10 best butt Exercise

by Raphael Calzadilla, BA, CPT, ACE

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If we were to look into the imaginary "dictionary of honesty," we might find the following definition for the butt:

BUTT (but) n.
a. female -- The body part that every item of clothing manufactured makes "look bigger."

b. male -- What you slap when someone's scored a touchdown, home run or goal. Also good for mooning.

Did I strike a nerve?

I want to make your life a whole lot easier by giving you my 10 best butt exercises . However, don't make the mistake of thinking that all you have to do is perform some of these exercises to get a great butt -- it takes a little more then that.

To get a dazzling derriere, you still need to follow the rules of a calorie-reduced diet to lose body fat, cardiovascular exercise to burn calories and strength training for the entire body to stimulate the metabolism and tighten your muscles.

If you're following the above guidelines, then the following exercises will help tighten and firm your valuable assets.

Some of the exercises may take the entire leg muscles into consideration, but there's nothing wrong with that. The key is to make an impact on the glutes so we change our butt definition to �the body part that every item of clothing manufactured makes bodacious looking."

These are in no particular order, but I rate squats and walking lunges as my favorite.

THE 10 BEST BUTT EXERCISES:

1. Walking Lunges -- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, grasp a pair of dumbbells with your arms straight at your sides, palms in. Take a large step forward and lower your body so your front knee lines up with your ankle. The back knee is almost touching the floor. Push off with your back foot, and take a large step forward with your other foot. Walk lunge 15 to 20 steps, and then turn around and return to the start using the same form. You should contract your glutes on the lowering of each movement.

2. Extension Step Ups -- Grasp a pair of dumbbells by your sides with palms facing side of the body. Stand behind a 6- to 12-inch-high step (normally used in aerobic step classes) and keep your arms straight. Step onto the middle of the step with your right foot and then lift your left knee high (to hip height), step down with your left foot, then repeat on the right side. This is a great one, and you'll really feel it.

3. Bent Leg Reverse Kick Up -- Start this exercise on your hands and knees on a mat. Raise your left leg up until it is parallel with the floor with a slight bend in the knee. Support your weight with your arms and right leg. While contracting the butt, lift your left leg up and toward the ceiling maintaining a bend in the knee. Slowly return to the starting position. After completing the set on the left side, repeat on the right side. To increase the difficulty, you may want to add an ankle weight to the working leg.

4. Lying Gluteus Lift -- Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Place your arms at your sides for support. Contracting the glutes, project your hips up toward the ceiling as you lift your glutes off the floor. Slowly return to the starting position, stopping just short of your glutes touching the floor. Exhale while lifting your butt, and inhale while returning to the starting position.