Most skiers focus their off-snow training on quads and core, but ski coach Tom Gellie of Big Picture Skiing argues the glutes are the key to unlocking real hip mobility, and that most people are barely using them.
Filmed on location in Greece, this workout from Gellie targets the gluteus maximus across all three planes of motion, something he says is rarely addressed in conventional training. The session begins with a simple standing isometric contraction designed to help athletes actually feel the muscle before loading it. From there, he moves into wide-stance hip hinge squats that emphasize driving the hips back rather than bending from the spine..
The centerpiece of the workout is what Gellie calls 3D glute loading, a standing lunge-based movement that combines flexion, internal rotation, and lateral tilt to stretch and activate the glute simultaneously. He draws a direct line between this kind of loading and skiing performance, noting that a skier who can fold through the hip on the inside leg will have far more stability and control than one who compensates by rounding the spine.
The session closes with a deep psoas stretch to allow the glutes to fire more freely, finishing in a wide hip hinge that Gellie holds as the final position. The full workout runs approximately 27 minutes.
