If your rear end is sagging and gradually heading south, your sedentary lifestyle might be to blame. Lack of exercise, excess fat and the natural aging process can take a toll on your body, including your tush. To combat this and to lift your buttocks, eat a sensible diet and make exercise part of your lifestyle. Aside from cardio and strength training, do easy exercises that target your gluteal muscles on three nonconsecutive days of the week. These exercises can be done right at home with just your body weight. With consistency and determination, you'll have a firm, lifted tush in no time.
Plie Squats
Often more popular with women than men, plie squats isometrically contract the gluteus maximus while also engaging the front of the upper legs and the inner thighs. Plie squats are done with your feet in a wider than shoulder-width stance and your toes pointed out. With your abs engaged to stabilize your body, lower your pelvis, bending your knees in the same direction as your toes. To make it easier, hold on to the back of a chair. When your thighs are parallel to the floor, return to the starting position while squeezing your buttocks and inner thighs. Do three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
Lying Butt Lift
While lying on your tummy watching television, you can do butt lifts. In addition to working your glutes, this exercise also strengthens your pelvic area and engages the front and back of your upper legs. Raise your left leg as high as you can without bending it. Keep your back straight. After squeezing your left butt cheek for two seconds at the top of the exercise, lower your leg and repeat the butt lift with your right leg. Alternate your legs eight to 12 times to complete one set, and aim to finish three sets.
The Glute Bridge
To combat sagging muscles around your thighs and buttocks, incorporate the glute bridge into your exercise routine. When you're lying down on your back, bend your knees, place your feet hip-width apart on the floor and extend your arms along your sides. Tighten your abdominals to support your back, and raise your tush and back off the floor until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. After holding the contraction in your buttocks for two seconds, lower down , then repeat the exercise. Aim to complete three sets of eight to 12 repetitions.
Glute Kickbacks
Glute kickbacks are started on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your focus when doing this exercise should be on squeezing your butt cheek for one second after lifting one leg behind you. The knee of the raised leg should be bent 90 degrees so your lower leg is perpendicular to the floor. Your hamstring at the back of your upper leg will also engage. Keep your back straight throughout the exercise, and don't allow the thigh of the raised leg to go higher than parallel to the floor. Complete one set of eight to 12 repetitions before switching sides. Try to finish three sets.
References
- Growing Younger: Age-Defying Secrets for Women; Bridget Doherty and Julia VanTine
- Methods of Group Exercise Instruction; Carol Kennedy-Armbruster and Mary M. Yoke
- Bone Building Body Shaping Workout; Joyce L. Vedral
- 1001 Ways to Stay Young Naturally; Susannah Marriott
- BodyBuilding.com: Glute Kickback
Writer Bio
Kimberly Caines is a well traveled model, writer and licensed physical fitness trainer who was first published in 1997. Her work has appeared in the Dutch newspaper "De Overschiese Krant" and on various websites. Caines holds a degree in journalism from Mercurius College in Holland and is writing her first novel.