Every woman I’ve ever trained with, consulted with, or even talked to once they find out I’m a personal trainer has told me they want a better butt.
They want to know how they can get a nicer 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 guys want to get rid of their intestines.
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’s 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. Hip Extension or Single Leg Hip Extension – This is a great isolation move for your gluteal muscles, plus it works your core at the same time.
To do this, lie on your back with your knees bent, close to 90 degrees, and your feet flat on the floor. Contract your abdomen and activate your gluteal muscles, then press up through your heels, lifting your buttocks off the ground 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 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 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 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 up straight and tall with your shoulders back and stomach pulled in. 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 slightly lower than parallel to the floor. Press through your heels and squeeze your butt hard as you press back up to the starting position.
Always make sure that your heels remain 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 lower body move, but can be an especially great glute workout, you just have to adjust it a bit.
To perform this move, stand up straight and upright with your shoulders back and your stomach pulled in. Step forward and lower until the top of the front leg is parallel to the ground (make sure to keep the entire foot of the front leg on the ground), hold for a count, then press up through the glute muscles of the front leg and bring the back leg forward and repeat until you have completed 8-10 repetitions on each leg.
To make sure you really hit your glute muscles hard, make your steps a little bigger than normal. This really stretches the hamstrings and glutes with each 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 high bench or 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 almost straight.
Lower down slowly and repeat on 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 Hills: When it comes to cardio, nothing will give you a nice butt faster than running hills. Running, or even walking, on an incline will really work out your gluteal muscles and help you get the firm, round buttocks you’re looking for.
You can also do this on a treadmill, if the incline is high enough, otherwise pick a nice steep hill or a steep stairway and run.
Just make sure that with every step you take you are 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. Try them 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 gluteal muscles is because a lot of women don’t do that. As a population, we sit too much and this causes our glute muscles to “fall asleep”, and to wake them up while exercising, you have to think about flexing them until it becomes second nature. Once you’ve done that for a while, it’ll 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.