Work Your Butt

Let's face it: Everybody wants a sexy, voluptuous bum, especially during swimsuit season. The problem is, you have to put in the work to reap the rewards of a toned rump. Thankfully, it isn't too difficult to get the bum you desire if you spend just a little bit of time doing a mixture of cardio and toning exercises each day. Combine a daily exercise routine with a healthy diet, and you'll be flaunting your booty in no time! Follow the steps below to go from a flat behind to a fab behind.

Steps

Cardio Exercises

  1. Ride a bike. Hop on a stationary bike at the gym and turn up the resistance, or get on your road or mountain bike and get outdoors for some incline training. Find a mountain biking path in the hills and prepare yourself for a steep climb, or hit the concrete and do some road climbing. Always wear a helmet and protective padding when biking outdoors.
  2. Do incline running. Running up an incline targets your glutes to tone your butt and strengthens the hamstrings around your butt muscles. You can also set a treadmill to a high incline to simulate a hill-like running experience. Here are some ideas for place to do incline training outdoors:
    • Hard-surface trainings up steep streets.
    • Run stairs at your local stadium.
    • Turn an uphill trail hike into a run.
    • Run up sand dunes at the beach.
  3. Hike up a mountain. Give your butt a good workout by choosing a hike with steep inclines. The key to a toned caboose is quite literally scaling a mountain. For an even more intense workout, sneak in some uphill sprints as you hike.
  4. Go swimming. Swimming laps for an extended period of time can be a great tool for strengthening your butt. Target your butt muscles by holding onto a kick board as you swim using only your legs. Alternate between freestyle kicks, breath stroke kicks, and dolphin kicks to work all of your butt muscles.
  5. Work out on an elliptical or a stair climbing machine. If the indoor gym is more your scene, turn up the resistance and the incline on an elliptical or a stair climbing machine. For best results, turn the incline up as steep as it will go and turn the resistance up to about half of its highest setting.
    • Exercise for between 30 minutes and one hour. Alternate between turning the resistance down and turning it up.
    • Choose a pre-set interval course to combine hills and flat road simulations.
    • On a stair stepper, lean forward slightly and stick your butt out while talking long strides. Let go of the rails to put the extra stabilization effort on your glutes.[1]

Toning Exercises

  1. Squeeze for the single leg hip lift. Lie on your back with your heels on the seat of a chair, your pelvis flexed up by squeezing your glutes, and your arms resting palm-down by your sides. Take one heel off of the chair and straighten your leg completely. Lift your leg back toward your head until your leg is pointing up to the sky, parallel to your hips. Return the heel to the chair and switch legs.
    • Make sure to keep your pelvis lifted off of the ground the entire time. You'll need to squeeze your glute muscles strongly to achieve a good lift.
    • Repeat 10 times on each leg.
  2. Practice the chair step-and-kick. Stand facing a sturdy chair with a seat that comes to your mid-thigh. With your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips, step onto the chair with one foot while lifting the other leg at a 90-degree angle to hip level in front of you. Tilt your torso slightly forward and kick your bent leg out behind you. Then bring the leg back to the 90-degree hip level position and place it on the floor.
    • Switch legs and repeat about 10 reps on each leg.
    • This exercise requires good balance. Pick a spot on the wall in front of you to stare at while you complete this exercise to help with balance. Choosing a sturdy chair will also help.
  3. Do squats. There are tons of variations that you can add to your squats, but get the basics down first. Make sure that your back is straight and your hips are tucked under your torso supporting your upper body as you squat. Bend deeply at the knees while squeezing your glutes and upper thigh muscles. Here are some variations to try:
    • Face away from a chair and place your toes down on the edge of the chair. Squat with your standing leg. Switch legs and repeat.
    • Squat with both legs, and as you straighten your legs to come to standing straight, kick one leg out in front of you. Switch legs and repeat.
    • Stretch your arms out in front of you at shoulder-width and squat with both legs. Add a light weight in each hand to make it more difficult.
    • Place one foot on a material that will slide such as a towel or a piece of cardboard. Stand with your feet together and put all of your weight on the other leg. Simultaneously squat with the leg holding your weight and then slide the other leg out straight. Return to the start position as you straighten out both legs. Work one leg in the sliding position for about 30 seconds and then switch sides.
  4. Do lunges. To complete a typical lunge, stand with your feet hip-width apart and your hands on your hips. Step as far forward as possible with one leg and squat your whole body into a deep lunge.
    • Make sure to keep your torso in a straight line as you bend to support your back.
    • To make it more difficult, add an explosive element by jumping in the air to switch legs in between sides. [2]
  5. Use a leg press machine. There are several weight machines in most gyms that are great for toning your butt. Ask a staff member about the appropriate weight for your physical fitness and do leg presses every other day.
  6. Try a yoga or pilates class. Sometimes a group environment can motivate you to push your limits and try new exercises. Join a yoga or pilates studio and try out a few different classes to see which you like. Yoga and pilates combine balance training, muscle strengthening, core work, and stretching to tone your body, especially your butt. Make these classes a part of your routine by attending three to five classes per week.

Eating a Healthy Diet

  1. Hydrate with plenty of water. Make sure to drink the recommended {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of fluid for men and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of fluid for women per day.[3]
  2. Incorporate lean proteins into your diet. You can get lean protein from fish, chicken, turkey, tofu, eggs, and beans, just to name a few. Lean proteins will fill you up without adding any unnecessary fats or carbohydrates to your diet.
    • Avoid a diet high in red meat or processed meat. Both are thought to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, heighten bad cholesterol levels, and contribute to clogged arteries and a higher risk of heart attack.
  3. Eat nuts. Nuts, especially almonds, are high in Vitamin E antioxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids that can help lower bad cholesterol levels in the body. Vitamin E also protects body tissue from potential damage from free radicals. Be aware that nuts are high in fat, so only consume the recommended serving size daily.[4]
  4. Eat dark, leafy greens, dark berries, and foods rich in beta-carotene. Dark greens and berries are packed full of healthy antioxidants and greens are extremely rich in fiber, which promotes digestive regularity. Foods like sweet potatoes and carrots are rich in beta-carotene, a healthy antioxidant that promotes muscle recovery.
  5. Choose whole grains. When purchasing cereal, bread, crackers, and other carbohydrate-based foods, choose the whole grain or whole wheat option. Whole grains contain fiber and phytonutrients that support healthy digestion.
  6. Make sure to get enough Vitamin C. Oranges and orange juice are excellent sources of Vitamin C, which is thought to help aid in muscle soreness and promote a healthy immune system. If you aren't getting enough Vitamin C from your diet, consider taking a Vitamin C supplement or multivitamin daily.[5]

Tips

  • Be consistent in your exercise routine. To see results, you have to work out regularly.

Warnings

  • Don't use weights that are too heavy for you, you may injure yourself.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.fitsugar.com/Cardio-Workouts-Tone-Butt-21489572
  2. ↑ http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/butt/exercises/our-top-10-exercises-to-tone-your-butt/?page=1
  3. ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283
  4. ↑ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002406.htm
  5. ↑ http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-runners/best-foods-runners

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