If you work at a computer, there is a good chance that a significant portion of your day is spent sitting.

You sit down at your desk in the morning, spend hours answering emails, working on projects, attending virtual meetings, and staring at a screen, then perhaps sit in your car during your commute and eventually sit down again when you get home. By the end of the day, you may have spent eight, nine, or even more hours with very little movement.

The problem isn’t that sitting is inherently bad. Humans are designed to sit, stand, walk, run, lift, bend, and move through many different positions. The concern is what happens when sitting becomes the dominant activity in your day.

Research has associated higher amounts of sedentary behavior with lower levels of physical fitness, including muscular strength and balance. [1] Prolonged sitting has also been associated with musculoskeletal discomfort, and systematic reviews have found relationships between sedentary behavior and low back pain, although the relationship is complex and sitting should not be considered the sole cause of back pain. [2][3]

For people who spend most of their working day at a desk, one area that deserves particular attention is the hips and glutes.

Your gluteal muscles are important contributors to hip extension, which is involved in standing up, walking, climbing stairs, running, jumping, and many other everyday movements. When your workday consists primarily of sitting, however, your hips and glutes aren’t being asked to perform many of those movements.

The solution isn’t simply to buy a better office chair. It is to make movement and resistance training part of your life outside the hours you spend at your desk.

What Happens to Your Body When You Sit for Hours?

Sitting places the hips in a flexed position and significantly reduces the amount of work required from many of the muscles that are active when you’re standing and moving.

When you’re walking, climbing stairs, getting out of a chair, or performing a hip thrust, your hip extensors including the gluteus maximus contribute to producing movement. When you’re sitting in front of a computer, those muscles aren’t required to produce the same level of force.

That distinction matters because muscles respond to the demands placed on them.

A systematic review and meta-analysis involving more than 11,000 adults found that greater objectively measured sedentary time was associated with lower muscular strength, cardiorespiratory fitness, and balance. [1] The study does not prove that sitting directly causes muscle weakness, but it provides evidence of a relationship between high sedentary time and lower physical fitness.

This makes sense from a practical standpoint. If most of your day requires very little muscular effort, you aren’t providing your muscles with much of a reason to maintain or increase their strength.

That doesn’t mean sitting at a desk automatically gives you weak glutes. Someone who sits eight hours a day but consistently performs resistance training, walks regularly, and participates in sports may have excellent lower-body strength.

The bigger issue is what replaces movement when you’re sitting.

Your Glutes Are Designed to Extend Your Hips

The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the body and one of the primary muscles responsible for hip extension. [4]

Hip extension occurs whenever your thigh moves backward relative to your torso or your body moves from a flexed hip position toward standing.

You use hip extension when you:

• Stand up from a chair
• Climb stairs
• Walk uphill
• Run
• Jump
• Pick something up from the floor
• Perform a deadlift
• Perform a hip thrust
• Move from sitting to standing

Because hip extension is involved in so many everyday movements, maintaining strong hip extensors is important for physical function.

Exercise research also shows that many resistance exercises can produce substantial activation of the gluteus maximus. A systematic review examining common strength and hypertrophy exercises found high levels of gluteus maximus activation during exercises including hip thrusts, split squats, lunges, deadlifts, step-ups, and band hip thrusts. [4]

That gives us an important strategy for people who spend their working days sitting: regularly train the muscles that aren’t being challenged much while you’re sitting.

Sitting Doesn’t “Turn Off” Your Glutes

You’ve probably heard the phrase “dead butt syndrome” or the claim that sitting all day literally turns your glutes off.

That’s an oversimplification.

Your glutes don’t stop functioning simply because you sit down. They continue to perform various roles in stabilizing your pelvis and controlling movement. The problem is that sitting doesn’t provide the same level of resistance or muscular demand as activities such as walking, climbing, lifting, squatting, or hip extension exercises.

A better way to describe the problem is that a sedentary lifestyle can reduce the amount of training stimulus your lower-body muscles receive.

And muscles adapt to the demands placed on them.

If you spend eight hours sitting and rarely perform resistance exercise, your glutes and other lower-body muscles have relatively little reason to become stronger. Over time, this can contribute to reduced overall muscular fitness.

