them in order to relieve lower back pain?
Well, it is first important to understand some basic principles about how to build your glutes and prevent lower back pain.
How to Build Your Glutes and Prevent Lower Back Pain
In order for your glutes to get stronger, you need to apply enough stimulus in the form of resistance training.
This stimulus will cause the adaptations you are looking for (i.e. increased neuro-efficiency and more muscle tissue).
You need to perform these exercises with enough frequency in order to provide enough stimulus.
You need to teach your brain and thus body – how to activate your glutes and get them to stabilize the areas you want them to (i.e. lower back).
I would recommend that you start with the number of sets and reps listed and then gradually increase them over time as you get stronger.
I have provided a video demonstration for each exercise followed by a series of coaching cues to help you through each movement.
For these exercises you will need a resistance band to place around the top of your knees.
Your strength will determine how heavy of a resistance band you need.
The majority that you can find online will come with a few of them at varying resistances and you can choose accordingly.
The 4 Best Glute Exercises for Lower Back Pain
1.) Side Lying Banded Hip External Rotation
Most people don’t realize that the glutes not only extend the hip but also externally rotate the hip.
Therefore, most exercises that you see online will involve hip extension (such as the hip bridge) but I have seen very few that focus on the other major function of the glutes – external rotation of the hip.
If we want to strengthen the gluteus muscles to their full capacity, we need to move through both of their primary functions (hip extension AND external rotation).
Coaching Cutes:
- Lay on your side with your knees up 90 degrees relative to the wall
- Seperate your feet shoulder distance apart and firmly press your top foot into the wall
- While pressing into the wall, exhale and open the knees as far as you can without the ankle rolling
- Repeat 3x on each side for as many reps as you can safely perform on each side
2.) Single Leg Hip Bridge
Most people are familiar with the regular hip bridge but I want to give you a more useful variation that is a bit more targeted.
Performing unilateral (single legged) exercises requires more stability and neuromuscular efficiency.
Additionally, it lets you isolate one glute which may be weaker than your other glute thereby helping you strengthen the glute with a greater discrepancy.
Coaching Cues:
- Lay on your back and bring your other leg up at 90 degrees
- Slightly ‘tuck your butt’ underneath you (roll your pelvis posteriorly)
- Keep your stomach tight and engaged
- Exhale and press into the floor with your foot to bridge your hips
- Pause at the top for a moment and gently bring your hips back down
- Repeat 10x on each leg, performing 3 sets total
3.) Table Top Reach
This exercise combines several components such as trunk stability, diaphragmatic breathing, and hip extension.
This trio targets not only the glutes but several other important aspects of lower back stability.
The balloon is the most important tool of this exercise as it allows you to engage your deep core muscles and downregulate your overly active lower back.
If you want more lower back exercises that help you with lower back pain and incorporate this amazing balloon technique, download my free guide here.
Coaching Cues:
- From a table top position, slightly ‘tuck your butt’ underneath you (roll your pelvis posteriorly)
- Keep your stomach tight and engaged
- Extend the right arm and left leg all the way out
- Pause and hold the position while taking as many breaths into the balloon as it takes to blow the entire thing up.
- Repeat 3x on each side
4.) Table Top Hip External Rotation
This exercise challenges the glutes by providing a banded resistance against external rotation of the hip.
You want to make sure your lower back stays flat when you do this movement and the only thing that is working is your hip.
To keep your back flat, make sure that you keep your stomach muscles engaged by gently flexing your abdominal muscles.
Coaching Cues:
- From a table top position, slightly ‘tuck your butt’ underneath you (roll your pelvis posteriorly)
- Keep your stomach tight and engaged
- Now, while keeping your knees aligned, bring your leg out to the side
- Bring the knee up as high as it will go without losing a neutral position in your lower back
- Pause at the top for a brief moment to feel the contraction
- Let the leg come down gently and repeat
- Perform 10 reps on each side. 3 sets each
What’s next?
As you continue to strengthen your glutes, it will be important to add more strategies to your repertoire in order to get you to a pain free state.
Strengthening your glutes is not the only thing you need to do in order to relieve your lower back pain.
You will likely need a combination of stability exercises, mobility exercises, and strengthening exercises.
I have written several articles about pain and lower back pain that you can check out which will help you along your journey.
You can also download my free back pain guide here.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me via email and I would be happy to assist you!
Who is Jakob Roze?
Jakob Roze is a Strength and Conditioning Coach and founder of Rozefit. His practice centers around empathic communication and relationship building. With an emphasis on pain free, functional movement patterns and strength training, Jakob Roze assesses each individual’s needs and prescribes exercise modalities appropriately in order to facilitate long term gains in strength and health. He draws from evidence based approaches and applies the knowledge in a personalized fashion to facilitate body and lifestyle transformation amongst his clients.
