PNF Glute Stretch
We’re going to do is show you how to do a glute stretch. So the glute muscles, these are the big glutes. This is the rump. And what we want to do is we want to stretch that. Oftentimes, we’ll need to stretch this because the hip flexors are so tight there’s a tug of war going on between the hip flexors. These are hip extensors, and they’ll get tight as well. And they’re trying to balance the tension in the hip flexors by tightening up as well. So we want to make sure we stretch these as well.
The way we do this stretch is we do what’s called a figure four. So MaryFaith’s going to put her right ankle on her left knee. And then she’s just going to set that right hand on that knee to make sure it doesn’t lift as she’s stretching. And she’s going to have a really great posture, straight back, and she wants to lean forward until she feels a pull in that glute right there. And she should feel a pretty strong pull. Is that right?
As soon as she feels that pull, she’s going to hold that stretch for a 10 count. One of the things she’s doing a little bit is leaning to the left, and we want to go straight forward. And we’re going to hold that stretch because it’s a PNF stretch, Proprioceptive Neuro Facilitation. We’re going to hold that stretch for a 10 count. This is a dynamic stretch. Then at the end of that 10 seconds, she’s going to contract that butt muscle. She’s going to make a butt of steel on the right here. And as she does that, she’s not pushing down with her hand. When she contracts it, her knee goes towards the floor.
After she holds that for at least three seconds, relax it. Okay. Let everything relax, MaryFaith, and then move forward until you feel it tighten up again. That’s really good. All right. You want to make sure you’re breathing properly, nice, deep, slow breath into your diaphragm. And then she’s going to hold that. How long are you going to hold that?
10 seconds. That’s right. And then, at the end of that 10 seconds, she’s again going to squeeze that right butt cheek and make a bun of steel, which pulls the knee towards the floor. Then you’re going to relax. All right. And the last time, you’re going to lean forward one more time until you feel that tightened up again or till you feel that stretch. You can relax your back a little bit. You just want to make sure it’s straight. Okay, you don’t have to tense it up too much. And then, at the end of that 10 seconds, she’s done. So go ahead and sit back up.
One of the things I didn’t review on my hip flexor stretch that’s really important. You always start and end with a stretch. And so thanks for joining us. Look for our videos on stretching, PNF stretching of the hip flexors, the hamstrings, and there’s another glute stretch that we do as well that’s really cool. So join us on other videos.
PNF Hip Flexor Stretch Video: https://youtu.be/ZEJKYyoDjSE
PNF Hamstring Stretch Video: https://youtu.be/N8Y7K9BY0XQ
PNF Side Glute Stretch Video: https://youtu.be/xPxA43A3-3k