Home Based Butt Shaping Exercises For Women

Bodyweight Butt Toning Exercises at Home

Apart from shaping your glutes, butt toning exercises are also the way to get flat abs and lean legs. Apart from just looking good in tight jeans or a pair of shorts, butt toning exercises also improve structural functionality such as jumping, running and walking or maintaining proper posture on a chair.

Butt Muscles

Your butt comprises three primary muscles namely:

• Gluteus Maximus
• Gluteus Minimus
• Gluteus Medius

The top two are the largest and smallest butt muscle respectively. What do these glutes muscles do? They assist during movement in the limbs and strengthen the muscles in the glutes. The two types of home-based exercises you can use to enhance your workout performance and range of motion are the glute stretches and the butt toning exercises.

The most common areas for women to have a problem losing fat include the butt. Home-based exercises for toning the glutes range from single muscle to compound exercises. The former should be done towards the close and the latter, which are more challenging, should be performed earlier. Without further ado, let’s plunge into the butt toning exercises for women at home.

Butt Toning: Exercises to Shape Your Glutes

Seated Glute Stretch

This ensures good flexibility and exercises the middle most glute muscle and the external rotator muscle of the hips. Adding a glute stretch to the workout is perfect as most of us sit tight on chairs throughout the day, whether at home or office.

Directions

• Place your legs ahead of your body while seated on a chair and cross your right ankle above your left knee, keeping both bent and resting towards the side.
• Then, place your left knee backward and hands should be behind the hips on the ground
• Slide the butt closer to the left foot and feel the stretch in your glutes. Hold this position for about 30 seconds before turning over to the other side for the same duration.
• While performing the stretch, keep your shoulder down and chest open throughout the stretch.
• Take a long breath in and out as you perform this stretch.
• Permit the tight muscles to relax and stretch using this simple, but effective exercise
• Repeat 3 times for best results.

The Glute Bridge

The the best exercise is the glutes bridge. Work your lower back and hamstring through this supine hip extension. This is a simple glute exercise which develops strength in the lower portion of the human body. This is the home exercise which is perfect for novices and experts alike. It also does not require fitness equipment to carry out these moves. Even if you have a bad knee, the glute bridge is no problem. As lower body exercises place pressure on the knees generally, the glute bridge is an exception.

Directions

• Lie in a supine position with bent knees, arms to the side and feet planted firmly on the floor.
• Keeping your spine naturally aligned, tighten your glutes muscles, push across the heels and raise your hips off the floor till the knees, hips and shoulders are straight
• Lower the hips back to the floor after holding this position for a while.
• In sets of 3, perform around 12 reps for optimal results.

Bodyweight Squat

Photo By: Marcell Kolmar/CC BY

This is an effective exercise for toning the butts. You can even perform this exercise using a pair of dumbbells, a medicine ball or a barbell.

Directions

• Stand tall with your feet spread slightly more than the length of the shoulder width.
• Holding your hands behind your head, maintain a straight gaze and ensure that your torso is straight up with the lower back slightly curved.
• Then, tighten your abs and with bent knees, lower the body by moving the hips back.
• Keeping your thighs parallel to the floor, maintain the position for a few seconds and return to the starting point.

Variations of the Squat

Bulgarian Split Squat

This is also called the split lunge. Legs remain in a split position with the back foot on a higher bench. Chairs and steps can also be used.

Elevation should only be that much so as to enable stress on the front leg because if the elevation is too much, it can put huge stress on the flexors and cause spinal and lower back hypertension.

Directions

• Stand around 2 feet head of a bench or a chair with your hands on your waist. The top of your left foot should remain at the seat of the chair and with your knees bent to lower the body as far as possible, keep the shoulders straight and the chest out
• Place your right heel to return to the start position after pausing for a while.
• Perform 10 repetitions for each leg.

Glute Kickback

• For this special quat, you need to stand with your feet apart shoulder width. Position yourself into a squat, keeping the weight on the heels and your hands fisted together in front of your body towards the chest.
• Next, lift your feet straight backwards, maintaining your hips in a square position. Repeat this on the other side after returning to the starting position. This constitutes one rep.
• For best results, do 2-3 sets of 20 repetitions each maximum.

Jack to Squat

• Standing with your feet apart across the width of the hip, clasp your hands at your chest bending your arm. Make sure you perform the squat with the thighs in a straight line to the floor.
• In the squat, jump out and land with the feet spread wide. As you move lower to the floor, the move becomes tougher to perform. Then, return to the original position. This constitutes one repetition. Have around 20 reps in 3 sets maximum.

