3 Steps To a Toned, Firm, and Tight Butt

The butt is one of, what I call, the “Primary Interest Parts”. It is one of the body parts which both men and women tend to think a great deal about, which is why there are specific programs and products which cater to those who wish to firm and tighten their behind.

I think it would be a good idea to set before you my 3-part fitness plan for anyone who wants a tight butt. It seems that most trainers and writers fail to mention all of these steps and I think that it would be hard to get optimal results without all of them.

Part 1 – Cardio To Tone Your Butt

The first part of this fitness plan is cardio. Most people think about cardio workouts as a means to burn calories and body fat. However, cardio can be used for toning muscles as well. This is particularly true for the lower body, as most cardio is done with the legs.

Toning your buttocks with cardio can happen naturally, but it can also be magnified with proper selection of your workouts. For instance, using a stepper or taking part in an aerobic class in which a lot of step exercises are performed may produce better toning results than other forms of cardio. You are simply focusing more of the effort on the buttocks.

This doesn’t mean that walking or running is not effective. What I recommend is sticking to workouts that you do standing up (no cycling) and those which utilize the lower body, primarily (no rowing). Swimming is a special case. The breast-stroke, in particular, also works the glutes.

So, cardio is beneficial for two reasons: it helps you burn body fat and it helps you to tone your buttocks directly.

Part 2 – Multi-Jointed Lower Body Exercises

The second part of my 3-part plan to get a firmer butt is to do a variety of multi-jointed exercises which target the lower body. The benefit is similar to the one derived from doing cardio: you burn a lot of calories by doing these sort of exercises and you target and tone the buttocks.

Multi-jointed exercises work more than a single muscle group. They are more intense than isolation exercises which work just a single muscle group. The reason is that the more muscle you employ the more effective your workout is in terms of fat burning.

Multi-jointed lower body exercises include squats, in all their variations, and lunge exercises. I usually pick 4-5 variations of these two exercises during each workout. They’re enough to give you a solid workout experience.

Part 3 – Targeted Butt Toning Exercises

The first and second parts of my process help you to burn lots of body fat and to tone your buttocks. This is vitally important because you need to bring your body fat percentage down in order to get a firm butt. Even if you develop strong muscles, they will still be covered in fat, which is why parts 1-2 are so crucial.

However, to really get a perfect bum, you will also need to do some lower body exercises which specifically target the buttocks muscles. This is the finishing touch, in a way. You do most of the work by burning off body fat and you finish it off by toning and sculpting the muscles.

Specific butt exercises include the hip extension which can be done with bent or straight legs or doing bridges which can be done with two legs or one.

Structuring Your Butt Workout

You’re probably wondering how to combine all 3 parts into a single workout. I believe that strength training should come before cardio and that multi-jointed exercises need to come before targeted ones. You can read more about the “why” of this here: how to structure your workout.

Here’s an example of a workout which is based on the 3 steps that I’ve outlined:

1. 25 DB Squats.
2. 25 Forward lunges.
3. 25 Side squats.
4. 25 curtsy lunges.
5. 25 split squats.
6. 25 single legged bridges.
7. 25 hip extensions.
8. Cardio.

If you do these sort of workouts, and do them often, I have no doubt that you will rapidly get a great looking bottom. It will not be instant, but the results will come.

A note on cellulite: buttocks exercises can also do wonders for cellulite. As Joey Atlas, the author of the Naked Beauty cellulite reduction plan, told me, you need to strengthen the thighs and buttocks muscles to smooth out the cellulite. Just one more reason to do the sort of workouts I’ve described in this post.