When you think of the muscle groups to exercise, do you give much thought to the booty, aka, the glutes? It is so easy to take our backsides for granted. Have you ever really considered how important they are and what they do for us and our movement? They can often be overlooked because they are behind and underneath us literally. Know that you must engage them, or lose them forever. Not really.

How can you give your precious peach some love? Well, I’ve got 3 things to consider as you work to make it pinch-able again.

What Does Your Booty Do For You?

Besides the fact that our butt holds our pants up, the gluteus muscles work together to stabilize the hip, core, and back muscles. They help your body stay upright and moving forward. The booty is made up of three gluteus muscles – the maximus (the largest muscle in the body), medius, minimus. Together these muscles are responsible for hip extension and external rotation, balance, pelvis stabilization, thigh rotation and abduction, and hip stabilizer.

Ignoring It Can Lead To Sleepy Muscles

If you spend too much time at your desk or on your couch, like a lot of us did during the pandemic, you can develop what is known as Dead Butt Syndrome, or DBS. Now your butt isn’t really dead, but rather “sleepy” with the inability to contract and relax. Weak glute muscles can screw with your balance and can contribute to IT band issues. It can also cause gluteal tendinitis, sciatic nerve compression, as well as, hip, knee, and back pain.

Nobody wants a dead butt. Right? If you are feeling the discomfort of tight glute muscles or are having trouble activating them, whether that is contraction or relaxation, you may need to consult your HCP.

Three Ways Wake Your Booty Up

These may seem tedious or a pain in the you know what, but better that than the alternative.

1. Get the recommended amount of movement each hour. As stated, a lot of glute issues stem from sitting in the same position too long. It is recommended that you get up from your desk or your couch and move for 5 minutes out of every hour. Apple watches give you an hourly stand reminder. Use it. If you don’t have an Apple watch, stand up and walk around at the top of every hour, no matter what, no matter how busy you are, or how good this episode of Bridgerton is.
2. Start with glute activation. If you have been ignoring your butt muscles, you do not want to jump into doing big time glute lift exercises, you want to start with doing glute activation exercises. Get yourself a band and do some glute bridges, lateral band walks, and clam-shells. Once you have built up your glutes a bit, you can move on to bigger moves.
3. Add hills into your walks. I hear you now, “but I already walk, what more do you want?”. Adding in some hills and the act of walking uphill forces you to squeeze your glutes as you climb, putting more of a focus on the booty itself.

Extra Benefits Of A Juicy Booty

Is it ever too late to work your butt muscles or is it possible to build these muscles back up, even in midlife? Listen to me here and now, it is never too late and absolutely you can build these muscles back up. You just have to be purposeful in your attempts.

Besides the fact that strong glute muscles give back to you with freedom of movement as you age, showing your glute muscles some love will not be lost on other people as they will not be able to notice and perhaps even give you a little pinch (ONLY if you consent, of course).

Make sure to go back and listen to my Redesigning Midlife Episode with my massage therapist, Mike Purvis, on what chairs are doing to us and his advice on what we can do during the long hours that we are sitting.

LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST ON REDESIGNING MIDLIFE