Do You Have Blogger's Butt?

It's inevitable. I don't have the exact statistics but someone you know right now has it or will most likely get it sometime during their lifetime as a blogger. Why is this becoming more common and what can we do to stop it? Is there a way to prevent it? What can we do to help our fellow bloggers who are new to their profession so that they can watch for the warning signs? Here are my personal tips-

Relocate Your Work Area This may sound like a silly thing but it's a small, easy way to help work on that bloggers' butt without you missing a beat. When I say relocate, look at where you currently spend most of your blogging time. Do you tend to stay on one floor or in an area that is easily accessible to whatever you need during the day? Since so many bloggers are using portable blogging devices, we can be accessible anywhere, anytime. We have the luxury of  sharing our thoughts from any space but in the long run, this is what is adding to our butt load of issues. Not sure what I mean? Move upstairs- if you work from home and tend to plop yourself downstairs so you can work, eat, clean, whatever- stop. Move your dedicated work area somewhere upstairs. It may not seem like a huge thing but when you do, you will begin to notice how many times a day the stairs are used. It may be baby steps but your butt will appreciate it. The only exception- if you are like me and have a cat who just loves to come into your office to poop just about the same time you are getting into your writing groove. In that case, maybe relocate the cat litter (because blogging with that..blah!).

Put the Products Away All of those yummy food items that you get? Yeah, put them in a spot where you will not eat ALL of them in a short period of time. I know, it's difficult- we're home, we're working and they are soooo darn delicious (most of the time) so what does it hurt to have a taste...two tastes..5 packages. If you put them out of reach, you will begin to notice how many times you get up to get them. Better yet, organize them in bins that are not see through but make sure you keep a to-do list if you need to review them. If they are out of site, there is no mental reminder of oooh, I could really go for some of that right now! It's bittersweet- bloggers love getting products (hey, who doesn't) but then having them at our disposal can sometimes be our downfall. No butts about it.

Water- Drink It Don't like water? Find a happy medium- if you need something warm to sip on, find an herbal tea and add more water than tea. If you need something bubbly, add seltzer to your water. Whichever way works best for you, get that water into your body each and every day. Coffee does not count. If you need coffee, have coffee but drink one glass of water for each cup of coffee. Plus, when the whole drinking water, getting up to pee every 45 minutes kicks in, it gets you moving more during the day. Probably not what you want to think about or hear but it's true. Hydrating keeps everything in your body optimal, including your brain (which we crazy bloggers need on a moment's notice). So technically, you can drink yourself into work mode.

Solid Cups Invest in a new cup for your water (if you don't already have one) but it must be solid, as in not see through. And it must be larger than just one glass of water. Keep this with you at all times. When you are busy blogging, how many times do you reach for your coffee cup, your mug of tea, that bag of whatever the day's product is? It's habit and we all do it. The key is to replace whatever is within reach rather than breaking the habit. So why a solid cup? When we don't see how much we are drinking, we tend to drink more. Plop a straw into the cup and I bet you'll drink even more. Why? I am a blogger, not a scientist, just try it.

Blog On a Machine I admit, I have never done this myself. I am that person that cannot walk on a treadmill without having at least one hand on a rail because I will fall off. This being said, some people actually blog and exercise at the same time. There's even a treadmill with a built in desk to help you. Again, could I do this? Nah- you would most likely read about how I bought one, fell, got my arm caught in some part of it and had to lay there for hours until my kids finally realized there was no food cooked for them. For those of you who can, it's an option to multitask. Actually, this would bring an entirely new definition to the term "bloggers butt" but in a good way... I can visualize a bunch of bloggers at a conference who haven't seen each other all year. "Did you lose weight? You have like no butt! I've been sitting too long" all because your bloggers' butt is firm and shapely versus extended beyond what you prefer.

Put on REAL Pants For those of you who don't blog, it is a known fact that bloggers tend to live in their jammy pants, their fuzzy pants, their yoga pants and any other type of pants that are not real pants (unless they have too). And why? If you worked from home and didn't have too get dressed on the days when you didn't feel like it, would you? I think it's safe to say that most bloggers cannot count the number of times their Fedex, UPS or postal carrier has seen them answer the door in their comfy pants and by after a certain point, they stopped even caring about it. But (butt) here's the problem with this - not wearing real pants also helps you forget that your butt and your waistline are getting a bit too comfortable as well. When a blogger works weeks on end at home, tasting and posting product reviews, writing, Twitter parties- we are confused as to why our favorite pair of jeans has grown a little bit snug. We are horrified when we finally get dressed for an "outside" business meeting and that zipper just won't zip. Starting today, make a pledge to put in real pants...at least a few times a week.

What Do Bloggers REALLY Think About Bloggers' Butt? When I got the idea to write this article, I let a few people know I was working on it. The conversation is very typical of what a blogger thinks and how our minds zoom from one subject to the next. This is a small portion of what was discussed:

"I'm writing  a blog article titled Do You Have Bloggers' Butt...stay tuned"
"Giveaway- Blogger Tushoff 2017!"
"Wait, how do I plan a tush giveaway? ... but now I may need too"
"...is there cat litter involved?" (if you are unsure, please reread Relocate Your Work Area)
"I have one"
"You do not and neither does Tracy"
"I've been sitting more since I've seen you"
"I for sure have bloggers neck"
"..WTF is bloggers neck?! OMG, do I have bloggers neck??"

So, you see, bloggers have curious minds that are forever thinking, over thinking, sharing, over sharing and we are all ok with this. This is how we thrive. This is how we communicate. This is how we empower each other (as weird as it may sound) but it keeps us all going. Blogging is not as easy as sitting down and writing but neither is figuring out how to blog and try to keep your pre-blogging unbumpy butt.

If you have a bloggers' butt tip, a comment or just understand, please feel free to share