Despite its light-hearted name, ‘office bum’ can lead to the more serious ‘dead butt syndrome’ in which your glute muscles ‘forget’ their purpose altogether
If you work in an office, chances are, you sit in a desk chair for eight hours a day, everyday – but a fitness guru now warns this lifestyle can bring you an ‘office bum’ – no matter how hard you workout in the gym.
The bizarrely named phenomenon causes your cheeks to lose their perkiness, according to the weight loss and nutrition coach, Annabelle Smith. She told The Mirror: “There has been a lot of talk in the media recently around the undesirable body phenomenon rather unkindly called ‘office bum’ or ‘secretary spread. And with current body trends all focusing on having a very shapely posterior – thanks for this Kardashians – this is concerning to many.
“Office bum describes having a flatter backside, which many believe happens because of not moving. This is not caused by the area ‘spreading’ or ‘flattening’ after sitting for too long, it’s more a case of the area having poor muscle tone caused by having a sedentary lifestyle.”
Despite its light-hearted name, it’s believed ‘office bum’ can lead to more dangerous conditions in the worst of cases. ‘Dead butt syndrome’, also known as ‘gluteal amnesia’, is just one possible consequence, according to Mirafit, causing glute muscles to ‘forget’ their purpose altogether.
Annabelle continued: “The combination of not having an active life outside of work or exercising the glutes specifically – often combined with a poor diet – will see even the best posterior suffer in terms of a flat and untoned bottom.”
To prevent dead butt syndrome, Mirafit recommends that office-workers try out a couple of butt-stretching exercises on a regular basis. Squats, side planks and lunges are among these, alongside something known as ‘the monster walk’. An expert at the firm explained: “Begin by placing a resistance band around your ankles and positioning your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Proceed to take small steps forward at a slow pace. You should experience a sensation of burning and activation in the outer muscles of your glutes.”
‘Frog glute bridges’ and ‘deadbugs’ are two other vital techniques recommended too. The expert continued: “[For deadbugs], begin by lying on your back with arms extended in front of your shoulders and knees bent above your hips. Extend one arm and the opposite leg, then return to the starting position before switching sides. This core workout strengthens the abdominal muscles and promotes proper hip alignment.
“[For frog glute bridges], instead of executing a standard glute raise, maintain your feet near your glutes and position your knees outward. From this stance, lift your glutes off the floor. This modified glute bridge increases the engagement of the outer glute muscles.”
If none of these take your fancy, experts say that taking short breaks throughout the day to move around can still go a long way to prevent office bum and dead butt syndrome. Annabelle added: “The moral of the story is to get your muscle up, keep body fat at a reasonable level and stay active, then regardless of your job there will be no risk of a flat bottom.”
Have you got a story? Get in touch at [email protected]
