Butt What About the Glutes?
It's time to geek out some more!! I'm staying away from arms and shoulders since I'm teaching a whole workshop on them in January...so let's move this nerdy party a little lower!
We all use the term "glutes" and most people assume by "glutes" we are referring to both butt cheeks. BUTT, did you know that there are THREE gluteus muscles on each hip? You've heard of the gluteus maximus, butt what about the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus? They don't get the attention they deserve!
First, I want to make sure everyone's on the same page about something..... in American Tribal Style® Belly dance, we do not want to isometrically contract (clench, if you will) the gluteus maximus. We love the big, bouncy, earthy shimmy that we get by relaxing our hips. The gluteus muscles work to stabilize this pelvis. Why on earth would we want to stabilize our pelvis if we are trying to shimmy?
BUTT some of our gluteus muscles concentrically contract to create movement while we are executing some of our steps. These are the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. It's nearly impossibly to isometrically contract these muscles (contract without moving them) so the concept of keeping the glutes relaxed is totally correct and valid. But technically some of them will contract naturally to create movement. It's important to think about these as natural contractions. We don't want to actively think about contracting them because then we'll only end up contracting the gluteus maximus and we definitely don't want that.
Just to be sure we are totally clear. Look at the image below.
Contract only your gluteus maximus. Easy right? Now relax them.
Contract only your gluteus minimus. How'd it go? How about only your gluteus medius?
Now you get my point?
So what the heck do these other glutes do? Well, their main function is to abduct (take away from the mid-line of the body) and also to internally rotate our hip.
To feel abduction: Stand up tall and take your right leg out to the side. Tadaaa....abduction.
To feel internal rotation: point your toes inward.
You can even do both at the same time :)
So how the hell does this relate to dance? Well.... when do we take our leg out to the side? Choo choos! When do we internally rotate? pivots, three point turns and many more.
If you find that after a long class of hip bumps you are feeling some muscle fatigue on the outside of your hip. You are probably feeling your gluteus medius and minimus! This is a sign to check in with your feet! If your right foot is out farther than it needs to be, then you are abducting (leg away from your body). When you add a hip bump on top of this abduction...of course you are going to feel the burn!
For a hip/pivot bump, your feet should be comfortably together. Most weight in your left leg. Both legs are active, but the left is more weight bearing giving the right leg some freedom to move.
Hip Bump Feet Example
Choo choos on the other hand ARE going to have hip abduction (at least on the "&" anyways). Do enough of them and yep.... you'll feel it. Check in with your feet after each choo choo and be sure you are "resetting them" to be right underneath you. Side by side.
If you are one of those people that feel you need to "balance out the left" after dance, then here's a little exercise you can do before heading home after class.
Single leg lifts (do 10-15 of these, rest and repeat). Be sure to keep your spine long. No duck butts!
Keep them small to ensure you are using the muscles and not the momentum.
Then it will feel really great to stretch out each side. I love this seated stretch. Be sure you are sitting up nice and tall, especially before taking it into a deeper twist.
So there it is! We we are using some of our glutes, but we definitely aren't thinking about the contraction to make it happen. Always think about relaxing the glutes. They'll provide the movement and stability needed while giving you the freedom of movement!