Fitness Tips: 3 Exercises to Tone and Shape Your Butt

Who wouldn’t want a nice, firm, round booty? Doing the right exercises can lift and sculpt even the saddest glutes into a behind you can be proud of, but the problem is that many women don’t know where to begin. Here are three of the best exercises for toning your butt.

Squats

Squatsthe ultimate booty-building exercise. If you’re serious about tightening up sagging bits, eliminating cellulite, and developing delicious curves, don’t leave squats out of your training routine. Even if this is the only butt exercise you do, you’ll still likely get better results than what you’d get doing a handful of other butt exercises.

There are many variants of the squat. Weighted and non-weighted, standing or jumping, feet angled in or out, wide stance or narrow stance–they all target different parts of the butt and legs. Before you get into complex forms, you need to know how to perform the fundamental standing squat.

To do a basic squat, stand straight up with your legs spread out at about shoulder width. Next, raise both arms straight out in front of you, or interlace your fingers with the arms held at chest level. Then, slowly lower your body by bending the knees until your butt is about parallel with the ground, and pause for two to three seconds.

You’ll know that you’ve done it correctly when your legs create a right angle. The form will look like sitting on an imaginary chair. Beginners can practice this form by squatting in front of a mirror.

After a two or three count, raise your body back up to the starting standing position. At the top of the movement, make sure to squeeze your glutes so that you can feel them working. You’ve just completed one repetition of the basic squat.

Aim for at least three sets of ten repetitions to complete the exercise. Once you’ve mastered this movement, you can begin to modify it for even better results. Women who want more definition should increase their reps and sets, while those who wish to plump up their butt and increase size should try squatting with a barbell on their back.

There are so many variations to the squat, and they all do something a little bit different for you because they activate different parts of the muscles. Experiment to see which variants work best for you.

Stability Ball Leg Curls

This creative exercise might require a higher level of physical fitness and coordination, but the results you get from properly executing it are pretty impressive. Before you begin, you’ll need to buy a stability ball if you don’t have one already. A yoga mat also helps to keep your back and head from hurting during the movement.

Begin the exercise by lying flat on your back with your legs resting on top of the stability ball. Your butt should be in contact with the floor. Then, straighten your body out to form a bridge by tensing up the muscles in your legs and core.

This is where things get a little tricky. From the bridge hold, you curl your legs into your body by squeezing the glutes until your feet are resting on top of the ball, and your knees should form a right angle or less. The ball will roll in closer to you during this motion.

Hold the last phase of the movement for five seconds before lowering yourself back to the bridge hold. Then, relax your core, and let your butt drop down to the floor again. Shoot for three sets of ten reps to finish this exercise.

Dumbbell Lunges

Dumbbell lunges work each butt cheek separately, but they’re still one of the most effective back-end fitness exercises out there. Start by standing straight up with a dumbbell in each hand. Next, take a big step forward with one leg until the knee nearly comes into contact with the floor, and hold for three seconds.

To get back to the starting position, squeeze the glutes, and use explosive force to push yourself back up with the same leg. Alternate legs, and repeat. Once again, try to do three sets of ten until you’re comfortable with doing more.