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Tag: Fitness Tips

  • What I Wish I’d Known About Post-Show Blues Before I Started Bodybuilding – POPSUGAR Australia

    What I Wish I’d Known About Post-Show Blues Before I Started Bodybuilding – POPSUGAR Australia

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    When people ask me what made me decide to compete in bodybuilding, I always say that I found peace in the gym and weightlifting. So naturally, as a Virgo that’s driven by detail and structure – I wanted to see what the next challenge would be in my fitness journey. I was introduced to bodybuilding in 2016 and over the next year and a half I competed in two different amateur shows under the bikini division with the National Physique Committee (NPC), the largest amateur bodybuilding organization.

    Competing while being a therapist offered me the ability to view the sport from a clinical lens and gave me a dual perspective of the mental health challenges faced by competitors. The entire process of bodybuilding was mostly enjoyable for me since it allowed me to develop new relationships with people that had the same affinity for weight lifting. But no one, not even my coach who is one of the best in the industry, prepared me for what can happen when you step off of the stage: post-show depression and a disordered relationship with body image and food.

    I didn’t realize my sole interests and personality had become about the competition until after the competition had ended. Once it did, I was hit with a huge wave of depression and anxiety. I searched everywhere online about what I was experiencing and stumbled on a article on what about “post-show blues” which can trigger symptoms of depression once a competition is over. This can come from seeing your body change back to its baseline, feeling confused about nutrition, and lacking the intense structure that previously guided your days when training for competition.

    The truth is, unless you pay for your coach to help you reverse cycle back into a regular diet, you are left on your own to navigate the physical and emotional repercussions post-show. And even if you did pay your coaches to help with the nutritional aspect of things, they’re not qualified to help you navigate your mental health or talk to you about things like body dysmorphia and depression. These coaches have hundreds of clients worldwide and are being paid to get you on stage. What happens after the stage is the dark side of the sport that competitors weren’t talking about back then.

    Unfortunately, instead of dealing with these dark feelings, I signed up for a second competition. Days after I stepped off of the stage, I struggled with my mental health again. I felt anxious without the sense of structure that being on prep provided. On top of that, I found myself battling deep feelings of insecurity and disappointment about my body reverting back to its baseline. They tell you not to “attach to the body” which means, being aware that your body will not look the way it did on prep. But, I did – as I imagine many others do, too.

    In conversations with other amateur competitors, we also discussed other issues that come up post-competition including binge eating, restriction, and body dysmorphia. One of the most common post-show side effects was orthorexia (an extreme obsession with healthy eating), as competitors often practiced unhealthy eating habits under the guise of “discipline,” despite not having any show coming up. This also looked like signing up for show after show just to stay in a certain type of shape, which isn’t realistic or attainable for most people. Orthorexia can also happen to those involved in any type of competitive sport or training program who either stop training or take a break.

    Overall, I still think that bodybuilding is an incredible sport and am fascinated by the greats in the industry. But like any sport, I believe that there are a limited number of people who can navigate it in a healthy way.

    If you are experiencing post-competition anxiety or depression or notice unhealthy eating and exercising habits, consider taking a break. Remember to give your body the compassion and nutrition that it needs. Here are a few things that helped me transition back to healthy habits post-competition:

    • Recall the things that you were doing pre-competition: Reconnect with your hobbies and find alternatives to how you want to structure your day. Reminding yourself that there is life outside of fitness is key for recovery.
    • Remember that there is no such thing as “good” or “bad” food: Consider working with a trainer or dietician that takes on the health at every size framework post-competition. Tapping a mental health professional to help you work through negative self-talk can be helpful, too.
    • Unfollow any fitness influencer that engages in orthorexia or body checks: These can be particularly triggering and you want your feed to be filled with body diversity.
    • Do some journaling and self-reflection: Ask what does balance look like for me? In order for recovery to take place, you’ll need to reestablish a new routine that integrates your personal interests. And if you can’t do that on your own, tap a professional for help.

    That said, I also think that there’s plenty of work to be done within the industry to make life during and after competition healthier and more sustainable. Coaching programs need to make a greater effort to ensure that amateur competitors are aware of what they are getting into prior to competing and to continually assess the mental health of their competitors to ensure overall well-being throughout their competitive journey.

    To competitors looking to get into the sport, my best piece of advice is to embrace the process that prep offers and remind yourself that the value of the experience is in the journey not the outcome. Make an active effort to prioritize your mental health by nurturing your hobbies and relationships throughout prep so that the transition back to your routine can feel a lot smoother. Lastly, get really clear on your “why” because if the goal is just to have a nice body, you can easily find yourself going down an unsustainable path.

    Alyssa Mancao, LCSW, is a social worker, group practice owner, and keynote speaker. She received her master’s in social work from the University of Southern California and has been practicing for well over a decade. She has contributed to various well-known outlets to address strategies for increasing self-connection and navigating conflict in relationships. Her recommendations for mental health strategies have been featured in Vogue, Elle, and Women’s Health. Alyssa is a PS Council member.

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    Alyssa mancao

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  • Is It Bad To Do the Same Workout Every Day? – POPSUGAR Australia

    Is It Bad To Do the Same Workout Every Day? – POPSUGAR Australia

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    We’ve all been there: obsessed with one specific workout, whether it’s a so-hard-it-hurts HIIT class, a makes-your-bod-rock Pilates class, a zen-AF yoga class, or a gives-you-literal-life regular run. It’s not always easy to exercise, but looking forward to this particular workout helps with motivation, so it’s pretty much the only workout that gets done. But is repeating the exact same series of exercises every time you break a sweat bad for your body?

    “Finding a type of exercise you enjoy so much that you want to do it every day is a gift,” says certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist Rachel Trotta. “But it’s smart to plan your week intelligently, so that your recovery is built in, and you can see the results you really want without burning out.”

    In other words, if you’ve found a workout you love, hurray! Research shows enjoyment is one of the main reasons people adhere to a workout regimen, and anything that motivates you to move your body is a good thing. And when it comes to certain workouts, like strength-training, repetition can be key. But there are reasons to at least try to mix other workouts in with your favorite go-to. Below, experts unpack some of the arguments for variety when it comes to designing your exercise regimen and offer suggestions for mixing it up like a pro trainer.

    The Downsides of Doing the Same Workout Every Day

    1. You’re Not Allowing Time for Recovery

    If you’re repeating the same workout every single day, you may not be giving your body adequate time to recover, which can end up working against your fitness goals.

    But just how important recovery is depends on the type of workout you’re repeating, says Trotta. For example, if it’s a well-balanced strength-training regimen or a daily yoga class that hits a variety of muscle groups, you may not have to worry about recovery as much as you need to if your workout is higher in intensity, such as distance running or a high-octane HIIT class.

