No it is not your imagination!

Do you feel your rear end has been shrinking and sliding around to the front of your torso in recent years?

It’s all about ‘Glutes’!

The muscles you sit on are called glutes.

There are three of them; gluteus , medius, maximus and minimus.

Losing muscle size in this area is accompanied by loss of strength and function and it is extremely common to suffer what exercise professionals call ‘glute amnesia’.

What is ‘Glute Amnesia’?

Your glutes forget their job and fail to ‘fire’ adequately when they should.

Sitting is the main culprit.

Habitually sitting leads to the glutes being in a stretched position.

This imbalance usually has consequences; low back, hip and knee pain are all distinct possibilities.

So what can you do about it?

Your glutes are the main muscles that allow you to go from low to high. e.g.

• Standing up from seated
• Straightening up and going up stairs

These are important functional moves so it makes sense to give your glutes a ‘wakeup call’.

The Clam

One of the most commonly prescribed exercises to strengthen the glutes (especially glute med) is called The Clam.

Here’s how to do it:

Lie on one side as indicated in the picture and make sure your shoulder and hip are in a straight line.

Have your hip pointing a little towards the ground as this will isolate your glue med more.

Simply open your knees to the slow count of 4 squeezing your glutes as you do so.

Do at least 10 or until you feel fatigue in the glute area.

Rest and repeat the set twice more.

Kris says:

 “Some is better than none and more is better than some.”

Do you have comments, queries, tips or stories to share? Do help others by recording them below.

Exercise Specialist, Kris Tynan.

Watch out for more great exercise and lifestyle tips from Kris Tynan next month.