If you sit at a desk (or a makeshift couch desk) all day, regular butt workouts at home are one of the best things you can do for your body. “Maintaining strong glutes is essential for the body to operate and function properly as a whole,” says master trainer Courtney Paul, a certified personal trainer in New York. “When your glutes are weak, the hip flexors, which are the glutes’ opposing muscles, will begin to overpower, pulling the body forward and creating bad posture and lower-back pain.” Doing regular butt exercises can help prevent dead butt syndrome (which, is indeed a real thing). (Not to mention it’s also the path to getting a truly show stopping booty worthy of Jennifer Lopez.)
You don’t need to be in a gym or a bootcamp class to engage your glutes. Here are 3 quick butt exercises you can do right from the comfort of your living room that will help you build strength. All of these exercises can be done without equipment (or using objects you find around the house) but if you want to challenge yourself, grab a kettlebell or a set of dumbbells for added weight. You can perform these moves as a full butt workout circuit or pick and choose one or two to squeeze in between Zoom calls. Your glutes will thank you.
Single-Leg Deadlift – Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart. For an added challenge, hold a dumbbell (or a water bottle or even wine bottle) in each hand at waist level, palms facing you. Keeping back flat and core engaged, bend from the hips and slowly lower hands toward the floor, keeping them close to your body, while simultaneously lifting left leg behind you. Stop when your chest is parallel to the floor. Hold for one second, then return to standing. That’s 1 rep. Repeat for 10 to 12 reps, then switch legs.
Squat to Wood Chop – Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, holding one dumbbell with both hands in front of you. Pushing knees outward, lower into a squat, keeping knees behind your feet. Squeeze your butt muscles and push through your heels to stand up, lifting arms overhead toward the right. (For an added challenge, add weights like a dumbbell or even a heavy book.) Twist your torso slightly, but keep legs and feet still. Repeat for 10 to 12 reps, then twist to the left side.
Squat to Calf Raise – Stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, weights optional. Keeping spine straight and core engaged, lower into a squat, bringing your thighs as close to parallel to the floor as you can. Then squeeze your butt muscles and push through your heels to come up to standing, rising up onto the balls of your feet. Lower back into a squat and repeat for 10 to 12 reps.
As always, you can find even more butt workouts by downloading the free Slim Thick app from your app store or visiting the original post by Amy Schlinger of glamour.com