    “Some kinds of exercise tax the nervous system, but this isn’t a bad thing as long as sufficient recovery happens – you tend to come back stronger and more resilient,” says Trotta. “But if you’re exerting this stress literally every day, or almost every day, you might experience the opposite effect from overdoing it. Your performance will suffer, you’ll feel more lethargic, random injuries will pop up, and you’ll probably even see unwanted changes in body composition.”

    In Trotta’s experience, the most common culprit for “overuse” injury from repetition is running. “It’s important to know that running is a unique type of cardio exercise because of the power and impact involved. Your muscles have to absorb and translate a lot of force, especially at faster speeds,” she says. “If someone’s primary mode of exercise is running, it’s critical that they take one to two rest days a week, and vary the intensity of their training day to day.”

    With strength training, however, progress actually requires repetition. So Trotta says it’s important to build a routine that allows you to switch up your target muscles throughout the week. “With strength training, for example, overuse only tends to happen if someone is training the same muscle groups too frequently – like doing back-to-back leg days – and is overreaching their abilities every time they walk in the gym,” she says. “Even then, I wouldn’t necessarily use the word ‘overuse’ – it’s just not very organized programming, which should allow for ups and downs in intensity and proper rest between training days.”

    Related: How to Motivate Yourself to Work Out Even When Life Gets Hectic

    2. You’ll Hit a Plateau

    If you do the same workout every day, your body will adapt to the workout over time. “Repeating a workout is great in the beginning, especially as motivation. You start to get good at those specific movements and with that comes not only physical, but mental changes as well. However, your body will eventually hit a plateau,” says Nike Well Collective trainer Julia Brown. “You then slowly lose the motivation because you no longer see the results and begin to feel discouraged.”

    Strength training, says Brown, provides a great example of this. If you’re constantly doing the exact same workout and not adding the proper progressions, you won’t see results. “Any movement is a plus; however, if you have specific goals in mind, they might not be as achievable doing the same workout three to four times a week compared to following a tailored program,” she says. “Having the proper balance in your workout regime allows you to not only move better, but continuously challenges yourself mentally and physically.”

    3. You May Get Bored

    While you can reap the psychological benefits of engaging in a workout you love long after your body has adapted, you may eventually adapt mentally as well and grow bored. This can cause you to be less mindful in your movements, and eventually lose motivation to hit the gym altogether.

    4. It Could Lead to Over-Exercising

    In some cases, says Trotta, repetitive exercise can become a compulsion of sorts. “Sometimes, people over-exercise in pursuit of weight loss, or they do a specific type of exercise because they’ve heard that it will ‘give them’ the body they idealize,” she says. “Body image anxiety can strongly influence exercise behaviors, causing people to tune out important clues about overtraining, like excessive fatigue or pesky injuries. I especially find this with running or HIIT classes – it can turn into a ball-and-chain routine that must be done to prevent weight gain.”

    To figure out if you’re over-exercising or exercising too repetitively, Trotta recommends clarifying your goals. “Are you trying to get stronger? Build muscle? Boost your mental health? Manage your weight?” she says. “Simply knowing why you’re exercising can help you create a healthy roadmap that avoids burnout.”

    Related: How to Relieve Post-Workout Muscle Soreness – and What Not to Do

    How To Create the Right Workout “Recipe”

    When it comes to optimally training your body, there is actually a formula of sorts to follow, says Trotta. “When we’re trying to create a healthy and effective weekly exercise schedule, we’re not just looking at frequency or the type of exercise – we’re thinking about undulations in intensity as well,” she says. “A smart ‘recipe’ is to have a large base of low-intensity movement, like lots of walking, two to three days a week of moderately vigorous exercise, and one to two days a week of high-intensity exercise.”

    This means, Trotta says, that you don’t necessarily have to do completely different workouts throughout the week to add the variety your body needs. For example, if someone loves to run, they can get a lot of miles in every week without injury if they’re intentional about the types of runs they’re doing: mixing it up between easy paces, speed runs, intervals, etc.

    “If someone loves high-intensity classes, they can go to that class a lot if they mindfully push themselves harder on some days while coasting on other days,” she says. “Even with a Peloton bike or treadmill, you can choose shorter HIIT workouts a few days a week, with easier intervals, runs, and paces on other days.”

    In some cases, you do need to change things up a bit more, however. For strength-training clients, Trotta recommends vigorous strength training three to four days per week, with walking and various forms of cardio mixed in on the other days.

    But there is one caveat. “If someone uses running as their cardio between strength-training days, it’s important to ‘pick a lane’ and commit to which sport they’re trying to improve at the moment, because one needs to be moderate to allow the other to make organized progress,” she says.

    Trotta reiterates the importance of incorporating specific types of variety within a strength-training regimen, too. “You can vary the exercises used for a specific muscle group, and this can be effective in terms of varying intensity,” she says. “For example, if you’re working on squats, you might be focusing on barbell back squats. But it can be smart to just do barbell back squats at your max once a week, and work squats in other ways on other days – Smith machine front squats, leg presses, heavy goblet squats, and more.”

    Working the same muscles from different angles and at different intensities can somewhat help with injury prevention by stimulating different parts of the muscle to engage. “I write most of my clients’ programs with this kind of variety built in – it gives them more flexibility at the gym, and also helps to prevent mental burnout,” Trotta says. “But you have to be careful about too much variety, because you won’t make progress if you don’t repeat a particular exercise often enough.” For example, if you only do barbell back squats once a month, you’re probably not going to make significant progress in increasing the weight you’re lifting.

    If you’re unsure of whether or not you’re properly varying your strength-training regimen or allowing for adequate muscle recovery, Trotta says there are a few questions you can ask yourself. “Is the weight too heavy? Are there at least two days between the same muscle group being worked strenuously? Are you clearing soreness by the time the next workout rolls around?” she says. “On the lifestyle side of the equation, you can also take a look at sleep and nutrition, to ensure that you’re providing yourself with sufficient recovery.”

    Ultimately, Any Exercise Is Good Exercise

    While the ideal workout regimen includes a significant amount of variety (for all the reasons listed above), it’s important to remember that some movement is better than no movement. So, if mixing it up is going to demotivate you, it’s better to be a creature of habit then to end up with no exercise habit at all.

    “The statistical reality is that most people don’t get enough physical activity, and it’s incredibly easy for people to fall off the wagon with their exercise,” says Trotta. “So if someone is highly motivated by a specific class and essentially won’t exercise otherwise, I understand why they might go every day, even if, in some ways, it’s not in their best interests.”

    Her advice for these folks is to “go hard” with their chosen workout a few days a week, “go easy” with it on the other days, and plan to rest one day per week. “While it might not be an ideal arrangement from the point of view of perfect exercise science, it’s miles better than not exercising at all,” she says.

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    Erin bunch

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  • Tabata Gives You the Benefits of an Hour-Long Workout in Just 4 Minutes – POPSUGAR Australia

    Tabata Gives You the Benefits of an Hour-Long Workout in Just 4 Minutes – POPSUGAR Australia

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    If you’re looking for a mega-quick, mega-efficient workout, one great option is Tabata training. What is Tabata? It’s a super-charged version of high intensity interval training (HIIT) in which you go all out for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, then repeat that eight times for a total of four minutes.

