Whether you're lifting heavy weights at the gym or sitting for long hours at your desk, a strong set of glutes is essential for overall health and functionality. Gluteus maximus—the largest muscle in the body—plays a crucial role in supporting your spine and assisting in movements like walking, running, and jumping. Now, when you think about this muscle, you think about complex exercises like deadlifts or kettlebell swings, however one simple yet effective move you can do anywhere is the glute bridges.

Why Should You Do Glute Bridges?

The glute bridge is an easy exercise which is accessible to anyone, regardless of skill level and can be performed anywhere. It can be done at the gym, on the floor at home, or even at the office. Fitness experts call it a versatile exercise that activates not only your glutes but also your hamstrings and core. Moreover, it is an excellent warm-up for experienced lifters before heavy training.

Which Muscles Are Targeted By This Exercise?

While this exercise primarily targets the glutes, it also engages the hamstrings and core, helping to stabilize the body and improve posture. It is pertinent to note that a strong core is pivotal to performing daily activities.

How To Perform Glute Bridges

2. Squeeze your core to create tension, and think about pulling your shoulder blades down toward your hips.

3. Lift your hips toward the ceiling by squeezing your glutes and pushing through your heels. Avoid arching your lower back.

4. Hold at the top for one to two seconds, then lower your hips back down to the ground.

Your goal should be to form a straight line from your knees to shoulders, ensuring no arching in the back. Beginners may not raise their hips very high at first, but with practice, they can aim for a perfect alignment.

When And How Often Should We Do Glute Bridges

The glute bridge can be incorporated into your workout routine as a warm-up or stand-alone exercise. Beginners should aim for 3–4 sets of 10–12 reps, focusing on proper form. Advanced trainees may use the glute bridge as a warm-up for heavier exercises, doing 30-second intervals with short rests. If you spend long hours sitting, try doing a few sets throughout the day to keep your posterior muscles engaged.

Besides Glute Bridges You Can Perform These Exercises For Stronger Glutes

1. Squats: Classic and powerful, squats target your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. You can do bodyweight squats or add dumbbells/barbells for more intensity.

2. Lunges: Forward, reverse, and walking lunges are excellent for engaging the glutes while also improving balance and coordination.

3. Step-Ups: Using a bench or sturdy platform, step-ups activate the glutes, especially when you push through your heel on the working legs.

4. Deadlifts (especially Romanian or Single-Leg Deadlifts): These strengthen the glutes and hamstrings while also working your lower back and core.

5. Donkey Kicks: This bodyweight move isolates the glute muscles and is great for glute activation. You can add ankle weights or resistance bands for an extra challenge.

Most of us know exercise is good for the heart. It makes the muscle stronger and brings the resting heart rate down. But new research from the University of Bristol suggests there is another layer. Regular exercise may also change the nerves that tell the heart how fast to beat.

What The Researchers Did

The heart is partly run by the autonomic nervous system, the body’s autopilot. It handles heartbeat, breathing and digestion without you thinking about it. According to a University of Bristol statement, the team studied rats that did 10 weeks of moderate treadmill running. They then examined the stellate ganglia, two small clusters of nerve cells on either side of the lower neck and upper chest. These clusters send the “go faster” signals to the heart.

The study appeared in the journal Autonomic Neuroscience, with researchers from University College London and two Brazilian universities.

In untrained rats, the left and right clusters looked fairly similar. In trained rats, they did not. Healthline, reporting on the paper, said the right cluster held about four times as many neurons as the left. The nerve cells also changed size in opposite directions. Those on the left grew to nearly twice their size, while those on the right became slightly smaller.

The trained rats also had a lower heart rate, around 280 beats a minute against 314 in untrained rats, while their blood pressure stayed about the same, according to Healthline’s report on the study.

Why It Matters

Doctors already target these nerve clusters in some patients. Nerve blocks and denervation procedures calm them down to treat irregular heartbeats, angina (chest pain from poor blood flow to the heart) and stress-induced “broken-heart” syndrome.

