If your goal is to get a great butt, there are many ways to reach your goal. Getting regular cardio weekly is important, as is eating a sensible low-fat diet, so that you can see the results of your hard work. If you eat a high-fat diet, no amount of exercise will display your best "assets." Do targeted exercises that work and tone the three muscle groups that comprise the butt. Get medical clearance if you have any serious health issues before starting any new exercise program.
Climbing Stairs for a Great Butt
Walk stairs whenever possible and as part of an extended, regular cardio exercise program. Climbing stairs will shape and lift the largest muscles of your rear, the gluteus maximus. Walk for 20 minutes on a stair or step machine at the gym, or walk up and down a staircase to work the glutes and get a cardio workout for the heart and lungs. The American Academy of Sports Medicine recommends all healthy adults get a minimum of 20 minutes of vigorous cardio, three times a week and two weekly sessions of resistance training.
Walking Dumbbell Lunges
Do walking lunges holding a 10-lb. dumbbell in each hand. Lunges also shape the gluteus maximus. Stand with your feet apart hip-width, keeping your head and chest tall and lower abs drawn in toward your spine to protect your lower back. Holding a dumbbell in each hand, step the right foot forward, bending the knee to about a 90-degree angle, so that the knee is directly over the ankle. Step the left foot and keep walking forward, emphasizing the stepping movement more than speed. Do as many as you can.
Seated Double Hip Abductor Exercise
Use the seated double hip abductor machine in the gym to work gluteus medius on the side of the hips. Select a low weight and sit in the machine, starting with knees together. Holding the side hand grips, keeping your spine straight and lower abs engaged to safeguard your lower back, move your legs apart, working against the weight. Do eight to 12 reps for one to three sets. This will tone the muscles you find when you place your palms on the sides of your hips. Hip abduction also helps give you stability in the sacrum.
Modified Lateral Kicks
Do standing modified lateral kicks to access the smallest muscles of the hips, the gluteus minimus. This small triangle of muscle is above the gluteus medius. Begin by standing with feet apart hip-width and knees slightly bent, lower abs drawn in to protect the lower back. Lift your right foot and keeping your lower abs engaged throughout the movement, slowly kick your right leg out the side as high as you can. Repeat to the left side. Do eight to 12 reps for one to three sets.
Stepup Exercise
The Mayo Clinic recommends doing the stepup exercise on a stable platform to tone the butt. By stepping up and back down from a platform, you elevate your heart rate and work the gluteus maximus. Do this exercise for as long as you can sustain it. If you do these targeted exercises three times a week, get regular cardio at least three times a week and reduce dietary fat, you can see an improvement in your "posterior profile" in about three months.
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