    Sure, it’s quick and simple. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Here’s everything you need to know about Tabata workouts, why it gets you breathing hard so quickly, and how to do them effectively.

    What Does Tabata Mean?

    Many people assume Tabata is an acronym, but it’s actually the name of the scientist who first studied this workout: Dr. Izumi Tabata, who conducted a 1996 research project on the Japanese speed skating team. He was looking into the effectiveness of a HIIT regimen created by the team’s coach, Irisawa Koichi, which alternated between 20 seconds of max intensity and 10 seconds of rest, repeated eight times.

    His work found that just four minutes of this exhausting routine could improve aerobic fitness just as effectively as an hour-long moderate intensity session, while also creating a 28 percent increase in anaerobic capacity (how much you can push at your max before fatiguing). Although it was a workout designed for elite athletes, the findings were so impressive that the fitness industry latched on, and the Tabata craze took off.

    What Is Tabata Training?

    You can do Tabata with nearly any kind of movement – while running, swimming, cycling, dancing, pumping battle ropes or even doing burpees, if that’s your jam. No matter your activity of choice, you’ll be going as hard as you can for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 seconds, for four minutes total. “And if you do your Tabata correctly, there is no fifth minute because it is your all-out intensity,” says ACE-certified fitness instructor Jason Schneider, the West Central regional group fitness manager of Crunch. “You’re trying to reach your most intense heart rate zone.”

    That said, Schneider points out that the fitness industry has adapted the workout for the general public, creating slightly lower-key Tabata-based classes that include multiple Tabata blocks – each one followed by a solid recovery period before diving into the next set. “The truth of the matter is, most of us will work hard, but very few of us will ever take it to that point of such high intensity that after four minutes you’re done,” says Schneider.

    And as Jessie Syfko, director of fitness for Life Time health clubs, says, “consistency is going to beat intensity.” Going full throttle in just one tabata session won’t be as beneficial as repeating those intervals regularly. “Doing it again week after week is where you’re going to really feel the gains,” she says.

    What Is Tabata Training Beneficial For?

    There are a few reasons why fitness instructors want everyone to know what Tabata is.

    Tabata Improves Your Cardio Fitness

    Dr. Tabata’s original study drew so much attention because it proved that four minutes of Tabata can give you the same aerobic boost as 60 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio. Recent research has shown that six to 12 weeks of tabata sessions can increase VO2max – the gold standard measurement of aerobic fitness – by up to 18 percent. This means your body gets more efficient at using oxygen, boosting your endurance.

    Tabata Increases Your Strength

    Meanwhile, the same 2019 study showed that several weeks of Tabata can increase your anaerobic capacity, or how long your muscles can push at their max before fatiguing, by up to 35 percent.

    Tabata Is Super Efficient

    If you’re following the traditional Tabata directions, all you need is four minutes. Almost all of us have that much spare time in our day, right? “You’re giving it a very hard effort in a short period of time instead of giving it moderate effort over a long period of time,” says Peloton instructor Rad Lopez.

    Tabata Burns Fat Effectively

    The maxed-out intensity of Tabata can torch your metabolism, says Schneider. “There’s something called EPOC, which is excess postexercise oxygen consumption,” he says. “Doing HIIT exercise, you have a higher metabolic burn for a greater amount of time until your body returns back to homeostasis.” And because Tabata is even more extreme than your typical HIIT workout, those effects are amplified, Schneider adds.

    Science backs him up: one small study done in 2020 showed that adding Tabata to PE classes reduced body fat in overweight high school students.

    What’s the Difference Between Tabata and HIIT?

    Tabata is a HIIT workout – just an extra spicy one. Since you’re giving 100-percent, gut-busting, gasping-for-air effort for 20 seconds, and then take just 10 seconds to rest, this is one of the most exhausting versions of HIIT you’ll come across. In general, most other HIIT intervals last longer, but don’t take you to your very max. Also, most HIIT workouts take more time, while a true Tabata session lasts only four minutes.

    Who Should Try a Tabata Workout?

    Although Tabata was created for Olympic-level athletes, any experienced gym-goer can reap the benefits. Because Tabata can be done with any kind of activity, and the intensity is about hitting your personal max, it’s infinitely adaptable. “At any age, if I want a challenge, I could sit on a recumbent bike and I can do the Tabata protocol,” says Schneider.

    That said, Schneider suggests working up to Tabata training. “Do not join a gym and day one go to a Tabata workout,” he says. That’s because, when done properly, Tabata is incredibly difficult. You could end up injured if your body isn’t prepared for the intensity. And if you don’t already love working out, pushing that hard may discourage you from going back to the gym again. You need to be prepared to feel the burn.

    The Most Effective Way To Do a Tabata Workout

    Tabata can be part of nearly any workout. But there are a few things to keep in mind to get the most out of it.

    Save It For the End

    Timing-wise, if you’re doing Tabata as part of a longer session, make it your finale. “I love finishing up a strength class with a little bit of Tabata, just to make sure we finish on a high note,” says Lopez.

    Scheider agrees: “Do it at the very end because you want to end with just literally emptying your cup and with all of that benefit of that metabolic burn after your workout is done.”

    Don’t Overdo It

    Sprinkle Tabata into your workout routine sparingly. “It is too intense to do every single day,” says Syfko. Trainers suggest practicing Tabata only once, maybe twice a week. More than that, and you’ll over-stress your body, potentially leading to injuries or even hormone imbalances, says Syfko.

    Use Your Recovery Wisely

    You may be most focused on those 20-second sprints, but the rest periods are what help you give your all, so be strategic about them. “Optimize the 10-second breaks,” says Syfko. “Instead of drinking water or walking around, go right back into your breathing.” Focusing on the breath will help your heart rate recover so that you’re ready to go again.

    Start With an Activity You Know and Love

    Because Tabata can sometimes feel intimidating, Lopez suggests trying it with a move you already know how to do. “For example, I’m a boxer, so moves that I’m comfortable with would be shadow boxing, right? Let’s say you’re a runner. You want to sprint for 20 seconds, recover for 10 seconds,” he says. “You don’t want to jump into a move that you just learned a couple of days ago. You want to make sure that you’re comfortable.”

    Stay Focused on Technique

    Watch your form: “When the intensity is higher, oftentimes form and technique are thrown out the window,” says Schneider. “Do not sacrifice good form for high intensity because that’s a recipe for injury.”

    Tabata Variations

    Tabata’s 20/10 intervals came out of one 1990s research project on professional athletes. In a way, these exact durations are somewhat arbitrary – and they’re by no means the only ones you can follow to get the aerobic-boosting, strength-building effects of alternating power intervals with rest.

