Fifteen years ago, “gluteal amnesia” and “dead butt syndrome” we’re all the rage. Now our industry has gone the other way, suggesting that the glutes are like every other muscle and don’t require anything special as far as training is concerned. While I agree that these terms are silly and that people’s glutes still activate, I do feel that some muscles are more prone to atrophy and deconditioning than others simply due to the muscle activity levels seen in common, everyday movements and activities of daily living. The glutes don’t activate highly in typical, every day activities. Other muscles do. And while I do believe that a sound program like Booty by Bret will cover all the bases and get your glutes functioning optimally, there are a couple of recent studies that indicate that low load glute activation work might be worthwhile and beneficial. But the point of this video is to point out that all these fancy terms do more harm than good. Fearmongering might win you some clients but you’ll be giving them a crutch to rely on because they’ll believe you, and they’ll think they have this fake syndrome for life. In 26 years of training and coaching others, I’ve never told anyone they had gluteal amnesia, anterior pelvic tilt, reciprocal inhibition, synergistic dominance, dead butt syndrome, etc. I am a strength coach. I strengthen people’s minds, bodies, and spirits. I have no desire to weaken my clients with labels or fake syndromes, or to focus on their weaknesses. I compliment their strengths, build them up, and make them feel like powerful badasses. Your glutes don’t have amnesia, but they should to be strengthened in a variety of vectors to optimize their functionality.