Hey ladies, time to get great glutes and feel better in those summer shorts. The following are some of my favourite leg and butt exercises sure to give you some tone and lift.
Squats: Squats of all different kinds!
Be sure to keep your knees behind your toes, push your hips back behind you (like you’re peeing in the woods like a true Yukon Girl), push through your heels to help transfer weight into your butt as opposed to through the front of your legs.
Start off only going down to 90 degrees in the knees to be sure to keep the strain off of your knees.
Finally, keep your chin up to help keep your back flat and long.
You can do squats all different ways and be sure to mix it up to keep your muscles guessing: feet close, feet wide, toes straight, toes pointed out, plyo squats, travelling jump squats.
Lunges: My favourite leg/butt exercise, lunges are a great butt-shaping exercise. You can do standing lunges, walking lunges, reverse lunges, sway lunges, diagonal lunges, incline lunges, decline lunges.
Single Leg Stretch: Stand tall, keep your torso straight as you hinge from the hip.
Standing on one leg, kick the other leg back behind you.
You want to keep your back leg straight and in line with your spine, try not to twist through your hips. You should feel a stretch through the hamstring of your supporting leg.
Keep your abs engaged, squeeze your glutes to stand back up.
Step Ups: Use a sturdy bench at an appropriate height for your strength and height.
Stepping up with one foot, be sure not to lean forward and push through the foot on the bench (not on the floor). Step up onto the bench and step down in control with the same leg you stepped up with.
Cable Kick Back: Standing with one leg on a small platform, use the ankle connector to connect your free leg to the cable. Standing tall, squeeze your glutes to bring your leg straight behind you.
Be sure not to lean forward or lift with your lower back. Abs engaged, control the movement up and down.
Mix up your cardio too. On a treadmill you can train your glutes more by putting the machine on an incline and walk backwards as well as turning the speed really low (under two miles per hour) and do some long lunges. Be sure to use your abs and not lean on the machine, but feel free to use the handles to maintain proper balance.
Take your butt to the stairs. Mix it up. Single step, double step, step with a kick back, drop squats using the bars and platforms between each level.
Have fun with all my favourite glute exercises, mix it up, train your legs specifically once per week, eat clean and you will see results in no time.
Have fun, feel free to let me know how it went.
This column is provided by Mrs. Lee Randell, independent fitness consultant, who is an ACE certified advanced health and fitness specialist and personal trainer. You can reach her at www.mrsleerandell.com.