    “You can apply the two-to-one work/rest ratio in longer sets,” says Syfko. “It’s not going to be a true Tabata, but it’s still a great interval training system.” Schneider, for one, likes to give 30-second sprints followed by 15 seconds of rest in his Tabata-inspired cycling classes.

    And remember: if going “all out” feels like entirely too much, just give it a hard effort. “A lot of it’s about some self-kindness,” says Syfko, “having the grace to be terrible at something and continue to show up.”

    Try These Tabata Workouts

    Ready to find out what Tabata actually feels like to do? Check out these Tabata-based POPSUGAR workouts:

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    Jennifer heimlich

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  • Stretching Does More Than Feel Good – It Has Serious Benefits For Your Bod – POPSUGAR Australia

    Stretching Does More Than Feel Good – It Has Serious Benefits For Your Bod – POPSUGAR Australia

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    Unless you practice yoga regularly, it can be easy to neglect stretching as a part of your regular workout routine. Sure, you know you should take at least a few minutes to do it daily – or at the very least, before or after you exercise – but meh. It’s not such a big deal to skip it, right?

    Not so fast. Stretching has a number of significant benefits, the most notable of which is that it will help you stay active longer by helping to prevent injury. That’s no small thing, especially for such a relatively small thing to ask of yourself.

    Below, experts unpack the benefits of lengthening your limbs, and offer dos and don’ts for stretching safely and properly.

    The Benefits of Stretching

    1. It Keeps Muscles Mobile

    Not to state the obvious, but stretching helps keep muscles flexible, which is necessary for increasing range of motion in the joints.

    “Not everyone needs to be able to hold a split, just like not everyone needs to do barbell training or handstands. Instead, a good measure of healthy, useful flexibility is that we can move comfortably through full ranges of motions, engaging the right muscles at the right times, in activities that matter to us,” says certified personal trainer Rachel Trotta. “Being appropriately flexible can help us achieve other goals pain-free, whether it’s being able to squat heavier or to feel more comfortable in yoga class.”

    Muscle flexibility or mobility can also help increase muscle strength and prevent injury, says celebrity stretch lymph specialist Andrea Carlisle. “Without the proper recovery and movement provided by regular stretching, muscles stay stagnant, tight, and short, which can lead to injury and pain,” she says. “Injury and body pain will cause less activity and stamina, leading to a reduction in muscle mass and strength. It’s a vicious cycle.”

    2. It Improves Performance of Physical Activities

    Stretching, says Carlisle, can also improve athletic performance. “You can’t perform to your fullest if you’re not stretching,” she says. Research specifically shows that engaging in a type of stretching known as dynamic stretching – stretches that get that body moving and aren’t held for long periods of time – before engaging in physical activity is proven to enhance both range of motion and muscle power.

    3. It’s ‘Anti-Aging’ For the Body

    According to Carlisle, there’s another, lesser-known but hugely important benefit to stretching. “It’s one of the most anti-aging things you can do for your body – I can always tell how youthful someone is by how flexible they are and how open their hips are,” she says. “People can do all these anti-aging things, but being mobile and flexible will aid you more than anything else. As Joseph Pilates would say, you’re only as young as your spine is flexible.”

    One of the reasons for this anti-aging effect, says Carlisle, is that constant circulation is “the key to youth in general.” If you don’t regularly move your body, it can hasten physiological hallmarks of aging, including weakened bones and muscles, hypertension, and a sluggish digestive system. “Stretching helps improve circulation, but it also prevents injury, which keeps you more active, which in turn keeps things circulating,” says Carlisle.

    4. It Can Mediate the Effects of Stress

    Muscles tighten up in response to stress. This tension is typically released once the stressor passes, but the ongoing stress many of us experience in response to modern life can cause chronic muscle tension, which can lead to headaches, back pain, and other chronic ailments. Stretching helps alleviate these physical symptoms of emotional distress.

    And according to Carlisle, stretching can also aid in emotional release. “We store everything in our bodies, whether it’s childhood trauma, stress, negative emotions, sadness, anger, rage, or frustration. It’s all trapped in the fascia of our muscles,” she says. “Stretching and releasing that out of the muscles in general makes for a stronger body, better [athletic] performance, and a clearer mind.”

    5. It May Improve Your Sex Life

    If all of this somehow has yet to sway you, Carlisle has one more less-than-obvious benefit to offer up: better sex.

    “Stretching is a great way to enhance your sexual performance and sex life in general,” she says. “Not only does it boost circulation, which has a direct correlation to your level of arousal, but it also improves your flexibility and stamina – and who doesn’t want to be flexible in the bedroom?”

    Important Areas of Focus For Stretching

    Even if we (now) know the benefits of stretching, it can still be difficult to find time to fit long stretching routines into our daily lives. And while Carlisle believes it’s important to stretch everything, she says there are some areas she recommends prioritizing when time is tight. (Like your muscles – heh.)

    Lower Back

    “We’re constantly hunched over phones and computers all day, and over time, it’s straining your lower back,” Carlisle says. “So it’s important to do any kind of shoulder opening-stretch, like heart-openers.”

    Hamstrings and Calves

    According to Carlisle, if your hamstrings are really tight, it can also strain your lower back. “The hamstrings and glutes are connected to the lower back, and the calves are connected to the hamstrings,” says Carlisle. “So if one muscle is tight, it strains the other muscles around it, which then leads to tightness and pain in those muscles and so on. It’s a domino effect.”

    Hips and Inner Thighs

    “Stretching keeps your hips strong, and having strong hips is very important,” Carlisle says. “We need our hips for everything – walking, running, lifting things, working our jobs, sports, taking care of our children, giving birth, etc. Strong hips keep us fully active in all areas of life.” Even though it’s commonly assumed that our hips will “go bad” as we age, Carlisle says this is not supposed to happen, and can be prevented by regular stretching.

    The inner thighs, meanwhile, play a vital role in stabilizing the pelvis and hip joints and maintaining alignment of the legs and pelvis. “Having strong inner thighs also enhances stability and balance during various activities and sports like basketball, tennis, and more,” says Carlisle. “And stretching your inner thighs eases tension in the legs and groin and increases the range of motion in your leg muscles.”

    Wrists

    Finally, Carlisle Rodriguez says you probably want to make time in your day to stretch your wrists, which are prone to getting bent out of shape due to technology use. “People should really be stretching their wrists, because of how we’re using our thumbs and fingers for all these technologies,” she says. “It’s really important, because there’s been a rise in wrist injuries and chronic wrist pain.”

    How to Stretch Effectively

    Stretch After Your Workout

    Doing some dynamic stretches prior to your workout can help warm up your body before rigorous activity. However, static stretches are best left for the cooldown. “Flexibility work is far more effective once your body is already mobilized and heated from exercise, so it’s smart to take advantage of that at the end of a workout – or in between sets, as interesting new research is suggesting,” Trotta says.

    And because stretching has a calming effect, Trotta also says engaging in stretches at the end of a workout can help your body’s nervous system return to neutral.

