How To Minimize Back Fat Without Losing Your Butt

Your back musculature is an area that is often overlooked when working out. According to former personal trainer, Clayton South, most bodybuilders focus on the "show parts" of their body — the chest and arms — and neglect the rear-facing aspects of their bodies. Eat a clean, lean diet to reduce body fat, and exercise the muscles in both the back and the butt to build up your back and keep your shapely rear end.

Step 1

Reduce the fat in your diet. Aim to eat more lean protein like chicken, egg whites and turkey rather than ground beef and steaks. Protein helps rebuild muscles and keeps you fuller for a longer period of time when working out. Eat complex carbohydrates like whole grains to fuel your body through the workout, and eat at appropriate times. Have a small snack an hour before you workout, but don't eat a full meal less than three hours before your workout as it could cause you to bloat or have intestinal problems while exercising.

Step 2

Create a caloric deficit. Increasing the amount you exercise and decreasing the number of calories you ingest will help create this deficit and assist you in losing body fat. It takes 3,500 calories to equal 1 lb. of fat, so if you reduce your normal, needed caloric intake by 500 calories each day, you will lose 1 lb. per week. You can achieve this by eating 250 fewer calories and exercising to burn an additional 250 calories each day.

Step 3

Work out your back muscles first, then your butt muscles. Weaker muscles should be targeted while your body is fresh, so use low-volume, heavy compound movements to stimulate the most muscle growth in your back. Aim for higher weight and lower repetitions of each exercise for maximum growth of the back muscles. Target your butt muscles with compound movements, like squats, to keep them toned and to help build muscle while reducing the amount of fat in your body.

Step 4

Incorporate a cardio workout into your plan. Cardio exercise can help blast fat in your entire body, so perform 30 minutes of cardio at least three times each week to burn the excess fat in your back and the rest of your body as you continue to increase your muscle. Bike, run, walk or swim for your cardio workout, as all of these will help you burn calories.

Step 5

Select exercises that target your back muscles. Muscle tissue burns more calories while at rest than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more fat your body can burn. Therefore, increasing your muscle mass will not only give you a more shapely back, but will also help decrease your fat levels. Deadlifts, wide-grip pulldowns, rows and shrugs all target the different muscles of the back and are recommended exercises to increase back muscle mass and decrease fat.