What Happens When You Do Butt Crunches in Your Seat?

Butt crunches are an easy and discrete exercise you can perform just about anywhere. You can give your butt an extra boost while sitting at your desk, watching television and even driving your car. Butt crunches are a simple addition to your regular workout routine that gives you a little boost of activity throughout the day.

The Exercise

Butt crunches are a very simple exercise that target your gluteal muscles, primarily the gluteus maximus. To perform a butt crunch, simply clench your butt muscles as tight as possible. The crunch should be held for at least 30 seconds as you continue to breathe normally. To make butt crunches an effective part of your workout, you need to complete 10 to 20 repetitions several times throughout the day.

Muscular Benefits

When you crunch your butt, the gluteal muscle fibers are activated. When done regularly over a period of time, this can lead to improved muscular strength and endurance and can even help tone and lift the area. The muscle improvement gained through butt crunches can also help boost your performance in other activities such as jogging or performing squats.

Other Benefits

Engaging the muscles will also increase blood flow to the area. Because the gluteus maximus is one of the largest muscles in the body, this can go a long way to increase overall blood flow. The Mayo Clinic notes that when blood circulation is increased, your blood vessels dilate to deliver more oxygen to the working muscles as well as to remove waste products. A nice oxygen boost may be just what you need to get you through your afternoon slump. Add deep breathing to your butt crunch routine to reap even more of these benefits.

Considerations

While butt crunches are a great exercise, if your goal is to lose weight and tone up, this exercise won't cut it. To get the best results, you'll also need to incorporate a healthy diet, regular cardiovascular exercise and full body strength training exercises to your routine as well. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that overweight adults get at least 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise per day to facilitate weight loss and prevent weight regain. Choose strength-training exercises that target large muscle groups such as squats, deadlifts, lunges and shoulder presses; perform two to three sets of eight to 12 reps three nonconsecutive days per week.