The first thing that comes to mind when I say “stripper booty” might be a workout designed to give you the best looking glutes in the game, but no, I’m focusing on function rather than aesthetics, but don’t worry, the aesthetics will develop naturally as a byproduct of function strength training. Stripper booty, as I have come to call it, is actually my nickname for the particular posture that strippers develop over time. Specifically, the tendency to develop a severe anterior pelvic tilt.
Imagine you’re wearing a belt buckle with a flashlight that point straight ahead. When we stand with an anterior pelvic tilt, the buckle tilts forward, causing the light would shine at a downward angle instead. Strippers tend to develop this posture over time as a result of wearing heels all the time. If we don’t take the necessary steps to correct the incorrect posture, it could lead to other problems, like chronic pain in the hips and low back, and and increased risk of injury.
Between wearing heels, dancing in them, and sitting with our customers, our hips are always flexed, and our gluteal muscles do not get adequately engaged while simultaneously being stretched over the protruding hip bone. This can lead to weakness in the gluteal muscles if we take no actions to strengthen them. Constant hip flexion leads to chronic tightness in the joints and surrounding muscles without proper recovery.
In other words, we teach ourselves to stand as if we’re wearing heels all the time, and it is terrible for our bodies! They get all messed up and then we’re stuck trying to undo extensive damage, possibly while still actively stripping! From personal experience, it is much more pleasant to rehabilitate while taking time off, rather than having to work full time and trying to make progress, but we’re going to do it together!
So what can we do? How do we fix it? What if it’s already too late?
First, it’s never too late to start being more intentional about our mind-body connection. Second, luckily there are some things that will make a difference immediately, and with consistency, we can eventually fix the issue(s).
The problem is that there are no studies on the effects of stripper shoes. One study I skimmed qualified “high/tall” as 10cm, less than 4 inches! Platforms mean that while our shoes are six to nine inches in total height, there’s approximately 2-4 inches of lift, from the ball of the foot to the heel. In another study, the high heeled group was 9 people who had worn high heels for 40 hours per week for only two years. There were no qualifications about walking, working, dancing, or standing. This group’s minimum heel requirement was 5cm, less than 2 inches, the minimum lift for stripper shoes. Some places require strippers to wear high heels or they get slapped with a fine or arrest! Without knowing the health effects! All that being said, everything that I discuss is based on me and my experience.
All the muscles and fascia at the very center of our body become tense while wearing heels. Some parts are in a constant state of flexion while others are being constantly stretched, so we need to be careful to strengthen and stretch appropriately. Not doing so can lead to chronic misalignment, causing a lot of stress and increasing the risk of getting injured.
Over all, strengthening our muscles will help muscle activation and with good form, remind our bodies how proper alignment feels. Stretching our muscles back to the proper length helps alignment and helps increase our ability to lift more.
The gluteus maximus is one muscle that is out of alignment and over stretched while wearing heels. To combat this, I recommend strength training, specifically glute-focused compound resistance training; especially exercises that require pushing the hips forward. The motion of pushing the hips forward is directly opposite of our body position when we stand in heels, targeting the areas made weak by the misalignment when wearing heels.
Strengthening the core, back, and oblique muscles will also help activate and preserve proper alignment and posture. Equally as important for this group of muscles is dynamic and static release, or stretching. For this, I recommend a yogi squat (use a block first), reclined butterfly (use blocks or bolsters/pillows at first), and child’s pose (and variations). You can also do frog pose with frog rocks, but make sure to actively tuck your tailbone while doing it for proper alignment.
Compound exercises work in our favor to strengthen and stretch all the target areas at once. Deadlifts and hip thrusts target glute strength, but strengthen the whole lower body as well, including the low back. Both exercises also serve as dynamic stretching for the front hip flexors, helping release some of the tension created by sitting and wearing heels. Romanian deadlifts strengthen the glutes, lower back, and lower body, including the hamstrings, but also stretch the hamstrings during the downward movement.
Stripper shoes definitely have a huge impact on our physical health, but the good news is that as long as we’re intentional about the way we train, we can go from the anterior pelvic tilt striper booty, to the built stripper booty of our dreams, while improving our health and posture! Remember to consult a doctor before changing any regimens. If you have a trainer, consider asking them how they implement corrective exercises that are specific to your occupation!
Happy hustling! 💕
