Strength training exercises for the gluteus maximus are best to tone your butt. There are two other glute muscles, the gluteus medius and minimus. These muscles contribute to moving the hips and must also be exercised for a shapely rear. The best butt exercises do not require expensive machines or equipment. Try exercises using your body weight as resistance or a pair of dumbbells.
Plie Squat
The plie squat is a well-known and often employed glute-toning exercise. To perform the plie squat, stand with your feet slightly farther than shoulder-width apart and your hands on your hips. Turn your toes out then bend your knees into a low squat with your back straight and tailbone tucked. To make this exercise harder, so that your legs are sure to be fatigued, hold your arms straight in front of you with a dumbbell in each hand.
Single-Leg Squat with Towel
The single-leg squat with towel works the gluteus maximus muscle of your bent leg and the other glute muscles of your straight leg, so you work all your glutes with one exercise. Fitness magazine named this one of their top 10 butt exercises. To perform a single-leg squat with towel, stand with your weight on your right leg and a towel under your left foot. Slide your left foot along the floor to the left as you bend your right knee into a squat. Repeat on the other side.
Clam Dig with Rotation
The clam dig with rotation works the outer glute muscles and thighs. Fitness magazine recommends this exercise for toning the glutes. To begin, lie on your left side with your knees bent at right angles. Then, lift and rotate your right knee toward the ceiling without straightening your leg or rolling your hips backwards. This looks like a clam shell opening. Work your shoulders by holding a dumbbell in your right hand with your arm bent into your side, forearm parallel to the floor, and rotating your arm backwards when your leg moves toward the ceiling. Repeat on the other side.
Repetitions
Weight training increases the muscle mass of your butt if you lift heavy weights and eat enough calories to build muscle. To prevent your butt from getting larger, and instead focus on firming the glutes, perform 12 to 15 repetitions of each exercise. High intensity cardio training two to three days a week along with glute exercise burns calories for weight loss so your butt, and the rest of you, will get smaller.
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