    Breathe

    One of the most important “dos” of stretching, says Carlisle, is intentional breathing. “You’re always supposed to inhale when you’re getting positioned into your stretch and exhale out when you’re releasing into the stretch.” Exhaling into the stretch, she says, helps you get deeper into stretch, which enhances the benefits.

    Slow Down

    Carlisle also recommends slowing your stretches down – at least when you’re engaging in static (versus dynamic) stretches.

    “Everyone’s in a hurry, and so they stretch too quickly and aren’t holding their poses or stretches,” she says. “I don’t want to give you a specific time prescription because I believe you can use your intuition to determine when you’ve stretched a specific body part for long enough. But I feel like taking your time and holding the pose is so important, because you might even hurt yourself if you stretch too quickly.”

    Practice Good Form

    “It’s critical to maintain intent during a stretch, knowing which muscle you’re trying to lengthen. For example, you’re not stretching your hamstrings when you touch your toes if you’re rounding your lower back,” says Carlisle.

    If you’re not certain of your form, ask your class instructor or trainer, or try out a session with a stretch specialist like Carlisle. You can also look into classes at StretchLab for a primer on form.

    Add Load

    According to Trotta, you may also want to add load – weight or resistance – to stretches in order to maximize results. One example she gives is doing dumbbell Romanian deadlifts to stretch your hamstrings instead of holding a forward fold endlessly.

    “The eccentric lengthening (the lowering part) of exercises like this can help build control and stability into your muscle memory, making you ultimately more flexible,” Trotta says. “This is also where partner stretching can be amazing – a partner can provide resistance for you to push against, which helps your muscles build more control and intelligence in a deeper range of motion.”

    Know When to Strengthen vs Stretch

    Although stretching is often indicated for muscle tightness, Trotta says this isn’t always the case. Instead, it may signify a need to strengthen your muscles. “A lot of tightness isn’t coming directly from your muscle. It’s coming from your brain and nervous system telling your muscle to stay contracted, because it’s trying to create more stability around a joint,” she says. “For example, if your hip flexors feel extremely tight all the time, it’s fine to introduce some stretching, but I would also do plenty of hip flexor exercises as well – like slow banded mountain climbers – to help with the sensations of tightness.”

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    Erin bunch

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  • How to Do a Pull-Up for a Strong Upper Body – POPSUGAR Australia

    How to Do a Pull-Up for a Strong Upper Body – POPSUGAR Australia

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    POPSUGAR Photography / Maria del Rio / FOTOGRAFIA INC.

    Fitness goals often vary from person to person; a newfound cardio enthusiast may have their sights set on running a 10k, while a beginner weightlifter might dream of deadlifting 100 pounds. But no matter the workout passion, one exercise seems to be at the top of every newbie’s ambition list: the pull-up.

    So how do you get there? Follow this expert-approved guide to the pull-up exercise, which includes tips on how to do pull-up a pull up, details on the main pull-up benefits, ideas for pull-up variations, and answers to the question, “What muscles do pull-ups work?”

    What Do Pull-Ups Work?

    Pull-ups will put your upper-body muscles through the wringer. Specifically, the move calls upon the lats (aka latissimus dorsi, which drive the movement), biceps (which help with bending the elbow), traps (which support the movement of the shoulder blades), and forearm muscles (which support your grip), says Anne Reuss, a NASM-certified personal trainer and inclusive training expert. Your rhomboids and rotator cuff muscles are also involved, adds Laura Su, CSCS, a certified strength and conditioning specialist in Seattle.

    When performed correctly, pull-ups also work your core, specifically your abdominals and obliques, which provide stability, says Reuss. “From a distance, it appears straightforward, almost effortless,” she explains. “But when you take inventory of all the muscles engaged and the sheer demands, it’s an extraordinary feat – and it’s a challenge representing strength, coordination, and determination!”

    Pull-Up Benefits

    1. They Improve Posture

    Keeping your upper back and core muscles strong is essential to maintaining good posture and preventing pain in other parts of your body, says Su. “A lot of us spend a lot of time sitting down at desks, so those back muscles tend to get weak,” she explains. “If the upper back starts to get bent over, it becomes harder on your low back and your hip flexors.” However, training those muscles, such as by performing pull-ups, can help counteract the postural impacts of your desk job. Plus, pull-ups enhance shoulder mobility and improve scapular range of motion, which play an important role in healthy posture, she adds.

    2. They Support Daily Functioning

    Your lats are a huge muscle – they extend from your humerus (your upper arm bone) all the way down your back, so they’re involved in many of your everyday movements, says Su. In turn, practicing lat-building pull-ups can make actions like pulling open a heavy door or lifting a box brimming with holiday decorations off the floor less taxing.

    In addition to strength, pull-ups improve shoulder stability, which plays a key role in injury prevention when you’re maneuvering heavy objects overhead (e.g., when you’re grabbing your luggage out of an airplane’s overhead compartment), says Su.

    3. They Challenge You Mentally

    “Pull-ups aren’t just an exercise, they are a declaration of your strength and defiance against gravity!” says Reuss. “When you grip that bar and hoist yourself up, you’ve got those wings. You recognize a relentless spirit in yourself, even if you’re starting or in [the] middle of your pull-up journey. It’s mental as much as physical.”

    Essentially, successfully performing a pull-up is no easy feat, so when you finally nail the movement, expect to feel like a million bucks. “I think people just feel really badass and very accomplished doing pull-ups – that’s a big [benefit],” says Su.

    How to Do a Pull-Up

    Before you give the exercise a try, follow this step-by-step guide on how to do a pull-up for beginners with perfect form.

    1. Place both of your hands on a pull-up bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your palms should be facing forward.
    2. Engage your core by bracing your stomach as if someone is about to punch you in the gut. Then, hang your body from the bar with your arms fully straightened and legs extended. Squeeze your legs together as if you’re hugging someone with your legs. If you need a tactile cue, try crossing your legs or putting a towel between your thighs. Allow your feet to hang slightly in front of your body.
    3. Keep tension throughout your body. Then, on an exhale, pull your shoulder blades down and bend your elbows to pull your chest up to the bar. Keep your elbows tucked in by imagining yourself pulling your elbows down and back toward you (think: you’re elbowing a friend behind you).
    4. Continue pulling until your chin is hovering above the bar. Try not to swing your body or stretch your neck over the bar.
    5. Pause at the top. Then on an inhale, slowly extend your elbows to fully straighten your arms and lower your body back to the starting position.

    Pull-Up Form Tips and Common Mistakes

    One of the biggest technique mistakes Su sees is when people pull their bodies up to the bar with just their biceps. “While they are able to do the motion, they aren’t necessarily recruiting muscle groups or strengthening the right muscle groups,” she says.

