Stop Starving Your Glutes
So many of us sit most of the day at work and then sit again in the evening while we watch TV or read. In doing so, we’re starving our glutes of the movement they need. Worse, they’re spending an extended period of time in a lengthened position, which is less than ideal for muscles that serve as stabilizers. Our glutes help keep us upright when we stand and walk, so we need to get off our butts and get them in gear.
One simple way to engage your glutes and give them the movement they need is to walk. We need support from our glutes for walking and our glutes need us to walk to charge them up. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day is a common recommendation for a healthy lifestyle. (Here’s a list of eight creative ways to add steps to your daily routine.) But any amount that you can add to your current activity level is a win. Research by Harvard Medical School professor I-Min Lee, M.D., suggests that targeting 7,500 steps per day is sufficient for most women over 60.
Taking a brisk walk, a jaunty stroll, or even walking around the house for two minutes at the top of every hour are great ways to wake up your glutes. But to super-charge them, take the stairs whenever you can.
Don’t stop there. Be sure to mix glute-focused exercises such as glute bridges, lunges, and squats into your exercise routine. Try various types of each movement, such as glute bridges with a march, around-the-clock lunges, and sumo squats. Aim for at least twice a week for these types of strength training exercises.
When you feed your glutes with the movement they need, they’ll return the favor and give you the balance and support you need to keep moving.
