Glute stretches are a superb way to warm up before you begin your exercise session. They help to free up your gluteus muscles, which includes the gluteus medius, gluteus maximus, and gluteus minimus.
We’re going to focus here on how to stretch gluteus medius, which is the leg muscle use to move your leg away from your body. You use this muscle anytime you kick, walk, extend your legs or do anything else that lifts your legs away from your body.
Stretching before a workout can help to increase your range of motion, giving you more flexibility for the workout. It also helps to prevent muscle soreness and make it easier to do many of the exercises that may be included in your workout.
Knowing how to stretch your gluteus medius will help to prevent back pain and will get rid of tightness in your hips.
This allows you to bend, twist, and pivot more easily with less risk of injury.
All of that is essential for a smooth and safe workout session.
I want to provide you with some exercises you can do to stretch out this particular muscle. You can incorporate this into a larger warmup routine or use it for your entire warmup session if you’re just going to be working on glutes.
3 Best Glute Stretches
Figure 4 Stretch
This is a stretch that could be modified in many different ways and is such a good way to keep working out the gluteus medius muscle week after week and not get bored of what you’re doing.
To do this stretch, start in upright seated position, keeping your spine relaxed and in a neutral position. Take one leg and cross it over the other one. Put one hand on your ankle and one hand on your knee.
Then, lean forward from your torso but not so far that you’re uncomfortable. Stay in this position for about 10 seconds and then let your raised leg go back to the starting position. Repeat the stretch for the other side.
It’s easy to tense your muscles when you stretch, so be aware of what you’re doing and try not to tense them.
I mentioned that there are some variations for this stretch, and I would like to share some of those with you. This is an exercise that can be done while you’re lying down in what’s called the supine position.
You do the exercise the same way, but if it feels too challenging, you can use a strap wrapped around your bent or raised leg to help you out as you stretch.
There’s a variation that makes the pose easier to do. You can start the pose by putting one foot on the wall. As you do this, shimmy towards the wall close enough so that your hips are directly above your knees.
For a more challenging pose, try making the stretch a freestanding pose. Put your legs into the figure four position and then lower your knees so you’re sitting down in a chair. This can be a difficult position to hold without any support, but it’s an excellent way how to stretch the gluteus medius.
Crossed Glute Stretch
Here’s another simple stretch to do, even simpler than the last one, and it’s a great way how to stretch your gluteus medius. I think it’s a great starting stretch for a warmup session. First, sit down on the ground with your legs crossed.
You want to have one foot tucked into the thigh of the opposite leg. So, you can take your right foot and tuck it into the left thigh. The position of the left leg should be in front of the right shin.
Your arm position is important too. You want to stretch your arms out forward and lean forward so that your torso bends over your legs. You can hold this stretch for about 30 seconds and then switch your leg position so that the left foot is tucked into the right side.
For a deeper stretch, you can bend your body down and forward further. Your arms can stretch further as well. If you’d like to make the stretch easier on yourself, then simply don’t stretch down as far. You may even want to find something to rest your hands on as you do the stretch to make it easier to do.
As with the last stretch, I want to share some variations of this one with you. To stretch the hips area, you can put your legs into a butterfly position.
For this position, the soles of your feet can be touching, pressed to one another. Your knees should be open out on both sides, and your outer thigh area should be extending toward the floor.
Seated Glute Stretch
Here’s another really simple stretch and one that’s so easy you can do it while sitting down on the floor. As you do it, you may feel like your hips could benefit from some added support. If so, you can sit on a folded towel or a yoga block on the floor.
This is a great stretch for getting rid of tightness in your back, glutes, and hips.
Start by sitting down on the floor and putting your legs in front of you, extended out fully. With your back straight, lift one leg and place the ankle from that foot onto the opposite leg’s knee. Then, lean forward just a little to stretch more deeply. Hold that stretch for about 20 seconds, and then you can switch legs to the other side and do it again.
This is an excellent warmup exercise for how to stretch gluteus medius muscle.
So, Why Is It Important to Stretch Your Gluteus Medius
Most of the stretches listed here work more than just the gluteus medius. If you’re looking for how to stretch the gluteus medius and minimus, you can do the figure 4 stretch or just about any of these.
These kinds of exercises are superb for anyone who does running, swimming, or any other kind of activity that works their legs. By stretching out your legs ahead of time and knowing how to stretch anterior gluteus medius and your other glute muscles, you will be minimizing your risk of injury and maximizing the muscle development benefits for your legs.
You can use these exercises as well to help with some kinds of medical conditions. How to stretch for gluteus medius syndrome left or right leg? Doing these stretches regularly helps to strengthen your muscles and prevent them from becoming tense and sore.
Routinely stretching like this relieves hip pain, joint pain, and muscle pain.
You’ll improve your mobility and your flexibility just by doing stretches without the need for high intensity exercises or cardio.
Those types of exercises can be helpful as well, but stretching has so many benefits, and stretching is essential for the health of those who struggle with mobility who have joint pain.
Stretching is a great way to avoid falling and to improve stability, making it particularly helpful for seniors and those who are at risk for serious damage from a fall.
If you have mobility issues, knee problems, joint issues, or other lower body health problems, you may want to talk to your doctor about the benefits of stretching.
Your doctor may advise you to stretch regularly and do warm up exercises like those listed above before you try to exercise each day.
