Top 5 exercises for a firm and toned butt

Every lady I’ve ever trained, consulted, or even talked to once they found out I’m a personal trainer has told me they want a better butt.

They want to know how they can get a prettier butt. They want to get rid of cellulite and dimples. They want a rounder butt. They want a taller butt, etc.

There has never been an exception with any lady I have dealt with in my training business. It’s like the guys want to get rid of their guts.

I’m willing to bet you’re no different than any woman I’ve ever trained. You want a better butt.

You may have tried those little “sculpting” routines you’ve seen in popular magazines, and they didn’t quite work. Those routines were developed by someone who has never had to train a woman in the real world, by the way.

So this is what I make all the ladies in my training business do when they tell me they want a better butt. These are my Top 5 Booty Workers.

1. Single Leg Hip Extension or Hip Extension: This is a great isolation move for your glute muscles, plus it works your core at the same time.

To do this, lie on your back with your knees bent, about 90 degrees, and your feet flat on the floor. Contract your core and engage your glute muscles, then press up through your heels, lifting your glutes off the floor as high as you can.

When you’ve lifted your butt off the floor to the highest point, hold for 1 count, then slowly lower back to the floor, but don’t allow your butt to touch the floor. Perform 12-15 repetitions. Once this gets too easy, I want you to try a single-leg hip extension. It’s the same move, except before you start, extend one leg out in front of you to press up with one leg on the floor, instead of 2. Do 10-15 reps per leg, then switch.

2. Squats: This really is one of the best exercises for the glutes… when done correctly. Too many women leave their butts out of the exercise and focus too much on the front of their legs. That is a recipe for disaster and limited results.

To perform a squat, stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, while standing tall and straight with your shoulders back and your stomach tight. First lean forward at the hips as if you were sitting in a chair (stick your butt out), then bend your knees and lower yourself until your upper legs are a little lower than parallel to the floor. Press through your heels and squeeze your butt hard as you press back to the starting position.

Always make sure your heels stay on the ground throughout the movement. Once you get your form down, add some weight by holding dumbbells or using a barbell. Keep your reps low for this one, say around 8-10 for the best booty results.

3. Walking Lunge or Traveling Lunge: These are a great move for your lower body, but they can be an especially good glute exercise, you just have to tweak it a bit.
To perform this move, stand up straight and tall with your shoulders back and your stomach tight. Step forward and lower yourself until the top of your front leg is parallel to the floor (make sure to keep the entire foot of your front leg on the floor), hold as you count, then press up through your upper leg muscles. buttocks. the front leg and bring the back leg forward and repeat until you have completed 8-10 repetitions with each leg.

To make sure you really hit your gluteal muscles hard, make your steps a little bigger than normal. This really stretches your hamstrings and glute muscles with every step. Once your form is good enough, add some weight.

4. Step-ups: These are also a great glute exercise, when done correctly. Too many women put all the emphasis on the front of their legs, instead of stepping forward with their gluteal muscles.

Grab a bench or high step and place it in front of you as you stand up straight and tall with your shoulders back and abs tight. Place one foot on the step that is high enough so that your leg forms a 90-degree angle. Press through your heel and actively flex your butt muscles until your front leg is nearly straight.

Lower slowly and repeat with the same leg, or you can alternate legs. Once your form is down, you can add weight and again keep the reps low to really hit your glute muscles hard. Let’s say around 8-10.

5. Running on hills: When it comes to cardio, nothing will give you a nice butt faster than running on hills. Running, or even walking, on an incline will really work out your gluteal muscles and help you get the round, firm butt you’re after.

You can also do this on a treadmill, if the incline is steep enough, otherwise pick a nice steep hill or a steep stairway and run.

Just make sure that with every step you take you’re actively flexing your butt muscles. Once it becomes second nature, you won’t have to think about it much.

There you go. There are my Top 5 Booty Workers. Give them a try in your workouts for the next 4 weeks and I guarantee you’ll see the results you’re looking for.

However, a side note. The reason I was telling you to actively flex your butt muscles is because a lot of women don’t do that. As a population, we sit too much and this causes our gluteal muscles to “go to sleep,” and to wake them up while working out, you have to think about flexing them until it becomes second nature. Once you’ve done that for a while, it will become a habit and you’ll be working your glute muscles hard with every rep from then on.

But thinking about flexing those booty muscles is paramount if you really want to see results.