A week or two ago I was talking to a group of wonderful women, appropriately named @theworthygoddessclub who I consider my friends about things we may have seen as an issue or a problem but we now have learned to embrace or value it.
This got me thinking about my butt. I know, that’s not the first thing to pop into people’s mind when asked a question like that. But it was for me. After talking about my lack of appreciation for my butt and why, what do you know, a few days later, I see something come across my google feed labeled “Dead Butt Syndrome” from Women’s Health magazine. So I was curious and read what is was all about. Holy flatbread! This is just what I’ve been feeling and dealing with!
It made also made a lot of sense. Working from home you sit a LOT. Living a primarily sedentary lifestyle, you also tend to sit a lot. If you’re a gamer, you probably do a lot of sitting as well. If you have no other activities in your day, your butt is in that chair or sofa probably about 85% of the time.
The Library of Congress lists the Gluteus Maximus as the largest muscle in the human body and one of the strongest behind the masseter (jaw muscle). Which means it’s important right?
I looked at other mentions of Dead Butt Syndrome and found an article in the New York Times last year that got into what what this is as well. Dead Butt Syndrome or to use the technical term, gluteal amnesia, is when the glutes become weak from inactivity. The glutes basically forget to do their job. This can lead to back issues, knee pain, your hip flexors tighten and what do you know, issues with your Plantar Fascia! This can also affect your balance as weak glutes can also weaken your stabilizer muscles like the Gluteus Maximus and Medius.
I noticed I had an issue with my butt going numb, the first time I got a job in the corporate world. Prior to this, I worked in newsrooms, as a sports supervisor, a teacher’s aide and in a restaurant which meant I was rarely sitting down. After I got this job I was excited to be doing something new. Not only would I have my own desk and a cubicle, I’d be able to sit. However, my bum, back, legs, ankles ALL felt the pain of having to sit 8 or more hours a day.
When I was a teenager I never appreciated my butt. I thought it was too big and ugly along with my hair and lips (but those two are a story for another time) I would see magazines and the women I saw all had what I felt were petite little perfect round derrières. I looked in the mirror and all I saw was this giant balloon and two skinny as asparagus, legs.
I wish I could go back in time and tell that young lady that my butt was perfect just the way it was. When I became an adult I realized I had a cute butt after all but still did not appreciate the importance of keeping those glutes firm and healthy. Why? Because after the past 5 years since the pandemic, and more so in the past 2 years, my glute muscles are the weakest they have ever been. It hurts to sit. I’m also sitting on the loo half the time and I’m honestly shocked I don’t have a permanent ring around my butt from having to be on there soo much. Even going up and down the stairs is painful because those muscles are now just as weak since they don’t have the support of the glutes.
Looking back, as Sophia Petrillo once said, I once had a butt you could bounce a quarter off of. Now while my butt isn’t wrinkly enough yet to lose a Krugerrand (coin) in the creases, when I sit, I can feel my sitz bones instead of the cushion I used to feel with firm healthy glute muscles…of which I used to have.
So, what can we do? Get up and walk for starters. Even with a desk job prior to the pandemic, I took my lunch hour and walked for at least 30 minutes and you take into traveling to and from work. That’s time you are walking up and down stairs and using those glutes to balance yourself on a moving train.
Getting up every 10 minutes to walk in place or at least every 30 minutes to walk to the kitchen and back it activity. Taking your lunch hour and going outside for a walk is important and something that I will admit I do not do anymore since I’ve been working from home, but its on my list. For now, I’ve been going on that air walker trainer and slowly that has been helping, although I do need more. The following yoga poses that I found was amazing for my glutes and balance were Chair Pose, Bridge Pose, High Lunge , plus Warrior I and III to name a few.
Obviously squats are also great, but for now with the lack of muscles and strength in my lower body, I will be opting for bridge and chair which are easy for me to do for now and I will going back to a DVD that I did quite a lot and noticed the firmness in my booty in a matter of weeks. Not even sure if this is available anymore but it worked for me which I’m surprised I saw on Amazon while writing this post.
The workouts which include abs, buns, arms/legs are 10 minutes each so it’s a good place to start. I for one will be starting these on Sunday to begin to build those glute muscle and get them and my legs back to the strong tree trunks I once abhorred when young, loved as an adult and have recently lost.
There are plenty of other exercises that target buns, yoga as I mentioned, running, bicycling, and more. A quick google or youtube search can help with this but before doing anything of course, speak to your doctor or physical therapist to see what is right for you and your body.
Until next time! Take care of those buns!!!
Mind Body Synergylia 