You’re reading Move, the nudge we need to get active, however makes us happiest and healthiest.
Sitting for prolonged periods of time is bad news for our health. In fact, just this week researchers warned adults to stick to one hour of TV per evening to reduce their risk of heart disease. And most of us know that a sedentary lifestyle is a leading cause of backache.
But many of us – from office workers to drivers – can’t help how much time we spend sitting on our butts. So, what can we do about it?
Small bursts of movement during the day, at lunchtime or straight after work can help counteract some of the issues associated with sitting all day. And focussing on the glutes is a great place to start.
“Many people can end up finding their glutes don’t work as well as they should which can sometimes lead to tension in the lower back which can be painful,” explains Myprotein PT Adam Hameed (@askcoachadam).
“The sat down position is where the glutes are stretched and relaxed so what we want to do is just take a few minutes to re-activate the muscles so they can work in the correct order and put less tension through our lower back.”
Want to give it go? Hameed has provided HuffPost UK with the below five-minute workout to get you started:
Butterfly Glute Bridges (3-5 sets x 10 reps)
Lie on your back with the flat of your feet facing each other, and your knees facing outwards. You want to push off the floor with the blades of the feet, pushing your hips as high as they will go until you feel your glutes squeeze.
Hip Thrust Walk Outs (2-3 sets x 5 reps)
Lie on your back with your knees facing the ceiling and the flat of your foot on the floor. Lift your hips up as high as possible and slowly taking little steps walk your heels out away from your body keeping your glutes squeezed the whole time and when you reach your limit take little steps back in until you reach the start position. Your glutes should never touch the floor.
Kick Backs (3 sets x 15 reps)
Placing your hands and knees on the floor, raise one of your heels to face the ceiling from behind you. Kick the heel as high as possible to reach the ceiling and bring it back to a bent 90-degree position.
Reverse Lunges (2 sets x 20 reps alternating)
Stand with two feet next to each other and take a step backwards long enough as if you were to kneel down onto one knee but without letting the knee touch the floor, drive through the feet to push yourself back up and stand up with your feet next to each other and repeat on the other side.
Squats/ Squat Jumps – 2 sets x 10 reps
Have your feet next to each other a shoulder width apart and bend the knees as if you are sitting on a chair, aiming for a comfortable depth without any pain and drive through your feet and stand up. If you’re feeling this is too easy and have enough head space, feel free to add a jump so that you can get a more explosive reaction from the muscles.
Move celebrates exercise in all its forms, with accessible features encouraging you to add movement into your day – because it’s not just good for the body, but the mind, too. We get it: workouts can be a bit of a slog, but there are ways you can move more without dreading it. Whether you love hikes, bike rides, YouTube workouts or hula hoop routines, exercise should be something to enjoy.
