Get Rid of Butt Wink

Butt wink is nothing more than lumbar flexion or anterior pelvic tilt. Where your butt looks as if it is tucking underneath itself usually at the bottom or near the bottom of a squat. So why is it always looked down on if an athlete shows some butt wink? Well there plenty of reasons as to why butt wink is taboo, Hindered athletic performance, and spinal injury are just a couple of reasons.

Athletic performance

Butt wink is a weakness in the chain of events of a quality squat in my opinion. It is a break in the chain that is just draining poundage away from your potential during the squat. Having a tight ridged lumbar near the bottom of the squat will provide a solid place for energy to transfer, on the other hand if you are having problems with butt wink near the bottom of the squat, when you go to transfer to an concentric phase of the squat there will be a loss of power. Think of it as punching a pillow, the pillow absorbed all the energy and does not transfer it through.

Ok but why do I see some seriously talented lifters have butt wink? Well a couple of things have happened in this situation. They have found a way to work around the butt wink in order to make the squat increase, They have an extremely strong core, and they simply have been lucky enough not to get injured as of yet.

Possible injury

Anterior pelvic tilt puts the lumbar spine into a flexed state, This position is extremely unsafe for the spine, the natural position of the lumbar should be in an slightly extended position, Lets makes a quick point here about over extension as well. It is not ok to over extend your lumbar either, it is just as dangerous to have an overly extended lower back as it is to have a flexed lower back, we want the spine to be neutral and in a natural position.

Ok back to butt wink. Ok so what causes butt wink in the first place and why exactly is it dangerous. OK well the tilting of the pelvis is usually attributed to squatting Way too deep. Trying to put you bum on the ground is going to cause your pelvis to tilt no matter what. Having a lack of glute activation as well as having really tight hamstrings can both attribute to butt wink.

The lumbar spine is a very fragile area of the body, It is funny how that works considering it is right above the most powerful part of the body, the hips. And putting the lower back into a compromised position such as flexion is just opening open a door for injury. Simply losing balance at the any point can cause injury.

What do we do about it?

There are a few things that we can do in order to stave of butt wink and eventually get rid of it forever. It is going to take patience and a lot of hard work and consistency on behalf of the athlete in order to get to a place where butt wink is no longer an issue. We will go over 5 Things that we can do to get this under control.

Breathing and core activation

Learning to breath deep into the pit of the stomach and learning to activate the oblique's, and the abdominal in correspondence can be the difference between having or not having butt wink.

You may or may not be used to breathing deeply but a good way is to think about drawing in air like you are sucking it through a straw. Bring the air in as deep as is comfortable.

Bracing the abs in conjunction with breathing deeply is the key to both performing a great squat but it is also instrumental in helping eliminate butt wink. We want to have a isometric contraction from front to back and side to side. 360 degree core activation with a solid breath should feel both uncomfortable but safe at the same time. it is important to remember this is all down both taking the weight from the rack as well as before the decent.

Glute Activation

Having a your glutes activated throughout a squat will help put the pelvis in a neutral position as well as help protect the lower back both of which will help with lumbar flexion. When you go to take the bar out of the rack you need to have tight glutes and from that point forward we need to have the glutes on and when your set up you need to have your feet grabbing the floor and the twisting the floor in order to insure solid glute activation.

Hip mobility and stretching

Having more flexibility in the hips will allow for a broader foot position in the squat which in turn will allow for a reduced range of motion to hit depth. It will also allow for greater glute activation. Overall mobility is also a key tool to use when trying to eliminate butt wink. We need to "stretch" what's tight and smash areas that may need it. We do not need to over mobilized but we do need to be able to get into positions safely but not get so loose that we go right passed the safe position.

A couple of things that will help include:

Frog stretch and the good morning stretch

Lacrosse balls on glutes and upper hamstrings

Progressive depth

It is important that we don't squat in compromised positions. if the athlete is having problems with butt wink we need to find where the lumbar starts to flex and not squat passed that point. Wither it is a half squat or full squat it does not matter we need to address that problem from the start.

If you do the things stated above you will progress slowly into the proper depth and be in a much stronger position. It is important not to rush the issue here we need to make slow and permanent progress here to stave off injury and increase the weight on the bar.