How to Avoid a Flabby Tush

Dr. Kolba says that part of avoiding a flabby tush that fails to support the muscles and joints around it is simply to get up from your chair a number of times per day. For those of us who aren’t into athletic competitions, that single, simple modification to daily routine can make a huge difference in lowering the risk of injury when we hike, bike, or get serious about working out.

For the more athletically inclined, there are a number of glute-strengthening exercises, but one stands out for requiring a minimum of equipment and for helping you build up strength on both sides of your buttocks so you don’t have injuries. It’s called the Bulgarian squat. There is a link to a demonstration of the exercise posted after this article.

How do you do the Bulgarian squat?

1. Take a single dumbbell or kettle bell with your left hand. Never do this exercise with a barbell. Start with the smallest weight available until you can perform the routine with ease.

2. Position yourself in front of an ottoman or your sofa.

3. Place your left foot in front of your body, while resting your right foot on the cushion behind you. Your left foot will be flat on the floor, while the tips of your toes of your right foot will be planted in the sofa cushion. If all you can do is to achieve this position, that’s a useful start. Don’t injure yourself. This exercise can take a while to master.

4. Keeping your left foot flat on the floor, and holding the weight in your left hand, touch the floor with your right knee. Repeat 10 times or as many times as you are comfortable. If you can’t reach the floor, don’t force yourself. Bend as much as you can. Don’t use a heavier weight in future exercise sessions until you are flexible enough to touch the floor.

5. Repeat the exercise with your right foot on the floor, with the weight in your right hand.

What’s the advantage of this exercise over all the others? We all naturally tend to favor our stronger side. This exercise, if you do it with both sides of your body, ensures that both sides of your buttocks are equally strong. It doesn’t allow you to favor one side. That way you are less likely to suffer knee or hip injuries on the weak side of your body.

READ Get Smart, Stay Smart: Squat

What’s another way to make sure your buttocks don’t cause injuries elsewhere in your body? Exercise all of your core muscles, not just some of them. The core muscles are the hips, the lateral trunk, the lower back, and the abs. Many people work out as if their core muscles were the abs, the abs, the abs, and the abs. If you only work out to build up your abs, you will set yourself up for injury due to the weakness of your other muscles.

It also helps to train in an upright position for activities you perform in an upright position. That is, if your goal is like Esther’s to bike and run an Iron Woman Triathlon, sit ups aren’t enough to tone and strengthen the core muscles. In fact, endless variations of sit ups aren’t basically a good idea. If you do sit ups in your core routine, fine, but never let them dominate your routine.