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One of the most common body parts that people (particularly women) want to look good is the rear end.
People sit far too much these days, not using the glutes enough, allowing them to atrophy and get weaker and smaller. However, there are various exercises that can help tone your butt.
Tips for Beginners
The following tips can improve the efficacy of your workout
- Most glute exercises can be enhanced by making sure that most of the weight of your body is on your heels (glute-heel-connection). This activates the glutes more.
- Make sure to properly warm-up. Get on the treadmill or just walk in place for a few minutes, anything to get your heart rate up.
- Posture is incredibly important in any butt exercise you perform. Keep a neutral (straight) spine when performing butt exercises.
- Squeeze your butt all the time, not just during exercises.
- All of the exercises shown below can be progressed and made more difficult by adding weights, a TheraBand, or repetitions. You can also do variations of the exercises.
The stronger your butt becomes, the less your knees and back will hurt. You will feel stronger and more capable in every area of your life.
Exercises to Achieve the Perfect Butt
The following exercises are recommended to help shape and strengthen your butt.
1. Standing Lunges
This exercise tones the muscles of your buttocks, thighs, and hamstrings. It also improves your balance and gives your core muscles a proper workout.
- Stand up straight, feet hip-width apart with toes pointing straight ahead.
- Keep your hands on your hips.
- Take a large step forward with your right leg.
- Slowly bend your knees until both legs are nearly at right angles. The right knee should not extend over your toes and the left knee should not touch the floor.
- Hold this position for 3 seconds. Then step back to the starting position.
- Repeat 8–10 times with the first leg and then switch legs.
Along with standing lunges, you can try simple backward lunges, simple forward-stepping lunges, gliding balance continual lunges, lateral lunges, and multidirectional lunges with arms.
2. Lying Side Leg Raises
This effective exercise helps tighten and tone the muscles in the butt, thighs, and hips. It also benefits the lower abdominal muscles. In addition, it lowers your risk for back injuries, back pain, and back strain while performing other exercises.
- Lie on your side with your legs extended out straight.
- Place your lower arm under your head and rest your upper arm on your hip.
- Raise your top leg, while keeping your hips steady and both legs straight.
- Keep raising your top leg up in the air until you feel tightness in your outer hip.
- Move your leg upward and downward 15–20 times.
- Switch sides and do the same with the other leg.
- Do this exercise every other day to let your muscles recover.
3. Step-Ups
This simple resistance exercise works the muscles in your legs and buttocks. It mainly targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles. In addition, it improves your balance and reduces your risk of lower back pain.
- Place a sturdy step or bench in front of you.
- Stand in front of the step or bench with your back, legs, and arms straight and your feet hip-width apart.
- With an exhale, step onto the center of the bench with your right leg and straighten it.
- Keep your left leg behind you for balance.
- Inhale and slowly bend your right knee. Then step back down to complete one round.
- Do 5–10 rounds with one leg. Then switch to the other leg.
4. Lying Hamstring Curl With Stability Ball
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
This simple and interesting exercise focuses primarily on the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles. Along with toning your legs and buttocks, this exercise works out your abdominal muscles. It is also good for your lower back.
- Start by lying flat on your back with an exercise ball under your heels. Place your arms by your sides for support.
- Slowly pull up your hips, with your knees slightly bent, and hold your hips up throughout the entire exercise.
- Dig your heels into the ball and slowly roll the ball toward your body as you bend your knees.
- Slowly return to the starting position to complete one rep.
5. Sun Salutation
The Sun Salutation, also known as Surya Namaskar, consists of 12 yoga postures. The different poses stretch, compress, and tone all of the body’s major muscles.
A complete exercise in itself, the Sun Salutation benefits both your physical and mental health.
The sequence of yoga poses in the Sun Salutation is:
- Salutation pose (Pranamasana)
- Raised arm pose (Hasta Uttanasana)
- Hand-to-foot pose (Padahastasana)
- Equestrian pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)
- Mountain pose (Parvatasana)
- Salutation with eight limbs (Ashtanga Namaskara)
- Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)
- Mountain pose (Parvatasana)
- Equestrian pose (Ashwa Sanchalanasana)
- Hand-to-foot pose (Padahastasana)
- Raised arm pose (Hasta Uttanasana)
- Salutation pose (Pranamasana)
If you are a beginner, it is best to learn this from an expert. Start with 2 to 4 rounds and gradually increase to 12 rounds daily.
6. Chair Pose (Utkatasana)
The Chair pose is a popular yoga pose that helps tone the muscles of your legs and butt. It also tones the muscles along the inner and outer thighs and the back. It even stretches your shoulders and chest.
- Stand straight with your feet about hip-width apart.
- Inhale and raise your arms straight above your head.
- Exhale and fold your body forward at your hips to a 45° angle.
- Keep your knees slightly bent, as though you were about to sit in a chair.
- Look straight ahead and hold the position for 30–60 seconds, taking deep breaths.
- Straighten your knees with inhalation and stand up straight.
- Exhale and release your arms to your sides.
- Repeat 10–15 times, once daily.
We thank Phoenix Rehab and Physiotec for the following images.
7. Glute Bridge
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lie on your back with your knees bent.
- Contract your buttocks to lift your hips off the ground until your trunk is aligned with your legs.
- Slowly return to the initial position and repeat.
8. Frog Bridge
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lie on your back with your knees far apart from each other and heels together.
- Squeeze your heels together, tighten your core, and lift your buttocks until your trunk is aligned with your legs.
