The gluteus maximus, or the muscle group on your butt, is the biggest muscle group in the body, and it's your strongest propulsion muscle. Naturally, there are many health benefits to having strong, tight butt muscles that should motivate you to hit the gym. You use your butt to move your hips and legs, so having a tight butt will improve your athletic ability and performance, while preventing injury and stimulating stability and overall physical health. Remember to consult with your doctor or physician before starting a new fitness regimen.
Fat Loss
Any doctor or fitness trainer will tell you that fat loss happens when you are burning more calories than you eat. According to BodyBuilding.com, working out your body's largest muscle groups helps you burn calories quickly. Because your butt has your body's biggest group of muscles, doing exercises that strengthen and tighten your butt will help you burn calories. Doing the exercises themselves will burn calories, but gaining muscle mass will have you burning more calories around the clock, even when you're sleeping.
Reduced Fatigue and Stronger Performance
Your butt muscles are stabilizers and supporters of the rest of your body during your daily activities, as well as your athletic performance. A tight and firm butt will give you more stamina and help reduce fatigue throughout your day as you walk, climb stairs, ride your bike and do whatever else you do physically. At the end of the day, you should feel less tired and have more energy when you have a tight and strong butt. Tightening your butt will also increase your running and sprinting speed, help you jump faster and make quicker, sharper changes in movement. No matter what sport you play, having a tight butt as an athlete is always a plus.
Prevent Pain and Injuries
Having a tight butt prevents lower back pain and helps your body avoid injuries. When your buttocks muscles aren't tight, it's easy to put strain on the lower back and your hamstrings because these muscles help the butt muscles do their job. Tightening your butt takes some of the weight and strain off your lower back. If you suffer from lower back pain, building up your butt muscles can alleviate the pain over time. Additionally, if your butt isn't tight enough to do it's job as a protector and supporter of the rest of your body, you have a higher risk of injury when exercising. For example, shin splints and knee injuries often result when your glutes aren't strong, because the glutes are connected to and protect your legs.
Fight the Effects of Aging on the Body
Your butt changes in shape over time as you age. If you don't tone your butt, as you might have guessed, it will start to sag and droop lower and lower over time. Having a tight butt also has its benefits when it comes to being looked at and being considered attractive. Doing exercises that tighten your butt reshape it by trimming fat and lifting your rump, changing the way your pants fit and the way you look from behind. It's a healthy way to increase your confidence and fight the effects of aging.
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Writer Bio
Lindsay Haskell enjoys writing about fitness, health, culture and fashion. She is a contributor for "Let's Talk Magazine" and "The Wellesley News." Haskell is completing her B.A. in philosophy at Wellesley College. She's also a fiction writer whose work can be read online.