    Instead, initiate the movement by engaging your scapula (shoulder blades), dropping them down your back, then pulling through the arms, Su advises. Try imagining that your hands are hooks and focus on driving your elbows down toward your hips. “That [cue] helps a lot of people drop the shoulders down away from their ears and create space so their traps and biceps don’t get too involved and they’re able to pull with their lats a little bit better,” she explains. As you pull up, avoid flaring your elbows out to the sides, which will put unnecessary stress on the shoulders, adds Reuss.

    Also key: Perform your reps slowly and with full-body tension, and utilize the full range of motion that’s available to you, according to the experts. “Turning off” muscles throughout your body will reduce stability and decrease the efficiency of the pull-up path, says Reuss. Su encourages her clients to extend their elbows fully at the bottom of the movement and to relax their muscles a bit to stretch the lat muscles. “You essentially want, at the bottom, to be in a full overhead position, with your arms straight above your head,” she adds. “And then you’re pulling yourself up until at least your chin is over the bar.”

    Kipping – a pull-up technique that involves swinging your body and slightly lifting your feet up toward the bar – is popular among CrossFit athletes, but Su recommends avoiding the practice until you’re a pro. This type of pull-up is advanced and performed at a quick speed, so you need a high level of shoulder strength and stability and the ability to control your body well, she explains. “If you’re not strong, that’s when you’re going to get shoulder injuries and hurt yourself,” Su says.

    “Overall, mishaps affect the efficiency (which slows down progress) and can cause stress on the neck, shoulders, or elbows,” says Reuss. “And that leads to frustration – it’ll definitely affect the mental game!”

    Pull-Up Variations to Try

    Quality is way more important than quantity when it comes to pull-ups, so don’t be afraid to tweak the exercise as you need. For a modified pull-up variation, try feet-assisted pull-ups; place the pull-up bar about mid-height, high enough that you’re still able to complete the full pulling motion but low enough that your feet can gently rest on the ground throughout the movement. “Your feet can assist you, but stay mindful of pulling with your shoulder blades and back muscles rather than cheating by depending on your feet,” says Reuss.

    Reuss also suggests eccentric pull-ups (skipping the “pulling up” motion and instead just slowly lowering yourself from the top of the bar) and quarter or mini pull-ups (performing just the first quarter of the rep).

    Band-assisted pull-ups are another common variation for the challenging exercise; the movement is the same as a classic pull-up, but you’ll have the support of a resistance band that’s attached to the bar and wrapped around your feet, Su says.

    That said, there are some drawbacks. While banded pull-ups can help you understand and feel what a complete, start to finish pull-up feels like, they can also encourage poor form.

    “Banded pull-ups should look like twinsies to a regular, band-free pull-up. If you start to rely on them, you will rely on them until you break out of the habit, so let’s not make it into a habit,” Reuss says.

    Once you’ve mastered a traditional pull-up, consider amping up the difficulty by adding weight (such as by wearing a weight belt or holding a dumbbell in between your feet) or switching up your tempo (think: pulling up at a normal speed, then lowering slowly), suggests Su. You can also routinely test how many pull-ups you can do in a row to see how you’re progressing, she adds.

    How to Add Pull-Ups to Your Routine

    You may not nail a pull-up on your very first try, and that’s okay. Instead of feeling defeated, set the exercise as a goal and work on building strength with other movements.

    Consider prioritizing rows and lat pull-downs in your resistance training routine to strengthen your lat muscles. You’ll also want to practice bodyweight pulling motions, such as inverted rows with a TRX system or racked barbell, Su suggests.

    Core exercises such as dead bugs and hollow-body holds also support your progress toward a pull-up, Reuss adds. “Dead bugs train the torso, spine, and hips to stay stable like a ‘core canister’ or a ‘tree trunk,’” she explains. “Hollow holds also strengthen core stability, helping the body move as one during a pull-up. I call it ‘dead bug on steroids.’” Perform this intentional pull-up work two to three times a week, Reuss advises.

    As you improve your strength and pulling technique, progress to scapular pull-ups, which teach you how to properly call upon your shoulder blades and avoid overusing your arms and traps, says Reuss. Then, try various pull-up holds to build your grip strength: dead hangs (hold the bar with straight arms), pull-ups with a hollow-body hold, and isometric pull-up holds (hold the top of the pull-up with your chin over the bar for three to five seconds, slowly building up your endurance), Reuss suggests. There are a ton of variations that you can use to help you strengthen your body to graduate to doing an actual pull-up, says Su.

    Whether you choose a modified variation, a classic pull-up, or an advanced option, Su suggests placing pull-ups at the beginning of your workout, when your muscles aren’t fatigued and you’re able to perform your reps with good form. During your reps, work at an 8 out of 10 RPE (rating of perceived exertion), adds Reuss; that might mean you perform three sets of eight to 12 inverted rows but only three sets of one to three reps of full-range pull-ups.

    Lastly, and one of the most important aspects of accomplishing a push-up is your attitude. No matter where you’re at in your journey, don’t be afraid to attempt the exercise and start reaping those pull-up benefits. “As I like to tell my clients, strength is available to you, a choice waiting for you to seize it,” says Reuss. “The potential is already there. Reach out, grab, and pull with all your might – and it’s a power move to ask for a little bit of professional help, too!”

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    Megan falk

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  • Feel Like You Need to Hit Something? You're in Luck: Knockout Workouts Are Trending – POPSUGAR Australia

    Feel Like You Need to Hit Something? You're in Luck: Knockout Workouts Are Trending – POPSUGAR Australia

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    Get ready to get in fighting shape: knockout workouts are all the rage right now. The knuckle therapy you can get from a boxing– or martial-arts–inspired workout offers both physical and mental health benefits – and, clearly, plenty of us are here for it.

    Pinterest data shows that among the app’s 482 million users, searches for mixed martial arts (MMA) training are up by 200 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, while those for karate kumite – aka training against an opponent – are up by 190 percent, shadow boxing workouts are up by 60 percent, and jiu-jitsu by 30 percent. (The phrase “kick boxing aesthetic” is also up 265 percent, because Pinterest.) Meanwhile, #boxing is highlighted as a trending sport on TikTok with 143.1 billion views.

    Fitness studios are feeling the effects and stepping up to meet the demand. Rumble founder Noah Neiman tells POPSUGAR that the boxing-based group fitness gym just hit an all-time record high for revenue in November. Responding to client interest, in spring 2023, Equinox rolled out a new class called Knockout, designed by former WWE Diva Erika Hammond. And Crunch is launching three new combat-sport–based workouts in January 2024: one focused on fighting-inspired agility and footwork, one that mixes shadowboxing and kettlebells, and another featuring MMA-style drills.

    Of course, this isn’t the first time gym-goers have thrown their hats in the ring. Remember Billy Blanks and the cult-like following his Tae Bo classes had in the 1990s? Well, just like baggy jeans and bucket hats, this fad is back. It seems that many of those who first took up kickboxing in the ’90s and early 2000s have returned for a second round: Wendy Cope, an ACE-certified group fitness instructor and the Southeast regional group fitness manager for Crunch, says that while she sees growing interest across the board, women in their 30s to 50s in particular seem to be drawn to these classes. “They like the intensity, but it’s really fun,” she says.