- Slowly return to the initial position and repeat.
9. BOSU Hip Thrust
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Sit down on the floor with your upper back on a BOSU ball (or a chair or sofa) as a pivot point. Fold your arms over your chest.
- Push your hips up by squeezing your glutes so your thighs are in line with your torso.
- Keep your glutes up for the recommended time.
- Lower your hips and repeat.
10. BOSU Hip Thrust, Arms Up
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Sit down on the floor with your upper back on a BOSU ball (or a chair or sofa) as a pivot point. Raise your arms over your chest.
- Push your hips up by squeezing your glutes so your thighs are in line with your torso.
- Keep your glutes up for the recommended time.
- Lower your hips and repeat.
11. Single-Leg Glute Bridge
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Start in a crook lying position (knees bent while lying on back).
- Lift one leg off the floor and go up into a shoulder bridge.
- Keeping the leg out straight and the thigh in line with the other thigh, lower yourself on the ground and lift yourself back up.
- Repeat with the other leg.
12. Clamshell
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lie on your side. Bend both the legs a little.
- Without moving your pelvis, lift your leg that is on the top. Slowly, bend your legs but try to keep your heels together.
- Rotate your hip in such a way that while moving, your foot and kneecap point upward.
- Return to the initial position and repeat.
13. Clamshell, Top Leg Abducted
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lie on your side with your knees bent and head supported.
- Elevate the top leg slightly so it does not touch the bottom leg.
- Keep your top foot directly above the bottom one and lift/rotate your top knee without moving your pelvis.
- Lower your knee and repeat.
14. Reverse Hyper on Table
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lay on your stomach on a table so that your hips and legs are hanging over the edge.
- Hold the table to steady yourself.
- Keeping your back straight and your head in line with the spine, squeeze your glutes and lift your legs, extending at the hips until your torso and thighs are aligned. Do not overextend your lower back or neck.
- Lower your legs down toward the floor and repeat.
15. Modified Reverse Hyperextensions
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Place a mini band around your ankles.
- Lie down on your stomach on a table so that your hips and legs are hanging over the edge.
- Hold on to the table to support yourself.
- Bend your knees and hips so they are flexed to approximately 90°.
- Stabilize your abdominals, contract your glutes, and extend your legs straight out, making sure the mini band stays under tension. When your legs are fully extended, there should be a straight line going from your feet to your head.
- Return to the starting position under control and repeat.
16. Frog Leg-Hip Extension on Ball
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Lay on your stomach on a Swiss ball (or a table) with the soles of your feet together, your knees out to the side, and your hands on the floor for stabilization.
- Keeping your core tight, contract your glutes to lift your legs up without arching your back.
- Lower your legs and repeat.
17. Fire Hydrant
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Start on all fours with your back flat.
- Keeping your knee bent, raise one leg out to the side at a height that allows you to keep your pelvis and shoulders parallel to the floor.
- Return to the starting position and repeat.
18. Full Squat
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing straight ahead.
- Keep your back straight and push your knees 3–4 cm in front of your feet, keeping your knees over the second to third toe of each foot.
- Lean forward and sit back on your heels until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Keep in mind not to let your back bend until the thighs are below parallel.
- Sit on your heels (heels on the floor) and keep your feet straight. At this point, you can round your back.
19. Sit to Stand (High), With or Without Band
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Sit on an elevated seat and put a band around your thighs just above your knees. You do not need the band but it will make it more effective.
- With your feet slightly apart, lean forward so your shoulders are over your feet or beyond and stand up fully.
- Slowly return to sitting.
Note: Resist the inward pull of the band by keeping your knees over your feet at all times. The main thing to remember with this exercise is to keep your shins static.
20. Straight-Leg Deadlift
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Hold dumbbells in your hands.
- Stand with your body weight on your working leg, with the knee slightly bent.
- Place your other leg behind you for balance, using only your tiptoe.
- Lean forward, bending at the hip joint (you should feel this in the back of your hamstrings).
- Be careful not to bend through your back: you should maintain a neutral spine throughout the exercise.
- Return to a standing position, by pulling up through your hamstrings and glutes.
21. Deadlift with Weights
Sets: 3 Reps: 10
- Stand with your arms on each side with weights in each hand.
- Squat down to 90° with the weights in front of your legs and slowly come back up to a standing position.
- Keep your back straight, chin in, shoulders back, and the stability of the knee and knee cap aligned with your second toe at all times.
Do Squats Help in Toning Your Butt?
Squats are an absolutely wonderful exercise that everyone should be doing daily. But, contrary to what many people think, they are not the most effective exercise to strengthen the glutes.
If all you do is squats in order to get a perky butt, you may end up growing your thigh muscles a lot more than the glutes. However, if your goal is to achieve a perky butt, there is so much more that should be done to directly and solely hit the glutes.
What Are Hip Thrusts and Bridges?
Exercises called hip thrusts and bridges are the most effective activity for strengthening the glutes. They are (mostly) isolated exercises that do not put the quads into action as much as squats do. These exercises start at a position of flexion of the hip with the knees bent and work toward the extension of the hip.
A book called “Strong Curves” is highly recommended. The book contains four different workout routines based on skill level and goals. Included in the book is a program that can be done completely at home if you do not have access to a gym.
Final Word
Most people look to enhance their butt for its looks, but strong glutes also help prevent injury and improve performance.
Regularly exercising your butt muscles also helps prevent back pain and knee pain. Try different exercises to help tighten, strengthen, and tone your but muscles, making them work more efficiently.
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