Fitness & Exercise
The Booty Building Workout That Gets Real Results
Feb
Looking for a better booty burn? Activate your glutes and challenge your weight limit with this 8 exercise booty building workout that hits glutes, hamstrings and quads.
Not trying to be funny here, but your butt muscles are the largest muscle group you have. Glutes are well-known for the power and strength they can produce. And though they’re the key player in almost every lower body movement from walking to running to sitting to standing, they don’t always get the targeted work at the gym that they deserve.
The benefits of a well-rounded (trying to be funny here), booty workout go beyond fitting nicely into your skinny jeans:
- Strong glutes make everyday activities easier: walking up stairs, exercising the dog, getting up and down from a chair, shopping, kneeling, walking, sitting…
- Powerful glutes will improve total body strength and pretty much any lower body lift you can think of from squats to deadlifts to lunges to sprints.
- More muscle + less fat = perkier, rounder, better looking derrier
- The more muscle you carry the more calories you burn (muscle takes more energy to maintain than other tissue), even at rest.
The basics of a booty-lifting butt workout:
Focus on the posterior leg muscle, and specifically the connection between the glutes and the hamstrings. That means most of your lifts here will involve hip hinges.
Push your weight limit. Think about how much you use your leg muscles and glutes on any given day. That’s a lot of use! Which means that in order to grow and adapt, you have to push your legs harder than they are used to. #cuetheburn
Accessory exercises are a great way to finish your workout but always include bigger, compound movements at the start. When your muscles are fresh, focus on the VIPs: deadlifts, squats and lunges.
Get ready…
8 Exercise Booty Burning Leg Workout
Barbell Deadlifts
Stand with feet hip width apart, barbell loaded at your feet. Bend at the knees and hinge back at the hips to reach down and grip the barbell tightly at a shoulder-width grip. Lift your chest enough to straighten your arms and lower back. Take a deep breath in, brace your abs, squeeze your glutes to draw them forward and stand up tall. Pause and then reverse movement back down to the floor.
Goblet Squats
Stand with feet just wider than hip-width apart, holding a kettlebell by the handle close to your chest. Engage your abs and bend your knees, lowering your butt down into a deep squat. Pause, exhale and push through your heels to return to the start position.
Dumbbell Step Ups
Stand facing a sturdy box or bench, dumbbells in each hand, arms straight down at your sides. Begin by placing your right foot firmly in the center of the bench. Press through the heel of your right foot to draw the rest of your body up and forward onto the bench. Draw your left foot onto the bench and stand up tall. To reverse direction, slowly step back with your left foot, smoothly lowering your weight back to the ground and to the start position.
Tip: Leave your back foot on the ground for as long as possible, making a conscious effort not to push off the toes for leverage.
Single Leg Straight Leg Deadlifts
Stand with feet hip-width apart, core engaged and a single dumbbell or kettlebell in your right hand. Start by hinging forward at the hips, simultaneously lifting your left leg up behind you. Keep the weight close to your body as you continue to lower your torso and lift your back leg until your body forms a “T” position. Pause, squeeze your glutes and slowly return to the start position. Finish all of your reps on one leg before switching to the other.
Tip: Keep your shoulders and hips facing forward throughout the movement. If you feel off balance, either leave the toes of your back foot on the floor for support or stand close enough to a wall or chair so that you can use your fingertips to gently balance the movement.
Bulgarian Split Squats
Stand 2 to 3 feet in front of a knee high platform or bench. Extend your right leg behind you and place your toes on the bench, knee slightly bent. Take a breath in and bend your left leg, lowering your right knee towards the floor. Pause, then push through your front foot to return to the start position.
Tip: Don’t lean to far forward or let your front knee drift too far past your toes. Imagine a wall directly in front and behind your torso; try to move in an upward/downward motion, not forward/backward.
Barbell Hip Thrusts
Get into position by sitting on the floor/mat directly in front of the long side of a sturdy or secured workout bench. The barbell should be loaded and in front of you. Roll the bar towards you so that it sits just below your hips. Engage your core and press your back into the bench below your shoulder blades. Take a deep breath in, squeeze your glutes and push through your heels to raise your hips. Pause at the top of the movement before slowly lowering your tips back towards the ground. Depending on the height of the bench, your butt may or may not touch down before repeating the movement.
Tip: Use a towel or sweatshirt to pad your hips where the bar sits.
Glute Band Kickbacks
Place the glute band around your thighs, 1 to 2 inches above the knees. Get into position on all fours, hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Engage your core to keep your lower back straight. Maintaining a 90 degree bend in the leg, raise the sole of your right foot behind you and up towards the ceiling by squeezing your glutes. Your thigh should be as close to parallel to the floor as you can get it. Pause and slowly return to the start position without releasing the tension on your glutes.
Glute Band Fire Hydrants
Place the glute band around your thighs, 1 to 2 inches above the knees. Get into position on all fours, hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Engage your core to keep your lower back straight. Maintaining a 90 degree bend in the leg, raise your right leg up to the right side of your body. Your thigh should be as close to parallel to the floor as you can get it. Pause and slowly return to the start position without releasing the tension on your glutes.
Looking for MORE burn? Look now further…
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