    Related: Sydney Sweeney’s Badass Boxing Workout Elicited a “Holy Sh*t” From Maude Apatow

    Why Fighting Is Trending

    How come there’s so much interest in throwing our fists around these days? “It taps into our oldest instincts: fight or flight,” Neiman says. “There’s this primordial attraction to it that we don’t get to express in civilized society that much. Our ancestors needed to hone these skills to literally survive.”

    “It’s a way to emotionally regulate, because if you can really ground and pound on a bag . . . you can get that energy out.”

    Coming out of COVID, Cope points out that lots of us “have some unresolved issues,” which these workouts can be an outlet for. “It’s a way to emotionally regulate, because if you can really ground and pound on a bag – and you don’t have to be angry at a person, it could be frustration over a situation – you can get that energy out,” she says.

    Also thanks to COVID, the buzzword in the fitness industry theses days is “experience.” And wrestling a stranger to the ground in a jiu-jitsu class feels like a far more memorable – and fun – experience than just lifting dumbbells up and down again in your living room.

    What’s more, Neiman points out that influencer exhibition matches, particularly among YouTubers and podcasters, have been on the rise ever since Kim Kardashian stepped into the ring to spar in 2009. This June, Elon Musk of X (formerly Twitter) challenged Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg to a cage match; the pair even went so far as to contact the Ultimate Fighting Championship about it. They ultimately backed down, but not before getting millions of people talking about which of these tech titans might win.

    The Health Benefits of Brawling

    Another reason gym-goers are taking up combat sports is because they make for an, ahem, killer workout. “There’s a reason they say you want to be a ‘lean, mean fighting machine,’” Neiman says. Most of today’s fighting-based fitness classes include a mix of cardio conditioning and strength training, and many also incorporate mobility training to open up your range of motion. Put together, this makes for a uniquely well-rounded training regimen.

    The full-body movements required for fighting strengthen you from head to toe, including some muscle groups that often get overlooked, like the back. At the same time, performing footwork in multiple planes of motion builds your agility, and when combined with upper-body punching or grappling, it also challenges your balance – one 2021 study found that boxing therapy helped to decrease falls in Parkinson’s patients by a whopping 87 percent. Your brain health also benefits, due to the cognitive challenge of learning and remembering combinations.

    Related: Halle Berry Shares 3 Self-Defense Moves That Double as a “Killer Ab” Workout

    “A lot of times, our bodies don’t know that they’re tense until we tense them up even more and then relax.”

    Releasing pent-up stress by punching and kicking clearly has mental health benefits, too. One 2020 study found that martial arts training can reduce negative mental health symptoms, decrease aggression, and improve overall well-being. “A lot of times, our bodies don’t know that they’re tense until we tense them up even more and then relax,” Cope says. Also a yoga instructor, Cope says she finds the combinations done in boxing-inspired workouts “kind of become a moving meditation. . . . You don’t have time to have that mental chatter.”

    One factor that shouldn’t be underestimated is just how empowering it can be to learn to fight, Neiman adds. Whether you actually have to physically defend yourself in real life or not, knowing that you could can build serious confidence. And there’s no better sparring partner than that.

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    Jennifer heimlich

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  • Are You a Butt Clencher? – POPSUGAR Australia

    Are You a Butt Clencher? – POPSUGAR Australia

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    If you’re a parent, the term “clenched butt” might bring to mind a toddler gunning for the potty. For sex educators and havers, meanwhile, it’s an anal-play nonstarter. But to pelvic-floor therapists, butt clenching is the name for a particular peach, posterior, and pelvic-floor position that can lead to a slew of issues – and this is the type of butt clenching we’re exploring today.

    Ahead, we break down exactly what butt clenching is, why it happens, and how to stop doing it.

    What’s Butt Clenching, Exactly?

    There are two different peach positions that pelvic-floor therapists may refer to as butt clenching, according to physical therapist Corey Hazama, DPT, an expert with Pelvic Gym, a pelvic health education platform created by wearable-intimates brand Ohnut. One type of butt clenching is “the true clench,” she says.

    According to Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, a Los Angeles-based pelvic-floor therapist who specializes in incontinence and dyspareunia, with the true clench, people’s butt cheeks are pinched together because their glute (aka butt) muscles are in an overly contracted state. Some people clench their bums involuntarily as part of a stress or trauma response, much like how other people clench their jaws or draw up their shoulders, she explains. (This particular type of butt clenching is also known as butt gripping.)

    Related: Here’s What Doctors Want You to Know About the Care and Keeping of Your Pelvic Floor

    Sometimes pelvic-floor therapists also refer to butt tucking as butt clenching, says Dr. Hazama. “During the tuck-under butt clench, individuals are passively tucking their pelvic floors under their body,” she says. Also known as a posterior pelvic tilt position, this type of butt clenching is a position an individual takes on when they stand, walk, run, and move about.

    The reason that these two physical manifestations are both known as butt clenching is that they are often found together, though their order of arrival varies. Sometimes the butt gripping comes first, according to Dr. Jeffcoat. Here, “the muscle activity from clenching your cheeks together often leads to posterior pelvic position,” she says.

    Related: What Are the Symptoms of Having a Weak Pelvic Floor? We Asked 4 Experts to Explain

    Alternatively, someone who has a posterior chain pelvic tilt position can begin to glute-grip because the glutes are being called on to do the work that the midline would do in someone who does not have this pelvic position. “Having a pelvic tilt can contribute to weakness of deep core muscles, causing other muscle groups like the glutes to overly-engage to do the job,” Dr. Jeffcoat explains.

    Wait, Why Does Butt Clenching Happen?

    For a few reasons, actually!

    Most commonly, people begin butt clenching as a result of having a job that puts them in a prolonged, static standing or position all day, says Dr. Jeffcoat. Standing may look easy-peasy, but doing so actually requires engaging many core and lower-body muscles. “When the stander gets tired, they tend to let the pelvis shift forwards while the rib cage shifts back and sometimes tilts,” says Dr. Hazama. In other words, they adapt a posterior tilt position, which requires less core engagement. Over time, individuals can adapt this position more permanently, which changes not only how they stand, but how they walk, run, and otherwise move.

    Similarly, sitting with sound form requires some midline strength. As such, when an individual’s core gets tired, they can begin to sit with their back rolled back towards their tailbone, says Dr. Jeffcoat. (Betcha you just straightened up a little in your chair. . . ) This is particularly common with individuals who look like they are in a slumped-over position, she says.

    Butt clenching can also happen to athletes who have been taught to “engage their core” while they exercise, says Dr. Jeffcoat. Clenching your core muscles (which includes your pelvic-floor muscles!) is essential for protecting your spine and internal organs during certain lifts. But just as you couldn’t walk around with your bicep contracted like Popeye all day, you shouldn’t walk around with your core in a contracted position. Keeping your core clenched can result in keeping your butt clenched, Dr. Jeffcoat says, which can result in the same cascade of physical symptoms.