The good news is that this is something you can address.

Strength Training Can Counter the Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle

You don’t have to eliminate sitting from your life to improve your fitness.

If you work at a computer, sitting is probably part of your job. The more practical approach is to interrupt prolonged periods of inactivity when possible and make regular exercise part of your routine.

A recent systematic review and meta-analysis examining resistance exercise in sedentary office workers found that resistance training had the potential to improve muscular strength and reduce some measures of musculoskeletal discomfort, although the researchers noted that the evidence was limited by differences between studies and other methodological concerns. [5]

Even relatively simple changes can make a difference to your overall activity level.

You can get up periodically during the workday, walk while taking a phone call, use stairs when practical, take a short walk during a break, or perform brief movement sessions between periods of computer work.

But those activities should complement and not replace regular resistance training.

If your goal is to actually build stronger glutes and hips, you need to give those muscles a progressive resistance stimulus.

Why Hip Thrusts Are Useful for Desk Workers

The hip thrust is particularly interesting for someone who spends much of the day sitting because it directly trains hip extension while placing significant demand on the gluteus maximus.

Research examining glute activation during resistance exercises has found that traditional and modified hip thrust variations can produce high levels of gluteus maximus activation. [4]

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis examining resistance training and gluteus maximus hypertrophy found a moderate positive effect of resistance training on glute growth. The review included studies involving exercises that incorporated hip extension with external resistance, and the authors specifically identified the hip thrust as an exercise that can be useful when the goal is to emphasize gluteus maximus development. [6]

This doesn’t mean that hip thrusts are the only exercise you need.

A well-rounded lower-body program should include different movement patterns, such as squatting, hinging, lunging, stepping, and hip abduction, depending on your goals and abilities.

But hip thrusts can be an effective way to directly train the hip extensors, making them a useful exercise for people who spend much of their day seated.

How the Jacked Ass Belt Makes Loaded Hip Thrusts Easier

One of the challenges with weighted hip thrusts is figuring out how to comfortably position the weight.

A dumbbell placed directly across your lap can be awkward, uncomfortable, and difficult to keep in position as you perform repetitions. As the weight gets heavier, getting into position and removing the weight after a set can become even more inconvenient.

That’s the problem the Jacked Ass Belt was designed to address.

Instead of balancing a dumbbell directly on your body, you lay the belt across your lap and attach your dumbbells to the belt. You can then perform your hip thrusts while the belt helps distribute the load across your lap.

The design also includes a quick-release mechanism. When your set is finished, you don’t have to wrestle with the weights to get them off. You hit the quick release, remove the load, and you’re done.

This makes the Jacked Ass Belt particularly useful for people who want to incorporate loaded hip thrusts into their home workouts without needing a barbell, bench setup, or large collection of gym equipment.

It doesn’t replace a complete strength-training program. Rather, it provides another way to progressively load an exercise that directly trains the glutes and hip extensors.

Why Strengthening Your Glutes Matters Beyond Appearance

Glute training is often associated with aesthetics, but the glutes have important functional roles.

Your gluteus maximus contributes to hip extension and helps produce force during movements such as climbing stairs, running, jumping, and standing up. Other gluteal muscles, including the gluteus medius and minimus, contribute to hip abduction and pelvic stability.

Maintaining strength in these muscles becomes particularly important as you age.

Loss of muscle strength can make everyday activities more difficult. Getting up from a chair, climbing stairs, carrying groceries, or getting off the floor can require considerably more effort when lower-body strength declines.

This is one reason resistance training should be viewed as more than a way to build muscle for appearance. It is also a way to maintain physical capacity.

For someone who spends much of the day at a desk, lower-body resistance training can provide a useful counterbalance to an otherwise sedentary workday.

Don’t Try to “Undo” Eight Hours of Sitting With One Exercise

It’s tempting to look for a single exercise that will reverse everything that happens during a long workday.

There isn’t one.

