- Strong glutes and hamstring muscles are required for getting up and controlling our bodies as we sit down, just to name two things.

But when these muscles are weak, other muscles, such as the ones in your low back, try to do more than they were designed for, resulting in painful muscle spasms.

Hello, I'm Cassy with today's Quick Fit routine.

Let's reduce back pain by strengthening those weakened glutes and hams.

[upbeat music] We'll be working on the floor today.

You can use a pillow under your knees or even do these moves on your mattress if you want.

We'll be starting on our hands and knees to work the core, as well as the glutes and hams.

Okay, so have your hands right underneath your shoulders, your knees right underneath your hips, pull in your abdominals, [inhales] lengthen your spine and neck.

And let's extend that left leg and the right arm.

Okay, now.

Once you feel stable, slowly lift that leg up just by squeezing your glute.

We don't want to overarch through the low back.

We're pulling in our abs, lengthening through the arm, reaching back from the hip.

[exhales] Don't forget to breathe.

Don't hold your breath.

All right, lengthen through that shoulder.

Keep pushing that hand into the floor.

Are your hips level or is one turning towards the ceiling?

Let's make sure our hips are level.

Leg's up high.

Squeeze the glute.

Stomach's in.

Take the full inventory.

[inhales] Breathe it in and out.

Relax your neck; you don't have to arch your neck.

A few more seconds.

[exhales] All right, and let's switch.

So start by extending your right leg, pulling in through your abs, [inhales] extending the arm, lengthening the neck.

And when you feel ready, squeeze the glute to lift that leg nice and high.

[inhales] Breathe it in and out.

[exhales] Then take your inventory again.

Flex that foot.

Stretch through the shoulder.

Make sure you're not overarching the low back by squeezing in the abs.

And make sure your hips are level.

You guys hang in there a little longer.

[inhales and exhales] Keep it nice and pretty.

Long lines.

And two hands, two knees back on the floor.

Get your toes underneath you and be prepared to pull up with your abs, because we're going to push the hands into the floor and the toes at the same time.

So hands and toes push into the floor, lift through the belly, and just hover above the ground for eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, and knees on the floor again.

And don't worry if you didn't get your knees off the floor.

Just by pressing and tightening those muscles, you're helping them to get stronger.

Do it again, press the toes and hands.

Pull up the abdominals.

[inhales and exhales] Five, four, three, two, and down.

That's good.

All right.

Let's extend your right leg and then drop the knee and press the foot to the ceiling, okay?

Down and press.

Down.

So you're squeezing your glutes.

Try to be relaxed through your neck.

Stomach's in.

Imagine you have a tray on the bottom of your foot and you wanna press that flat foot towards the ceiling.

Down and press.

Now, for this one, you can be on your hands or your elbows.

Press.

Stomach's in.

[inhales and exhales] Squeeze at the top.

We're not throwing the leg around.

It's a controlled squeeze.

Five, four, three, two.

Last one and we'll switch legs.

All right, you can just stretch that leg out a moment, then bring that knee in.

Flex that foot.

Press.

Knee in, squeeze the glute.

[inhales and exhales] Make sure you're pressing your hands into the floor to lengthen the neck.

Your neck is neutral.

You're not arching the neck.

But your neck's also not sunk down by your shoulders, okay?

Or maybe I should say, your shoulders aren't up by your ears, okay?

Press.

Press.

Let's do eight, seven, six.

Five, four, three.

Almost done.

Control it.

Two, and one.

We'll switch legs.

And check your form.

Make sure you haven't gotten too lengthened out.

Hands are under the shoulders, stomach's pulled in.

We'll extend that leg again.

Flex that foot.

Long neck.

And now kick.

Kick.

Each time you kick, the tendency is to drop the knee lower and lower.

Let's keep that knee as high as your hip.

And we are trying to keep the hips level to the floor.

Good.

You know, the glutes are important stabilizing muscles for the low back, pelvis, and hip regions.

When they're weak, it can contribute to low back pain, because the lumbar muscles are forced to try to do the job of the glutes.

If you've ever gotten a back spasm, you know what I'm talking about.

Extend and squeeze.

Good job, let's switch.

Extend that leg, flex that foot.

Good, pull in your stomach to support that low back.

Squeeze the glutes, squeeze the ham.

Keep it going.

[exhales] And if your shoulders have come up by your ears, press your hands into the floor to lengthen.

Good, ten, nine.

Trying not to drop the leg, trying to keep that knee up as high as the hip.

Oh, I lost count.

Let's say three, two, last one.

Switching legs again.

Let's do some hydrants.

So balance yourself on two hands and one knee, and we'll lift that leg out to the side.

Straight out.

[inhales] Strengthening all those glute muscles, particularly the ones that come around the side of your hip.

Those tend to get neglected.

I hope you're not holding your breath.

Breathe as heavy as you need to.

Lift.

Let's do ten, nine.

Make sure you're not throwing your leg, okay?

We're squeezing at the top.

Five, four, three, two.

And then we have to do the other leg.

We don't wanna be unbalanced, okay?

Stomach's in.

Check your form and your posture.

Leg out to the side.

[inhales and exhales] Long breaths in, extra long exhales.

[inhales and exhales] Keep it going.

[inhales and exhales] Let's do ten, nine, eight.

[inhales and exhales] Five more.

Four, three.

Hang in there.

Last one.

Good job, guys.

Let's just sit it back just a little bit to stretch those glutes.

And then we'll swing around to sit on your bottom and roll it back for some bridges.

All right.

Have your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor, hands at your sides, and lift those hips.

Try to get everything off the floor right from your shoulders.

Squeeze your bottom.

And that's as high as you need to lift your hips.

You don't need to overarch your low back, just squeeze your bottom, and down.

Squeeze.

And if these are easy for you, you can always add a dumbbell or some weight to sit on your hips.

[inhales and exhales] Keep it going.

These are maybe old-fashioned, but they're simple.

Very effective.

Press those heels into the floor.

Let's do 10 more.

Nine.

Do a little extra squeeze or pause at the top to make sure you're not short-changing yourself, that you're getting a complete contraction.

Five, four, three, two.

And now we'll do one leg at a time.

So center up that one leg and just let that other one either hang or you can even cross, rest that ankle on the other knee, okay?

[exhales] Let's do about 12 more.

Ten, nine.

[inhales and exhales] Don't forget to breathe, okay?

And five, four, three, two.

Last squeeze.

And don't drop your bottom; leave it up in the air as you switch legs.

Good job, okay, now lift.

Squeeze.

[inhales and exhales] I hope you're breathing nice and deep, long inhales and exhales.

Let's do ten, nine.

[inhales and exhales] Almost done.

Hang in there.

[exhales] And three, two.

Last one, and you can keep your leg here, roll your back down to the floor, and pull your thigh towards you for a nice stretch.

[inhales and exhales] That feels so good.

So as you pull this leg towards you, you can press your knee away.

Feels wonderful.

[inhales and exhales] Good, and switch sides.

And pull this thigh towards you.

I feel looser on one side than the other, maybe that's the same for you.

And then now I'll adjust it a little, pull that thigh towards me as I push the knee away.

Don't rush through the stretch; it feels wonderful.

All right, let's put your hands behind your knees and kick up to a seated position.

I remember seeing my mom do these simple moves many years ago.

They aren't fancy, but they effectively target the glutes and hams.

If you wanna keep your muscles strong and reduce the typical aches and pains of aging, then come back here daily to pbswisconsin.org/quickfit, where you'll find more fast and easy workouts to help you live better, longer.

See you next time.

- Announcer: Funding for Quick Fit with Cassy is provided by Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.