    People can also begin butt clenching as a protective response to physical or emotional trauma, says Dr. Jeffcoat. Indeed, butt clenching is often seen amongst survivors of abuse, as well as people who recently gave birth. Here, individuals will bare down on the pelvic-floor and glute muscles similarly to how someone preparing for a gut punch might, she explains.

    Why But Clenching Isn’t Great

    Butt clenching may be something people do subconsciously, but that doesn’t mean it’s without side effects. Unfortunately, butt clenching can have a domino effect on the body, leading to a series of musculature issues that result in pelvic-floor or full-body symptoms.

    When your glutes are in a constantly contracted position, it’s likely that the rest of the muscles in your pelvic floor are also in a contracted position, says Dr. Jeffcoat. This, she explains, can lead to back pain, anterior hip or groin pain, as well as symptoms associated with an overactive pelvic floor (also known as a hypertonic pelvic floor). To name a few: increased urinary urgency, urinary frequency, constipation, painful penetration, and lower back or pelvic pain.

    Meanwhile, “when your pelvis is tucked under your body, it shortens your glutes muscles as well as the back part of your deep pelvic-floor muscles,” says Dr. Hazama. This can alter your movement patterns during all sorts of actions, such as sitting, walking, running, and hinging (like picking things up off the ground), she says.

    How Do You Know If You’re Doing It?

    Most people aren’t aware that they’re butt clenchers, says Dr. Hazama. Both butt gripping and butt tucking happen passively, without us actively making the decision to engage our glutes or re-position our tailbone. However, there are a few ways you might be able to tell if we are, in fact, butt clenchers.

    First, look in the mirror. Look at your posture from the side and take inventory of how your body looks and feels, suggests Dr. Jeffcoat. Is there a slight curve in your lower back? Do my knees and hips feel locked? Do I notice any squeezing in my glutes? Does my left glute feel the same as my right? (Yes, you can be a one-sided butt-gripper, too!). If the answer to any of these questions is Y-E-S, you might be a butt clencher, she says.

    If you’re wearing non-workout gear, Dr. Hazama also suggests looking at how your pants are fitting. “If you have a wrinkle or crease right below your butt cheeks, you could be a clencher,” she says. If this is you, she suggests pulling your tailbone back and then tipping it up – if you’re a butt clencher, the crease will decrease or go away completely, she says.

    Next, do a head-to-toe scan for any aches and pains in your body. Again, going about your day with contracted glutes and a posterior chain tilt can result in a variety of sexual, urinary, and excretory issues and pain. Knee, ankle, hip, back, and groin pain are also common, according to Dr. Jeffcoat, because the entire area is interconnected.

    Exactly What to Do If You Butt Clench

    Good news: butt clenching is fixable! “The first step to stop butt clenching is to increase your awareness of tension in this area,” says Dr. Jeffcoat. “Even though it’s occurring subconsciously, once you are made aware, you can make steps to change it to reduce your pain and improve your daily and sexual function.”

    1. Work With a Pelvic-Floor Therapist

    Sure, there are ways you can make an educated guess around whether or not you’re a butt clencher (as outlined above). But the best way to know for sure is to work with a pelvic-floor therapist.

    After all, there are pelvic-floor, muscular, and health conditions that can have similar muscular, sexual, urinary, and excretory symptoms. A pelvic-floor therapist will be able to assess your personal movement patterns, musculature, and set of symptoms to come up with a treatment protocol custom-fit to you.

    2. Fix Your Posture

    If standing most of the day is contributing to your symptoms, Dr. Hazama suggests working with a physical therapist who understands postural alignment. “It’s more complex than just standing up straight and not slouching,” she says.

    To improve their standing posture, most people need to increase body awareness, as well as improve hamstring mobility and flexibility, Dr. Hazama says. “You need to know what it means to move your hips forward and backwards, as well as have awareness of when you are moving your hips with or without your pelvis and spine following,” she explains. You also need decent hamstring and glute flexibility, she says, which can be achieved through a variety of modalities, such as stretching, yoga, and foam rolling.

    3. Warm-Up Before Exercising

    Hate to break it to you, but you shouldn’t immediately go from sitting all day to powering through your workout.

    “Your hamstrings and glutes may have been put into a shortened position from all that sitting,” explains Dr. Hazama. If you start to run or squat while these muscles are in a shortened position, your lower body muscles won’t be able to lengthen properly, which can mess with your movement patterns.

    Your move: hit a proper dynamic warm-up that helps activate as well as stretch your glutes, hamstrings, and hips.

    4. Give Yoga a Try

    Yoga can be a great way to undo the damage done by butt clenching – so long as you’re being led by an experienced, attuned instructor.

    “When post people go to a yoga or stretching class, they stretch into the positions they are already moving into and then compensate in the positions they are tight in,” says Dr. Hazama. For instance, someone who is a butt clencher and has a pelvic tilt might mega-tuck their pelvis when in child’s pose, because they are used to tucking their pelvis, she says.

    Meanwhile, they might put their body into a suboptimal position when trying something like an upward dog. “When your hip flexors are tight – as they can be in people who butt clench – the hips lift off the ground, which results in over arching of the upper lumbar spine,” Dr. Hazama says. In order to begin to course-correct against butt clenching, an individual might scale the movement to cobra pose, elevate their hands on yoga blocks, or only stretch as far as they can without compensation.

    “Working with a yoga professional who has an eye for over-compensation and encourages you to only go as far as your body can go safely is important,” says Dr. Hazama. This means that for butt clenchers, at-home yoga workouts are not optimal.

    Related: When It Comes to Your Pelvic Floor Muscles, Tighter Doesn’t Necessarily Equal Better

    5. Bring Attention to Your Butt

    Once it’s been confirmed that you’re a butt clencher, Dr. Jeffcoat recommends helping yourself unlearn the clench by continuously bringing your attention to it.

    One option is to set an alarm on your phone, then each time it goes off, doing a little correction exercise. “Try consciously squeezing your glutes as hard as you comfortably can and then tucking your tailbone under your body. Release, tuck, release, and repeat 5 times,” she says. Using a mirror can help ensure you’ve got the right form; look at your posture from the side. It should look and feel different (read: less tucked) after you do the exercise.

    Another option is to squeeze your buttocks as hard as you comfortably can and hold for 5 seconds, says Dr. Jeffcoat. “As you release, feel the softening of those muscles as you visualize them opening up like the petals blooming on a flower,” she says. If the tension you feel is more centered around your anus or vagina (if you have one), take the visual of the flower gently opening to that area instead of the larger glute, she says.

    You can try this second exercise in multiple positions, she says, such as standing, seated, lying down flat, lying down with knees bent and feet flat on the ground, on your stomach, and on your hands and knees.

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    Gabrielle kassel

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