It's well known that hip extension, hip abduction and external hip rotation are seen as the primary functions for the glutes. Total body strength coupled with strong glutes, or the CANNON as I refer to them, play a significant role during on-field performance: running, throwing, fielding, changes of direction, etc. In turn, weak glutes(cannon)can contribute to unnecessary, 'extra' work for the hamstrings thus possibly resulting in the all too frequent hamstring injuries. So the answer should simple: get the glutes stronger, right? Yes and no. We cant just "hammer-away" at the glutes and say we have strong glutes without understanding what's going on at the hip flexor complex. It is extremly common for many of us to experience tight hip flexors based upon the tremendous amout of sitting we do. And, tight hip flexors can turn-off(inhibit)the glutes while minimizing the glute functions mentioned above. Exercises such as squats, romanian deadlifts, lunges are great for strengthening the glutes. However, in addition let's also consider a few movement patterns which target the glutes while dynamically lengthening the hip flexors. Exercises such as split squats, bulgarian squats, stability ball reverse hypers, bird dogs and even recline rows (reference baseball grip strength blog) target the glutes and hip flexors. Well functioning glutes and hip flexors can minimize injury keeping your athlete on the field.
Go hard in the yard-
Adam
