Happy Wed. Iron Queens!

As a corporate girlie, I was pretty sedentary for the past five years lol My job required me to take zoom calls and write emails. My activity had to be very intentional- planned steps (in and out of the gym), my lifts, and my cardio.

Because I sat for majority of my day, my glutes, hips, and whole legs really- felt STIFF as HELL in the gym.

After a long day of work, I DREADED leg day. So, what did I do? Skip my stretches and priming sessions before my lifts. Well, my hips paid a PRICE. I ended up in physical therapy basically having someone force me to stretch. When January 2026 rolled around, I told myself I would never skip my stretches again and that has made ALL THE DIFFERENCE. My body feels nice and primed before my lifts (as it SHOULD be).

If you're like me and you spend your days sitting down and feel your hinge movements in your back your form may not even be “bad.” But your body is probably walking into glute day stiff, underprepared, and disconnected from the muscles you actually want to use.

When you sit for hours, your hips can get tight, your glutes can feel sleepy, and your lower back may start doing the job your hips and glutes are supposed to do.

Let’s break it down.

1. Stretching, Prep & Prime

Before you go straight into RDLs, hip thrusts, or glute-focused lifts, you want to open up your hips and wake up your glutes (you want to do this for all muscle groups but we are focusing on hips and glutes).

Sitting all day keeps your hips in a flexed position, which can make your hip flexors feel tight and your glutes harder to connect with.

Before your next glute day, try adding:

Hip flexor stretch​
Get into a half-kneeling position, squeeze the glute of the back leg (like you're doing an RDL), and gently shift forward. You should feel this in the front of your hip.

90/90 hip switches​
Sit on the floor with both legs bent at 90 degrees and rotate side to side. This helps improve hip mobility and control

Adductor rockbacks​
Get on one knee and extend the opposite leg out to the side, and rock your hips back (feels like an RDL). This helps open the inner thigh and hips.

Glute bridges​
Before loading your hip thrusts or RDLs, do a few slow glute bridges. Think about tucking your pelvis slightly, pressing through your feet, and squeezing your glutes at the top.

Banded lateral walks or abductions​
These help prime the side glutes so you feel more stable and connected before lifting.

The goal is to tell your body, “These are the muscles I want you to use today.”

2. Core Bracing: Your Hinge Starts Here

A lot of people think RDLs are only about pushing the hips back but if your core is not braced, your lower back may take over fast.

Before you hinge, you want to create tension through your entire midsection. This is where 360 breathing comes in. Instead of only breathing up into your chest, think about breathing into your belly, ribs, sides, and back. Imagine your core expanding like a balloon in every direction. This is not pretty or cute lol Your stomach should expand! And thats how you know you can safely lift heavy weight.

Then brace like someone is about to lightly punch you in the stomach.

You also want to think about stacking your ribs over your hips.

Slightly tuck your pelvis, bring your ribs down, and keep your hips stacked under your ribcage.

Think:

Ribs down. Core tight. Hips stacked. Feet rooted.

That position gives your glutes and hamstrings a better chance to actually do their job.

3. Hinge Mechanics: How to Make RDLs Hit the Right Muscles

Once you are stretched, primed, and braced, now we can talk about the actual RDL.

First, your lift starts in your feet.

Before you even move the weights, make sure your feet are grounded. You want to feel pressure through your big toe, pinky toe, and heel. This creates a strong base.

Then, keep the weights close to your legs the entire time. The dumbbells or barbell should not drift out in front of you. The farther the weight gets from your body, the more your lower back has to work.

Think about shaving your legs with the weights.

As you lower, push your hips back like you are trying to close a car door behind you.

Your knees should be soft, not locked. Your spine should stay neutral (flat). Your core should stay braced.

Another cue I love: act like you have an orange under each armpit. You do not want to crush the orange completely, but you also do not want to let it fall. This helps you keep your lats engaged, your upper body tight, and the weights close to your body.

At the bottom, you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings.

Then, to come back up, do not just yank the weights with your back. Drive through your feet and bring your hips through like you are thrusting forward hard.

Think:

Hips back on the way down.
Glutes forward on the way up.

That is the hinge.

The Big Picture

If your RDLs always hit your lower back, it is usually not just one thing. It may be tight hips from sitting all day. It may be glutes that are not primed before your workout. It may be poor core bracing. It may be your ribs and hips not being stacked. It may be the weights drifting too far from your body. Or it may simply be that no one has ever actually coached you through the movement in a way that makes sense for your body.

And this is exactly what I help my clients with.

I do not just hand you random workouts and tell you to figure it out. I teach you how to move better, lift with confidence, connect to the right muscles, and get stronger without feeling like your lower back is taking over every exercise.

If you are ready to feel more confident in the gym and want help with your form, glute training, and overall strength, email me to schedule a training session.

Let’s get you lifting in a way that actually feels good and works.

And if this email was helpful, forward it to a friend who needs to hear it! I think this might have been my most important and helpful newsletter yet.

Thanks for reading,

Coach Jas