Let me take a wild guess, building a stronger booty is on your agenda for your workouts. What you might not realize is that targeting the glutes does way more than perk up your peach. “It’s a major stabilizer, and it’s also the biggest muscle in the body,” says Leigh Weissman, CPT, a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and glute specialist. “The glutes control a lot of your pelvic function and the hips.”
That means your glutes help you do everything from walk, sit, and bend throughout your day. And you’ll start to notice a boost in your athletic performance, as well. “If you are a practicing athlete, you’ll sprint faster and turn quicker,” says Weissman. “In yoga, it can help you balance in specific poses.” Plus, when your glutes are strong, you can better strengthen and protect your back, hips, and core—all of which are huge for balance and stability. Truly everyone can benefit from a butt workout and do it right at home to boot.
Meet the experts: Leigh Weissman, CPT, a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and founder of Leigh Taylor Method for building strong glutes. Suki Clements, CPT, RYT, is a New York City-based yoga teacher and former professional dancer.
Understanding all the muscles that make up your booty can help you work your rear more effectively. The gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus muscles along with a slew of other smaller muscles, like the piriformis (located about where the heel of your hand lands if you put it in the back pocket of your jeans), are all part of your behind.
The key to getting in a good butt workout at home (and reaping all of these full-body benefits) is to move slowly and with control so that you work your glute muscles—and don’t stress out your lower back. To keep your focus on your butt, engage your core and exhale through the challenging part of every exercise. When you shorten the muscle in an exercise, you should start to feel a burning sensation. If you’re lengthening the muscle, look for a stretching feeling to know you’re activating the area, says Weissman.
Use the 15 exercises below to create your own butt workout at home. All you need is a mini resistance band and a set of dumbbells!
As long as you recover well (think plenty of stretching and foam rolling), you can work out your butt up to three times a week.
Equipment: resistance band, dumbbells | Time: 20 minutes | Good for: glutes
Instructions: Choose up to five of the exercises below. Complete the indicated number of reps for each, then rest for 15 seconds and continue on to the next. Once you’ve completed all five exercises, rest for one minute, then repeat the entire circuit twice more for a total of three sets.
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