Hip flexors: 7 Glute Exercises to Combat Dead Butt Syndrome

7 Glute Exercises to Combat Dead Butt Syndrome

Raise your hand if you sit in a desk chair for most hours of the day. Chances are, this describes most of our 9-to-5 routines. While it's the ideal position to crank out that client presentation, sitting for long periods of time puts you at risk of early death, and it could be to blame for running pain too.

Dead-butt syndrome—aka the literal pain in the butt you feel when your gluteus medius is inflamed—comes as a result of sitting for extended periods of time and jumping straight into your workout without stretching your hip flexors first, explains Wendy Winn of New York Custom Physical Therapy in New York City.

By opening up your hip flexors, which get tight from sitting too long, your glutes prepare to activate instead of simply turning off when you hit the pavement, Winn says. It's called reciprocal inhibition, which means muscles on one side of the joint must relax while the muscles on the other side contract. Here's what it boils down to: When your hip flexors are on, your butt muscles are off. And trying to turn your butt "on" to power you through that evening run without stretching first can result in pain and injury, Winn says. Luckily, she's got a few simple exercises to help get your rear in gear.

How it works: Perform each move in Winn's butt workout ahead 15 to 30 times. Repeat three to five times a week, or every day if you run regularly.

Total Time: up to 30 minutes

1. Karate Kicks

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Start in a squat position, knees in line with ankles. With hands on hips, lower into a squat until butt is parallel with floor.

Stand up, and kick right leg to the side so it almost reaches hip height. Keep foot facing straight out in front of you. Return to the squat and repeat on the other side to complete one rep.

2. Propelling Running Drill

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Once your leg reaches your chest, add a small hop. Be sure to keep the weight in the front leg the whole time, with your knee pointed straight out in front of you. That's one rep.