The Jacked Ass Belt can help you perform loaded hip thrusts and strengthen the glutes, but it doesn’t make prolonged sitting harmless. Likewise, standing at your desk all day isn’t necessarily a complete solution either. Research comparing prolonged standing and sitting during desk work has not established that standing consistently produces less low-back pain. [7]

The better strategy is to vary your positions and increase your overall movement.

If possible, break up long periods of sitting. Stand up and walk around. Change positions. Take movement breaks. Then perform structured resistance training several times per week.

Think of these as complementary strategies rather than competing solutions.

What a Desk Worker Can Do During the Workday

You don’t need to turn your office into a gym.

Small changes can help reduce the amount of uninterrupted sedentary time in your day. You might stand up during phone calls, walk to speak with a coworker instead of sending a message, take a short walk during lunch, or set a reminder to get up periodically.

A recent systematic review of randomized trials found that short bouts of activity used to interrupt prolonged sitting may help reduce musculoskeletal discomfort, although the authors noted that the available evidence was limited and several studies had a high risk of bias. [8]

The important concept is consistency.

Five minutes of movement here and there may not seem significant compared with an eight-hour workday, but regularly interrupting sedentary periods is a practical way to increase movement without requiring a major change to your schedule.

Then, outside of work, you can dedicate a portion of your week to structured strength training.

A Simple Lower-Body Strategy for Computer Workers

If you spend most of your day sitting, your training doesn’t need to be complicated.

A balanced lower-body program could include exercises from several categories:

• Squat pattern: Squats or sit-to-stands
• Hinge pattern: Romanian deadlifts or other hip-hinge exercises
• Hip extension: Hip thrusts or glute bridges
• Lunge pattern: Reverse lunges or split squats
• Hip abduction: Band abductions or lateral movements
• Core stability: Exercises that challenge your ability to stabilize your trunk and pelvis

The specific exercises, resistance, volume, and frequency should be adjusted to your fitness level and goals.

The important thing is that the muscles receive a consistent and appropriately challenging training stimulus.

For someone starting from a relatively sedentary lifestyle, even a modest strength-training program can be a significant improvement over doing nothing.

The Jacked Ass Belt Can Be Part of That Strategy

The Jacked Ass Belt is not designed to fix every problem associated with sitting at a desk. What it does is provide a convenient way to add resistance to hip thrusts so you can progressively challenge your glutes.

That makes it especially useful for home exercisers who have dumbbells but don’t want to balance them directly across their lap.

Lay the belt across your lap, attach your dumbbells, and perform your hip thrusts. When your set is finished, use the quick release to remove the weights.

As your strength improves, you can progressively increase the resistance when appropriate, giving your glutes a reason to continue adapting.

And because you don’t need a barbell or a complicated setup, it can fit into a home-based training routine without taking up much space.

Your Workday Doesn’t Have to Define Your Fitness

Working at a computer is part of modern life for millions of people. You don’t necessarily have to quit your desk job, buy a standing desk, or spend hours exercising to offset it.

The bigger goal is to avoid allowing sitting to become the only thing your body does all day.

Move throughout the day. Take breaks from prolonged sitting when you can. Walk. Climb stairs. Train your lower body. Build your glutes and hips with progressive resistance. Maintain strength as you get older.

For people who spend most of their workday at a desk, the Jacked Ass Belt offers a simple way to incorporate loaded hip thrusts into that strength-training strategy. Research supports resistance training as an effective way to develop the gluteus maximus, and hip thrusts are one of the exercises that can provide substantial glute activation and contribute to glute development. [4][6]

You can’t change the fact that your job requires you to sit at a computer.

But you can change what you do before, during, and after those hours at your desk.

Frequently Asked Questions About Sitting, Glutes, and Hip Strength

Does sitting all day make your glutes weak?

Prolonged sitting does not automatically make someone’s glutes weak, and the relationship is more complicated than simply saying that sitting “turns off” the glutes. However, higher sedentary time is associated with lower muscular strength and physical fitness in adults. [1] Regular resistance training can help maintain and improve lower-body strength.

What muscles are affected by sitting all day?

Sitting reduces the amount of work required from many of the muscles involved in standing and moving, including the glutes and other lower-body muscles. However, sitting does not literally deactivate these muscles. The more important concern is the lack of movement and muscular loading that can accompany a highly sedentary lifestyle.