Dr. Augusto Coppi, the study’s lead author, said in the University of Bristol’s statement that the clusters work like the heart’s “dimmer switch.” He said that knowing how they differ on each side could one day help doctors pick the side most likely to benefit.

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This was a rat study. Dr. Coppi himself said in the same statement that the findings are early-stage and that clinical studies would need to follow. The team still has to show how these changes affect the way the heart actually works. They plan to test larger animals and eventually people, using noninvasive markers so no surgery is needed.

So this is not a new reason to change anyone’s treatment. It is a clue, not a cure.

The advice itself is old and well proven. The World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity. Brisk walking, swimming and cycling all count. WHO data also shows that about a third of adults worldwide still don’t do enough.

If you have a heart condition, get chest pain, or take heart medicines, check with your doctor before starting a new routine. For everyone else, the message is simple. Your heart is not the only thing that changes when you work out. The nerves that control it may change too.

For someone living with obesity today, the treatment conversation has become more complex and, in many ways, far more hopeful. With newer weight-loss pharmacotherapies offering significant results, patients and clinicians now have more options than ever before. The key question is no longer whether medication or surgery is better, but rather which approach or combination of therapies is most appropriate for a particular patient.

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease that can affect much more than body weight. It is closely linked to severe metabolic comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea, fatty liver disease, joint problems and reduced quality of life. Treatment must therefore focus not merely on short-term weight loss, but on long-term metabolic health and sustained weight maintenance.

How Newer Weight-Loss Medicines Are Changing Treatment

Newer anti-obesity medicines, including GLP-1-based and related therapies, have significantly expanded the options available to patients. They can support meaningful weight loss and improve metabolic health when combined with appropriate nutrition, physical activity and behavioural support. They may be particularly useful for patients who are not ready for surgery, those who need to improve their health before an operation, or those who experience weight recurrence after previous treatment.

However, these medicines do not work in the same way for everyone. Long-term treatment may be required, while side effects, affordability, access and adherence can influence outcomes. Some patients may also regain weight after stopping treatment. In India, the cost and continued access to these therapies are therefore important considerations when planning long-term care.

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Why Bariatric Surgery Remains An Important Option

For patients with severe obesity, particularly those with established metabolic complications, metabolic and bariatric surgery remains an important treatment option. Procedures such as sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and one-anastomosis gastric bypass can influence appetite, gut hormones and glucose metabolism, in addition to reducing stomach capacity. This can result in substantial weight loss and improvement in conditions such as diabetes and sleep apnoea.

The decision to undergo surgery should be based on factors such as the severity of obesity, associated illnesses, previous treatment attempts and the patient's readiness for an operation and long-term follow-up. Surgery is not an endpoint; nutritional care, lifestyle changes and regular monitoring remain important afterwards.

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Combining Medication, Surgery And Lifestyle Changes

Weight regain also needs to be viewed in the context of obesity as a chronic disease. Treatment may need to evolve over time, with medicines, surgery and lifestyle interventions playing different roles at different stages. A patient may use medication before surgery to improve metabolic health, while another may require medication later to manage weight recurrence. This approach allows treatment to adapt to the patient's changing needs rather than treating weight loss as a one-time goal.

Technology is also influencing how bariatric surgery is performed. Technology has fundamentally elevated precision in minimally invasive bariatric procedures. Robotic-assisted surgical systems, such as the da Vinci Surgical System provide three-dimensional visualisation and wristed instruments that flex and rotate with dexterity far exceeding the human hand.

Operating at a dedicated console, the surgeon maintains full control throughout the procedure, as the system translates hand movements in real time with built-in tremor filtration. These capabilities are particularly advantageous during complex reconstructive procedures such as gastric bypass, where precise suturing, micro-dissection, and delicate tissue handling are paramount.

The technology, however, works within a broader surgical ecosystem. Patient selection, surgical expertise, standardised protocols, anaesthesia and postoperative care remain central to achieving good outcomes.

What Real-World Experience With Robotic Bariatric Surgery Shows

Our real-world experience of 545 patients undergoing robotic bariatric surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System showed consistent outcomes across procedures, including in patients with severe obesity. There were no conversions to open or laparoscopic surgery, the 30-day post-discharge complication rate was 2.02%, and no mortality was reported during follow-up.

