By Alex Vena

Mark Consuelos showed his support for the current “phase” of Kelly Ripa‘s workout routine on Friday’s Live with Kelly and Mark.

“There’s an unexpected health benefit to having a — I guess they’re calling it a ‘hockey butt’ now because of Heated Rivalry, but you know the athlete’s butt,” Ripa told Consuelos during this morning’s episode, as she outlined a curved behind in the air. “Badonkadonk. The big muscular butt.”

Ripa read that an athlete’s butt is linked to “good longevity assets for a healthy lifestyle” and “healthy aging,” and that the gluteus maximus is “the foundation of core strength,” the last of which she was surprised by. While Ripa noted that “strong glutes” can help reduce lower-back pain, she also read that “having some extra padding back there can act like a shock absorber when we walk or climb stairs, reducing hip, knee, and overall joint pain.”

“But while a bigger booty may make chairs more comfortable, sitting too long has been linked to worse health outcomes like the dreaded pancake butt or dead butt syndrome,” she continued.

Consuelos asked, “What is dead butt syndrome? You can’t activate your glutes?”

Live EP Michael Gelman told the co-hosts from off-camera that dead butt syndrome is when your glutes “are weak” and “you can’t activate them properly.” Ripa was then reminded of her own workout routine.

“Right now, I’m in my heavy lifting phase,” she said. “So I do lots of dead lifts and different lifts to build—”

Consuelos cheekily chimed in, “And I appreciate that.”

Ripa added that she does these exercises to “build [her] glutes,” claimed that hers are “muscular, but they’re tiny.” Consuelos assured Ripa that she’s on her way to success, sharing a metaphor inspired by Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas, which they discussed earlier in their host chat segment.

“Babe, no, no. Your glues, they’re great,” he said. “We can go down to Murfreesboro, get one of those rocks, put it between your cheeks. You squeeze those glutes, and we have diamonds. You can make diamonds.”

After Consuelos received a round of applause for his encouragement, Ripa clarified, “It’s not a big butt, but it’s a strong butt.”

Consuelos highlighted that Ripa “just started” her workouts with heavy weights, explaining that “it takes a few years” to see results.

Ripa replied, “So you think that my butt will get bigger?”

Consuelos insisted, “Keep going.”

While Ripa teased that “it’s only been 15 years” of her working out, she agreed that she did “just recently started” with the “very heavy weights.”

Consuelos reiterated, “It takes a while. Keep going.”

Ripa conceded, “Okay, I’ll keep going. Especially now, because it will give me core strength.”

Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.