Our overly sedentary society is killing our butts.

Sitting so often leads to a lack of strength in the muscles of the glutes: the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and gluteus medius. When these muscles are weak, your pelvis is not as stable – forcing other muscles and joints to kick in to do the work.

As a result, a myriad of potential injuries occur: shin splints, runner’s knee, illiotibial band syndrome and Achilles tendinitis. Even if you run, you may not activate these muscles enough and many strength-training routines don’t target the glutes effectively. Include specific butt-training exercises such as single leg squats, dirty-dogs and donkey kicks at least twice per week to revive your glutes and protect you from injury.

For other glute-specific exercises, go to the American Council on Exercise Exercise Library at the website below.

You can get more workout and nutrition advice from Fitness Between Friends at the website below.