If you're worried about what you look like from behind in your bikini, you have a few options to work towards improvement. You can tone your butt and legs into this shape to rock a bikini, swimsuit or your everyday clothes without worrying about how you look from behind. Another option is losing weight to help slim down that area. Remember, these workouts will be effective only when done regularly, along with following a healthy lifestyle and diet.
Best Workouts For The Perfect Butt
1. Standing Lunges
This exercise tones the muscles of your buttocks, thighs and hamstrings. It also improves your balance and gives a proper workout to your core muscles.
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 backward to the starting position. Repeat 8 to 10 times with the first leg, then switch legs.
Along with standing lunges, you can try simple backward lunges, simple forward-stepping lunges, gliding balance continual lunges, lateral lunges and multi-directional lunges with arms. You can even perform lunges with dumbbells or with a medicine ball to add additional resistance.
2. Squats
Squats strengthen and tone the muscles of the buttocks as well as thighs, hips and lower back. This exercise is easy to do and can be done just about anywhere. It do not require any equipment, unless you want to add weights.
Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips and keep your toes pointed slightly outward. Keep your spine straight and put your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground. Keeping your entire body tight, breathe in, bend at your hips and push your butt back. Squat down slowly until your hips are lower than your knees. Keeping everything tight, breathe out, push up off your heels and slowly rise back up. Perform 2 sets of 20 repetitions once daily.
You can also try one-legged squats, kickback squats, barbell squats or jumping squats to give proper shape to your butt.
3. Use Ballet Squats
These squats also work your thighs and leg muscles, helping to tone them. Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes turned out to the side. You can put your hands out in front of you or on your hips, just as long as your torso stays straight and upright throughout the exercise. Bend your knees over your feet, and keep your butt tucked in.
Return to the original position; do 10 reps.
4. Lying Side Leg Raises
This effective exercise also helps tighten and tone the muscles on the butt, thighs and hips. It will also benefit 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 to 20 times. Switch sides and do the same with the other leg.
Do this exercise every other day to let your muscles recover.
5. Butt Lift (Bridge)
The butt lift is a strength-training exercise. It mainly targets the muscles of your buttocks and lower back to keep them toned.
Lie flat on your back on the floor with your hands by your sides and your knees bent. Keep your feet about shoulder-width apart and flat on the floor. Slowly raise your hips off the floor, while keeping your back straight. Breathe out during this step and hold your hips at the top for 1 second. Slowly lower your hips down to the lying position as you breathe in.
Repeat 8 to 10 times.
To make this exercise even more challenging, do it while holding one leg up in the air.
6. Lying Hamstring Curl With Stability Ball
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 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.
Do 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions, once daily.
7. 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 will even stretch 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-degree 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 to 60 seconds, taking deep breaths. Straighten your knees with an inhalation and stand up straight. Exhale and release your arms to your sides.
Repeat 10 to 15 times, once daily.
8. Explosive Lunges
I would typically shy away from anything that referred to my bum and any explosions, but this move gives me an awesome stretch through my glutes while testing my balance and coordination and patience.
Stand with your feet together and your hands on your hips. Then lunge forward with your right leg. Jump up, switch legs in midair, and land with your left leg in a forward lunge. Continue these explosive lunges, alternating sides, for one minute. Keep your fists up in front of your chin and push off the floor with both feet. Your front knee should be bent 90 degrees and align over your ankle.
9. Sun Salutations
A yoga sequence that works your entire body, sun salutations can especially benefit your butt: As you move from downward-facing dog into lunges and back through chair pose, you'll feel an incredible stretch right through your glutes down through your thighs and hamstrings.
10. Kneeling Kickback
This move targets the spot where your glutes and hamstrings connect and helps to lift your buns with every rep.
Start kneeling on the floor, on all fours, with your hips lined over your knees and your hands directly under your shoulders (arms extended). Place one dumbbell behind your right knee, and curl your right heel into your body, squeezing into the dumbbell to hold it in place. Flex your foot, and keeping your back flat, lift your right knee up behind your hip until your thigh is parallel to the floor. Slowly lower your knee almost all the way down to the floor, and then repeat. Be sure to do 15 reps on the right leg, and 15 reps on the left.
Keep your lifted foot flexed the whole time and think about kicking up with your heel to really activate your glutes.
11. Pushups
Pushups work much of your body, including your butt muscles. They also work your arms, chest, and stomach.
Lie down on the floor with your stomach towards the floor and your palms up by your shoulders, palms down. Your elbows should be in the air. Place your toes on the floor so your heels are in the air. Push your body into the air with your arms, making sure to keep your body straight. Repeat until you start to feel tired. Take a break, and then do some more. To make it easier when you first get started, you can do pushups with your knees on the ground rather than your feet.
12. Touch Your Toes
Touching your toes may not sound that hard, but each time you lift back up, you are using the muscles on your backside and toning them, which is why it's also known as a dead lift.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend forward with your hips until your back is parallel to the floor. Your hands can be on your shins, or your fingertips can be pointing toward the floor with your arms straight.
Return to the original position; do 10 reps.
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