Can sitting all day cause hip problems?

Prolonged sitting can contribute to discomfort and stiffness in some people, but it should not be considered the sole cause of hip or back problems. Musculoskeletal symptoms have many potential causes, and individual factors such as fitness, previous injuries, work environment, and activity levels also matter.

Can hip thrusts strengthen weak glutes?

Yes. Hip thrusts are a resistance exercise that trains hip extension and can produce substantial gluteus maximus activation. Research also supports resistance training involving hip extension exercises for increasing gluteus maximus size. [4][6]

Is the Jacked Ass Belt good for hip thrusts?

The Jacked Ass Belt is specifically designed to make loaded hip thrusts easier by allowing you to lay the belt across your lap and attach dumbbells to it. The quick-release mechanism allows you to remove the load after your set without having to manually lift the weights off your lap.

Can I use dumbbells with the Jacked Ass Belt?

Yes. The Jacked Ass Belt is designed to be used with dumbbells attached to the belt while performing hip thrusts. Always follow the product’s instructions for proper setup and use.

How often should I train my glutes?

Training frequency depends on your overall program, experience, recovery, and goals. Many people can effectively train the glutes two or more times per week as part of a balanced resistance-training program, provided the total training volume and recovery are appropriate.

Should I stretch my hip flexors if I sit all day?

Stretching may be useful for some people who experience hip tightness, but it is not a universal solution for the effects of prolonged sitting. A combination of regular movement, strengthening, mobility work when appropriate, and changing positions throughout the day may be more useful than relying on stretching alone.

Is standing better than sitting at a desk?

Standing is not necessarily a complete solution to the problems associated with prolonged sitting. Research has not consistently shown that prolonged standing during desk work produces less low-back pain than sitting. [7] A better strategy is to vary positions and regularly incorporate movement throughout the day.

How can I counteract sitting all day?

Try to combine several strategies: interrupt long periods of sitting, walk regularly, change positions throughout the day, perform resistance training, and strengthen your lower body and core. There is no single exercise that completely counteracts prolonged sitting.

Can I strengthen my glutes at home?

Yes. Exercises such as squats, lunges, Romanian deadlifts, glute bridges, hip thrusts, and band exercises can all be performed at home. Adding resistance through dumbbells, bands, or a device such as the Jacked Ass Belt can make progressive strength training easier.

Is the Jacked Ass Belt a replacement for a complete workout?

No. The Jacked Ass Belt is a tool for loading hip thrusts. It can be incorporated into a broader lower-body training program that includes squatting, hinging, lunging, hip abduction, core training, and other movements.

References

1. O’Donoghue G, Perchoux C, Mensah K, et al. Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior and Physical Fitness in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2021.
2. Dzakpasu FQS, Carver A, Brakenridge CJ, et al. Musculoskeletal pain and sedentary behaviour in occupational and non-occupational settings: a systematic review with meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 2021;18:159.
3. Alzahrani H, Mackey M, Stamatakis E, Zadro JR, Shirley D. Association between sedentary behavior and low back pain; A systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Promotion Perspectives. 2022;12(1):52-66.
4. Cholewicki J, et al. Gluteus Maximus Activation during Common Strength and Hypertrophy Exercises: A Systematic Review. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine. 2020.
5. Chandrasekaran B, Bairapareddy KC, Rao CR. Resistance Exercise Training on Musculoskeletal, Metabolic and Psychological Health in Sedentary Office Workers – Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2026;36:23-42.
6. The impact of resistance training on gluteus maximus hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. 2025. PubMed PMID: 40276368.
7. De Carvalho D, Greene R, Swab M, Godwin M. Does objectively measured prolonged standing for desk work result in lower ratings of perceived low back pain than sitting? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Work. 2020;67(2):431-440.
8. Can exercise snacks alleviate musculoskeletal discomfort in prolonged sitting? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. 2026.

This article is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. If you have persistent hip or back pain, an injury, or another medical condition, consult an appropriate healthcare professional before beginning or changing an exercise program.