How to Do a Glute Exercise Right at Your Standing Desk

Try This Glute Exercise to Make Your Standing Desk Even Better

Many of us are upper-body dominant, meaning we type and do all of our work with our upper body, while our hips and lower body remain still or disengaged. This can even be the case when we are standing to work versus sitting.

The intention of the exercise I will teach you today is to vary the lower-body stimulus and break the (non-)movement patterns of your daily work life by activating the muscles of your hips and legs.

Best yet: this exercise is convenient, quick, and clandestine (your coworkers may not notice you’re doing it).

How to Activate Your Lower Body Right at Your Desk

Before starting this exercise, remove your shoes if you are wearing high heels or shoes that constrain your toes.

1. Stand with your feet in-line with each other so that the toes of the back foot are in line with the center of the front heel. You should feel less stable in this position than you are used to feeling.
2. Keep 2-3 inches of space between the toes of your back foot and heel of your front foot.
3. It is very important that your feet remain pointed straight ahead throughout the exercise.
4. In this position, squeeze and release your buttocks muscles (both sides at the same time) while keeping your thighs and stomach muscles relaxed.
5. Do 20 repetitions with your right foot forward, then switch to the left foot forward and do 20 repetitions. Do 3 sets of 20 repetitions per forward foot until you have completed a total of 60 repetitions on each side. If 3 sets of 20 reps is too much to start with, do what you can and work up to it over time.

While you are doing the exercise, be sure to keep your upper body, thighs, and stomach muscles relaxed.

The biggest mistake to avoid when doing this exercise: not having your feet in line with each other. This mistake negates the work that the muscles of the hip have to do to stabilize your body in this position. It should feel difficult to balance. If it’s too difficult, a good modification is to hold onto an object (like your desk) for some balance while keeping your feet in line.

Do this exercise when you are at work and in need of a break from your computer. Repeat the exercise throughout the day as frequently as you would like.