Burpee Squat

• Stand in a squat with legs shoulder width in length, hands in front of you.
• Next, lean forward and place your hands on the floor while squatting on the floor.
• Now, assume the plank position and then power off to the floor to reach as high as you can , hands over the head. Next, while landing back, assume the squat position.
• Perform this rep 20 times in sets of three.

Sumo Squat

• Stand with feet wide apart at shoulder width and toes turned out, placing your hands on your hips.
• Placing the hips back and squat downwards, spread your knees out and hold the chest up.
• Next, return to the starting position in what is counted as a single rep.
• Repeat this rep 20 times for sets of 3.

Reach on Toes Squats

• Stand with your feet spread apart the length of your hip and toes turned out at a slight angle. Next,return to the deep squat, placing your hips back and making sure the fingertips reach the floor.
• Keeping the spine neutral, lift your chest and focus your eyes ahead. Then, return to the standing position and extend your arms above, keeping them close to your ears as you rise up on your toes. Next, return to the original position in what is one rep.
• Do this 20 times for sets of 3

Surrender Squat

• In this squat, you stand with feet wide apart hip length and hold your hands on your head, elbows in an outward motion. Now, assume a squat position with thighs parallel to the ground. Lowering both knees to the floor, step forward using your right leg, knees at a right angle.
• Next step forward with your left leg to assume the starting pose.
• This is one squat rep. Do about 20 of these in sets of 3

Oblique Squat

• In this exercise, place hands on your heads and elbows pointing outwards.
• Your feet should be shoulder width apart as you descend into a squat. Press into the standing position next and lift one leg higher than the hip level while keeping the elbow to the knee.
• Next, perform this with the other side and repeat the rep 20 times in sets of 3.

Pistol Squat

• For this, you need to stand with your feet shoulder width apart. The heel of the left foot should be on the ground with your toes pointing upwards.
• Raise the left leg ahead of your body while pushing the hip in a backward position and bending to squat.
• If it is comfortable, extend your arms ahead to help you with the balance while lowering the hips as much as possible. Next, return to the start.
• This is one rep. Perform 20 such reps in sets of 3.

Curtsy Squat

• With your legs apart hip width and elbows bent, hands in front of the chest, assume a squat position with thighs in a straight line against the ground.
• Step back with your right foot and squat an inch lower to your left. Return to the original position and repeat the opposite side. This is one rep.
• Repeat this successive times for about 20 reps in sets of 3.

Isometric Squat

• In this squat variation, you need to stand with feet apart the entire width of your hip. Arms should be straight on either side.
• Next, go into the squat position with hands in front of the chest and elbows bent
• In a squat, extend the left feet out to the side and tap the floor using your toe. Assume the starting position and repeat on the other side. This is one single rep.
• Do 20 such reps in sets of 3.

Hip Thrust

This is a wonderful at-home exercise for ladies to strengthen their glutes and is an excellent butt workout. This exercise boosts glute strength and you have to perform till failure and the glutes are not raising up off the floor.

Directions

• Stand ahead of a bench with bent knees and feet flat on the ground. Next, lean the upper back and shoulders against the bench edge.
• Next, tighten your butt and push your heels to raise the hips off the ground as you form a straight line from the knee to the shoulder and your upper back completely resting on the chair or the bench.
• After pausing for about 3 seconds, lower your hips and butt to the original position. Do this rep 10 times in sets of 3.

Quadruped Extensions of the Hips

Most muscle activation for the gluteus maximus and medius has been found through this butt shaping exercise which also works the hamstrings. It can be done anywhere- home or the garden.

Directions

• Stand and assume the quadruped pose with your knees bending below the hips and wrists below the shoulder.
• Hands should be pointing forward and the core should be worked. Slowly lift one leg and keep the knee bent as your press your foot towards the ceiling.
• Carry out this move to brace your core and avoid hip rotation by keeping the shoulders and hips to the floor during the entire duration of the exercise. The 8-12 reps need to be completed with each leg.

Single Leg Dead Lift

• For this, stand on one leg with the other bent in front of you with the knee at the same height as the hip.
• Work your glutes as you slowly move forward, extending the bent leg behind you with both hands to the floor.
• Next, return to the starting position with control intact. This constitutes one rep.
• Do as many as you can till failure.

Conclusion

Photo By: Bryan Villamin/ CC BY

Butt toning is not something you should neglect. It is an important part of your anatomy and it makes a real difference to the way you look. Choose the best exercises from these and others which suit your body type and stamina. At the end of it all, make sure you perform stretches, just as you must warm up before the exercises. Keep those glutes toned and fit, for it matters as much as other parts of your body.