Glute Rehab & Activation for BJJ | Part 2 (15 min)

So I'm going to come up to standing now. So for this next exercise, I'm going to need a step, the bottom step of a staircase usually works very well. And with this exercise, I'm going to do it on both sides. I'm going to start with a painful leg, but I'm going to do the other side as well.

So I place the foot on the step. Now, it's important to push up with the foot that's up. I'm not pushing off the bottom foot, so I'm not going to lift off this one. I want to squeeze the glute, push through my heel.

I'm going to lift myself up and back down again. So if this exercise gets easy, it's really easy to add some weight to it. You can just hold the weight in your opposite hand. Even a shopping bag will work for that.

But body weight is usually enough to get started on. And then switch sides. And as I've said previously, do be prepared to change the length of these sets. So if you're in a lot of pain, if this is quite an acute problem, then it's all right to do fewer reps or even fewer sets.

Just listen to your body and build up as you feel you're able to. And then we switch back to the other side. So with this one, I don't always do exercises on both sides. I think sometimes it's fine to focus more on the painful side.

But sometimes it is good to do them both ways around. And it's good to feel that whether there's a difference there between the straights and the lefts, and the rights. And it's good to feel that whether there's a difference there between the strength on each side. Now with this kind of problem, most people will find that the painful side will feel weaker than the less painful side.

That's actually a good sign that we're working on the right area there. Switch around and do one more set on the other side. And then we go back to the third set. So we're going to do one more set on the left side.

And then we switch back to the other side. So with this one, I don't always do exercises on both sides. I think sometimes it's fine to focus more on the painful side. And then we switch back to the other side.

So with this one, I don't always do exercises on both sides. And then we go back to the floor again. Lying on our backs. Now this time, we can do the same two-legged hip bridge, but we're going to go for a single-leg version if you can.

So if you're struggling with this, feel free to stick to this one. If you can, we're going to lift one knee to the chest. I'm going to push through the heel on the opposite leg. Lift up.

You may very well not get as much height doing this version. That's okay. That's normal. Some people find that they do start to get some hamstring cramping with this exercise.

So as I say, if you're having difficulty, feel free to go back to the two-leg version. I'm going to switch sides there. And then we're going to do the same leg bridge. And then take a rest.

So I'm going to come up to sitting. Just take the legs out to the side as far as you can comfortably. I don't want to try and force them too much. I'm going to hook my hands in and out.

I'm going to do this one. And then we're going to do the same leg bridge. And then we're going to do the same leg bridge. I'm going to sit up straight.

My head goes to the ceiling. And then I'm going to try and take my belly button forward. So a lot of people, when they stretch the adductors here, if they stretch the inside of the thigh, they'll take their head towards the floor. And with that, I'm moving my back a lot.

I'm not focusing the stretch specifically on the back of my head. I'm moving my back a lot. But I'm not focusing the stretch specifically where I want it. Whereas with this version, it allows me to really concentrate on those muscles on the inside thigh.

Again, I take it to the point where I can feel it. I can feel the stretch, but it's not painful. Just going to hold it at that level. Just keep breathing.

And then we're going to go back to the single leg hip bridge. So once again, one knee to my chest, the other foot on the floor, driving down through my heel. Switch sides. And then coming up to sitting again, taking the legs out.

So once again, when I take the legs out, I don't need to have a stretch here. I just take them as far as I can comfortably. And then I put the stretch on by leaning forwards from my hips. And as always remembering to keep breathing.

And we're going to do those last two exercises one more time each. So you may start to feel like you're getting a little bit more movement now at that hip. If you're not yet, don't worry about it. And then switch sides.

Trying to make sure I keep the knees pointing towards the ceiling when I do this exercise. It's easy to start letting them flop out to the side. And then finally, going back up to sitting. And then just taking my chest forwards, my back as straight as I can.

Trying to relax the shoulders and keep breathing. And just give the legs a shake. And that's all for day two. So something of an advance on day one's exercises.

Again, feel free to keep doing day one and day two until things start to settle down. And then we'll be ready to move on to day three, which is the next step up.