I've never seen this before. I'm pretty convenced though. What do you all think? Is there are requirement for abdominal strength or weight? I'd imagine if you weren't in decent shape when you try this, you will end up sending your vertebra flying like a bunch of hockey pucks.
Variation of a Glute Ham Raise or GHR, a widley accepted excercise for building strength in the glutes and hamstrings (see vid below). Can be used with BW, weighted, banded or with a reverse band.
Does it actually do much of anything for the glutes? I always thought glutes were a hip extension muscle and a GHR is a misnomer. I can't find any EMG studies, or whatever else you could measure it with, so I am left to wonder.
Bret Contreras has done EMG studies on glute-ham raises and has found that glute muscle-fiber recruitment for the exercise is decent, but not spectacular. It's more of a hamstring assistance movement than a glute assistance movement, though contracting your glutes hard at the top while pushing your hips through will stimulate the glutes.
Would you suggest contracting your glutes to gain a stimilus? I would have thought that if you need to actively think about contracting a muscle to get a stimulus, then it probably isn't a great exercise for that muscle. You'd probably be better off using a more effective exercise for that muscle, or perhaps both. Yay or nay?
The glutes are isometrically contracted in order to keep the hip extended- you can try doing the exercise without contracting your glutes, but you won't get very far. They may not perform the same amount of work as the hamstrings do, but they do a fair bit of work.
