Easy methods to Keep away from a Hamstring Cramp Throughout Glute Bridges

You’re not alone. Pilates teacher Norah Myers says getting a hamstring cramp throughout glute bridges is a maddeningly widespread downside.

“They do the bridge and immediately they get a hamstring cramp,” Myers says of her college students. “I see it on their face, I see it of their physique. Instantaneously, they arrive down from the bridge, they maintain their leg, they’re like, ‘Ah, my hamstring!’”

It doesn’t should be this manner, individuals! There’s a easy repair you may make to keep away from the dreaded hamstring cramp throughout glute bridges.

To start with, why is that this even taking place?

The glute bridge is, clearly, imagined to work your glutes. But when they’re not able to work, your hamstring may activate abruptly to assist stabilize you. The cramp is your nervous system attempting to activate extra muscle fibers.

“Muscle shaking and cramping occurs when muscle tissues that are not meant to be doing a selected train have to come back in and compensate for muscle tissues that are not partaking sufficient in that train,” Myers says.

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So what are you able to do about it?

Myers’ recommendation to her purchasers—and one of the simplest ways to forestall hamstring cramps throughout glute bridges—is to get your butt muscle tissues firing earlier than you truly carry your hips.

“In case your hamstrings are cramping or shaking whenever you do a bridge, meaning you are not kicking in your glutes sufficient,” Myers says. “Actually squeeze the glutes earlier than you carry up.”

Squeezing (or activating) your muscle tissues is vital to get essentially the most out of each train, not simply glute strikes. By ensuring your biceps are working throughout a curl, or your core is engaged throughout a plank, for example, you’ll make sure that you’re utilizing the muscle tissues you’re desiring to work, and never relegating the stress of a motion to your joints or one other physique half (corresponding to a swaying decrease again). With regards to constructing muscle, the mind-body connection is highly effective.

Do this full-body activation exercise to work on partaking your muscle tissues.