You’re not alone. Pilates teacher Norah Myers says getting a hamstring cramp throughout glute bridges is a maddeningly frequent 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 need to be this fashion, individuals! There’s a easy repair you can also 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, speculated to work your glutes. But when they’re not able to work, your hamstring would possibly activate hastily to assist stabilize you. The cramp is your nervous system making an attempt 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.

Associated Tales

So what are you able to do about it?

Myers’ recommendation to her shoppers—and one of the best ways to stop hamstring cramps throughout glute bridges—is to get your butt muscle tissues firing earlier than you truly elevate your hips.

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

Squeezing (or activating) your muscle tissues is essential 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, as an illustration, you’ll make sure that you’re utilizing the muscle tissues you’re aspiring to work, and never relegating the stress of a motion to your joints or one other physique half (resembling a swaying decrease again). In terms of constructing muscle, the mind-body connection is highly effective.

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