Sitting for prolonged periods of time can give you something called “dormant butt syndrome,” where your glutes don’t fire or, in other words, they are “asleep.” Your hips also tend to get tight, Annie Mulgrew, VP founding trainer at CityRow and NASM-certified personal trainer, told POPSUGAR. But, there are moves you can do to counteract these effects.
Mulgrew said that exercises requiring hip extension are underrated because people can do them right at home and they will mitigate tightness. “When you sit, you’re in hip flexion, and so the front of your hips in particular tend to get really tight,” she further explained. The Romanian deadlift, good morning, and bridge variations are examples of exercises she suggests to open up your hips, and she added that they target your glutes and hamstrings. This is also important for people who might focus more on lower-body exercises that are quad dominant (think squats, for example) as opposed to glute dominant (think deadlifts).
What’s more, “these require spinal extension, which is great because, when sitting, we tend to do the opposite,” Mulgrew said, “we can round our spine.” (At least that’s what I do.) At the same time, you’re engaging your core, as she noted, “in order to do anything with hip extension, your abdominals have to activate.” So, the moves are basically a win-win-win: they help with hip tightness, reverse poor posture, and target your booty muscles.
Ahead, check out how to do the exercises that Mulgrew classified as good for hip tightness and firing up your glutes. We’ve included a few examples of the moves with added resistance or single-leg variations as well. Note: this is not a workout. Plus, read up on Mulgrew’s advice for making home workouts harder by increasing time under tension.
Related: If You Sit All Day, Unwind Every Tight Muscle With These 12 Expert-Recommended Yoga Poses
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Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand (or a kettlebell in both) and lift your left foot slightly off the ground. (You can also do this as a bodyweight exercise.)
- Keep your back neutral and lean your entire torso forward while raising your left leg, which should stay in line with your body. The dumbbells will lower toward the ground.
- With your back straight, return upright, coming to your starting position. This completes one rep. Maximize this move by keeping your left foot off the ground as you move through your reps.
- Complete the same number of reps on the other side.
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Glute Bridge
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Be sure to keep your feet underneath your knees, not in front. Plant your palms on either side of you.
- Raise your hips up to the ceiling, tensing your core and squeezing your butt as you do. You should be making a long diagonal line with your body, from shoulders to knees.
- Hold for a few seconds, making sure your spine doesn’t round and your hips don’t sag. Keep your abs and butt muscles engaged.
- Lower down to the ground; this is considered one rep. Add a booty band for extra resistance.
POPSUGAR Photography / Kat Borchart
Single-Leg Bridge
- Lie on your back, and place your hands on the floor for stability as you bend one leg and lift the other leg toward the ceiling.
- Pressing your heel into the floor, lift your pelvis up, keeping your body in a bridge position.
- Slowly lower your body to the floor to complete one rep. Repeat the same number of reps on the other side.
POPSUGAR Photography / Kat Borchart
Romanian Deadlift
- Stand upright holding a pair of medium-weight dumbbells in each hand, arms at your sides, with your knees slightly bent. (You can also do this with a kettlebell.)
- Keeping your arms straight and knees slightly bent, slowly bend at the hips and lower the weights as far as possible without rounding your back.
- Now squeeze your glutes to slowly pull yourself up (don’t use your back). This counts as one rep.
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Good Morning
- Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart, and place your hands at the back of your head with your elbows opened wide. You can also place your hands at your hips.
- Pull your abs to your spine, and keep your back neutral while pressing your butt backward, hinging at the hips, until your back is almost parallel to the floor. Keep a slight bend in your knees.
- Return to standing, squeezing your glutes when you are upright. This completes one rep.
POPSUGAR Photography / Tamara Pridgett
Weighted Glute Bridge
- Grab a medium to heavy dumbbell; 20 pounds is a great starting point.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Be sure to keep your feet underneath your knees, not in front.
- Place the dumbbell on top of your lower abdominals (below your belly button and above your hip bones). Hold the dumbbell in place with both hands to prevent it from moving.
- Raise your hips up to the ceiling, tensing your abs and squeezing your butt as you do. You should be making a long diagonal line with your body, from shoulders to knees.
- Hold for three seconds, making sure your spine doesn’t round and your hips don’t sag. Keep your abs and butt muscles engaged.
- Lower down to the ground; this is considered one rep.
