This Barre-Inspired Workout Will Give Your Butt A Major Boost

This Barre-Inspired Workout Will Give Your Butt A Major Boost

Remi Pyrdol

The quest for strong glutes delivers lots of healthy side benefits—they'll give you the power to run faster and reduce your risk of injury. “We underestimate the power of the glutes for injury prevention,” says trainer Hannah Davis, founder of Body By Hannah in Cleveland, Tennessee. “A strong butt helps you perform daily movements, like walking and lifting, more efficiently, and it provides power in your workouts.”

But squatting until you can't squat anymore isn't the answer to developing a stronger backside. To work the back half of your body, you need to hit the three major muscle groups that make up your booty. First, there’s the gluteus maximus, the outermost muscle. Then there are the gluteus medius and minimus, which wrap diagonally across your backside. Beneath those muscles are six gluteal rotators, which do most of the work when you complete exercises like plié-style squats.

A good butt workout hits all these muscles. But an epic butt workout will also challenge your hamstrings and parts of your core. “If you have toned abs and legs, it enhances the shape of your butt,” says Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama.

The good news is that unless you’re sitting on them, your glutes are getting some type of workout. Still, there are ideal boosting moves. Isolation exercises, such as rear leg pulses, single-leg bridge lifts, and donkey kicks, will zing each side individually for an extra challenge. These exercises are a staple of barre classes—and the booty-sculpting routine below, developed by Kara Liotta, creative director of FlyBarre. Whatever exercise you’re doing, make sure you feel your butt muscles working throughout every move.

Here's How To Do This Workout:

• Diagonal Knee Pull — 30 reps on each side
• Seesaw Push-Up — 8 reps on each side
• Standing Toe Tap — 30 reps on each side
• Wide Second Pulse — 30 reps
• Stacked Circle Kick — 30 reps on each side
• Repeat 3x

Equipment Needed: A ballet barre or sturdy chair for balance

Learn the moves with these helpful GIFs—and don't forget to save the pin at the bottom!

Diagonal Knee Pull — 30 reps on each side

• Start on your hands and knees. Extend your right leg back and out at a 45-degree angle with your toes pointed. Pause, squeezing your glutes.
• Bring your knee back toward start and hover above ground. That's 1 rep.
• Do 30 reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Seesaw Push-Up — 8 reps on each side

• Start on your hands and knees. Extend your right leg back with your toes pointed.
• Bend your elbows, lowering your upper body to floor as you lift right leg toward ceiling. Return to start for 1 rep.
• Do 8 reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Standing Toe Tap — 30 reps on each side

• Stand with your left hand on the barre and your right hand on your hip. Bend forward at torso as you kick right leg back with your toes pointed.
• Tap toes to floor for 1 rep.
• Do 30 reps, then switch sides and repeat.

Wide Second Pulse — 30 reps

• Squat with your feet wide and toes turned out. Hold the barre for balance.
• Squeeze your glutes as you pulse knees out 1 inch.
• Do 30 pulses.

Stacked Circle Kick

• Start on your hands and knees. Lift your torso on the right side, placing your right hand on hip and straightening your right leg in line with hips.
• Point toes as you draw a small clockwise circle for 1 rep.
• Do 30 reps, then switch sides and repeat.

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Original article and pictures take www.self.com site