Bret Contreras is someone I really wanted to do an interview with the minute I finished reading his first article on www.t-nation.com, called Dispelling the Glute Myth. He simply has a ton of knowledge regarding training for speed, power, and strength, and has been cutting edge when it comes to training the muscles of the posterior (glutes and hamstrings). I knew that both I and the amazing readers of Empowered Athttp://www.empoweredathletes.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=663&message=1hletes would learn a lot from Bret so I am happy to present this interview.
To find out more information about Bret, visit his blog at http://bretcontreras.wordpress.com, and his websites at www.thegluteguy.com and www.skorcher.com.

1. You have been coined “The Glute Guy” because of your investigation and evolution regarding training the glutes. In fact, you were trained by Noraxon on how to use their Myotrace 400 and Clinical Application Software so you could measure and record the muscular activity of various exercises and their impact on the glutes. What is one glute fact you can you start us out with that most trainers and athletes are in the dark about?

Bret: One thing that many trainers don’t realize is that the various regions of the glutes do different things. Axial hip extension exercises like squats and deadlifts target more of the lower gluteus maximus, while anteroposterior hip extension exercises like hip thrusts and reverse hypers target the entire gluteus maximus. In addition, the upper gluteus maximus is more involved in abduction and external rotation than the lower gluteus maximus.

2. In your article on T-Nation entitled Dispelling the Glute Myth, you mention that in resistance training, there are two distinct types of hip extension exercises; those that mimic vertical jumping and those that mimic sprinting. In most team sports, athletes must have excellent acceleration ability in the first 0-30 yards. What category do you feel the acceleration phase of a sprint falls in?

Bret: Correct. Hip extension exercises that mimic vertical jumping are axial because the load is vertical, while hip extension exercises that mimic running are anteroposterior because the load is horizontal. As you mentioned, acceleration sprinting involves a forward lean and contains a vector that is half-way between axial and anteroposterior. This is why it’s important to include both axial and anteroposterior hip extension exercises in one’s routine and to train both the vertical and horizontal components of the cyclical sprinting action. There are certain exercises that mimic acceleration sprinting because they contain both vertical and horizontal components or have around a 45 degree vector like walking lunges, 45 degree back extensions, reverse leg presses, and the power runner, as well as plyometric exercises like power skips and stadium sprints.

3. Being a soccer player and coach myself, I have trained a lot of soccer players and one thing I often see is the tendency they have to be quad dominant. This is especially common in central midfielders since they are constantly changing directions in a low squat position. The eccentric action of braking definitely places high demand on the quads. What role do you feel the glutes play in changing directions and what advice can you athletes of any kind to improve their ability to change directions?

Bret: Lateral change of direction involves simultaneous hip abduction and knee extension. While squatting will transfer to lateral agility especially if the lifter forcefully keeps their knees out, specific abduction exercises like standing cable abductions and band seated abductions as well as slideboard lateral sprints should be employed, though not with a lot of volume. The upper glutes need to be very strong for lateral agility. For linear deceleration and backpedaling speed, exercises like forward lunges and backward sled drags are valuable.

4. Many coaches value the use of Olympic weightlifting for non-Olympic weightlifting athletes claiming that there is nothing else in the weight room that can match the power and athleticism of the lifts. Other great coaches argue there are safer and more effective ways for developing power (Joe Defranco, James Smith, Buddy Morris, Eric Cressey, Kelly Baggett). What is your opinion on the integration of Olympic lifts for non-Olympic lifting athletes?

Bret: I love Olympic lift variations like the power clean, hang clean, power snatch, and split jerk. Of course there are safer ways to develop power, for example plyometrics and medicine ball work, but when you hold onto a relatively heavy load and accelerate it as fast as possible, the force has to transfer through the core so the erector spinae are targeted more substantially. I consider jump squats, spit jerks, and most plyometrics to be quad-dominant, while I consider power cleans, power snatches, and sprints to be posterior chain-dominant. Proper programming has a blend of all kinds of speed-strength exercises. I could actually argue both sides of this issue, as sometimes Olympic lifts can become a logistical nightmare if training many athletes at once.

5. You have also mentioned that just because someone’s glutes are big, it doesn’t mean that they’re strong. Do you feel this holds true for all parts of the body? What role do you feel muscle size, or training for bigger muscles plays in the quest for strength and speed?

Bret: First, size can be deceptive. If someone is in anterior pelvic tilt it can make their glutes appear larger. Some cultures are known for possessing more developed glutes, while other cultures are known for possessing virtually no glute development. While glute size is very genetic, everyone can grow their glutes by acquiring core-control, glute-activation, hip mobility, and glute strength via different patterns of hip extension, abduction, and external rotation. Most muscles are strong if they look strong, but the glutes are governed by a lot of different factors due to the complexity of the lumbo-pelvic region and are more prone to inhibition than other muscles.

Charlie Francis said on many occasions, “Looks right, flies right.” He was referring to the posture, body type, and muscularity of a sprinter, but in particular he hones in on the glute and hamstring regions. A bigger muscle has more cross-sectional area (CSA) which is directly correlated to increased rate of force development (RFD). However, this does not mean that one should train the glutes like a bodybuilder with slow movements and high rep ranges. Numerous studies show that the glutes don’t like to be activated by simple tasks like standing up from a seated position or walking. The heavier and more explosive the hip action, the greater the glute involvement. By performing the right movements, an athlete can develop functional hypertrophy of the gluteals which will transfer directly to improved athleticism.

6. If I am not mistaken, there is a picture of you performing the Barbell Hip Thrusts with 4 plates on each side of the barbell. That is 405 lbs! Since the glutes are the most important muscle involved in sprinting, please tell me that you are fast?

Bret: I have actually used 455 for 3 solid reps on the hip thrust. I would not consider myself slow, but I’m not very fast either. I am 6?4? tall and currently weigh almost 240 lbs, and I train heavy and slow almost year round (for strength and hypertrophy). However, every year I ditch the heavy weights for two months and perform plyometrics, sprints, jump squats, Olympic lifts, and speed lifts (including speed hip thrusts) and my speed and power goes through the roof. In eight weeks I can put 6 inches on my vertical jump and 10 inches on my broad jump, and I can shave .2 seconds off my 40 yard dash and 1 full second off my 100 meter sprint. I would love to see what would happen if I trained explosively and athletically for several years straight but I love powerlifting and bodybuilding so much it’s hard for me to part ways.