At one year, mean BMI reduced from 44.55 to 32.68 kg/m², while outcomes in patients with BMI ≥50 kg/m² remained broadly comparable with the overall cohort. For patients, this translates into predictable perioperative outcomes and meaningful weight reduction, while for surgeons, the experience demonstrates how robotic assistance can be integrated into bariatric practice, including the management of technically challenging cases.

The changing obesity landscape ultimately calls for a comprehensive, personalized approach to treatment. Anti-obesity medications have expanded the options available to patients, while metabolic and bariatric surgery remains the cornerstone intervention for those who require substantial, durable weight loss and metabolic improvement. Neither approach should be viewed in isolation from nutrition, physical activity, behavioral health, and long-term follow-up.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has gained popularity among those who wish to achieve a good workout in a short amount of time. But for those with high blood pressure, the challenge is an important one: Can they attempt HIIT, or is it too much for the heart?

The answer, in short, lies with the individual. Having high blood pressure does not mean that a person has to avoid vigorous exercise, but the intensity has to be suitable considering the blood-pressure control and cardiovascular risk, fitness levels and other medical issues.

In India, where hypertension has become a growing public health concern, an ICMR-INDIAB study which looked at more than 113,000 people across the country, put the overall prevalence of high BP at 35.5 per cent among adults aged 20 years and above. It was higher among men and the urban population.

Blood-pressure control remains a concern in India as the WHO-India estimates that around 220 million people live with hypertension but only about 12 per cent have their BP under control.

So where does HIIT come in?

HIIT, which involves alternating short periods of high-intensity workout followed by recovery periods, can actually be beneficial. HIIT is not forbidden among those with high blood pressure, but the individual has to take stock of several factors before starting such exercises.

Those who are physically active, have good blood-pressure control, and no other concerns can probably take on HIIT workouts. But those who are sedentary and/or have poor blood-pressure control may have to work their way up. This is an important point to consider as HIIT might offer a good workout, but a hard-hitting workout is not always good for your blood pressure.

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Start with assessment, not max intensity

Among those who are new to exercise and have hypertension, jumping into an intense HIIT workout may not be the best move. A doctor would look at blood pressure, age, exercise history, cardiovascular risk and symptoms before advising on the most appropriate way forward.

A sedentary person should start with brisk walking, for example, before working their way up to cycling or jogging, and then adding higher intensity workouts, or interval training. It is about pace and control, and not going all out right at the start. Not only is that risky for those with hypertension, it could also lead to severe injuries.

Pay attention to exercises that help you warm up and cool down, and avoid stopping abruptly immediately after a vigorous round of exercise. While doing strength-based HIIT, people should avoid holding their breath, as this can cause blood pressure to spike. Make sure you train with a qualified trainer who can guide you through your workouts safely, and with the right advice.

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What about people with uncontrolled BP?

This is the point where exercising caution is important. People with high blood pressure who have persistently high or poorly controlled readings should not assume that every form of exercise is a good idea for them just because it is termed healthy.

Unexplained chest pain or discomfort, breathlessness or dizziness, fainting or unusual palpitations during exercise are signs that a person should stop their workout and get to a doctor rather than powering through the routine.

Those on antihypertensive medication will also need to take stock of their medication, how their blood pressure is behaving, and how their body is responding before deciding on the best approach to exercise.

The goal is sustainable cardiovascular fitness

For Indians looking to get into intense workouts, HIIT can be a part of a physically active lifestyle, but the aim should be cardiovascular fitness, not necessarily high-intensity workouts. Physical activity continues to be an important pillar in the management of blood pressure, alongside a balanced diet, weight control, adequate sleep, reduced salt intake, medication when needed and regular health check-ups.

So the right question for a person with hypertension is not: ‘Can I push myself as hard as possible’, but ‘What intensity is appropriate for my heart and blood pressure?’

By Dr. Debdatta Majumdar, Senior Consultant - Interventional Cardiology, Narayana RN Tagore Hospital, Mukundapur, Kolkata