Category Archives: Firm Up the Butt
Is Your Behind BEHIND?
If you were keeping score on how often you did arms, chest, back, quads, hamstrings and glutes, what would be behind?
Have you ever thought about how we divide our body parts up? Many of us do chest one day, shoulders on another, etc – yet we hit our legs all on one day. That little jewel hit me this year, so I decided to make some changes.
If you’ve seen my legs, you know they don’t look like this girl in the pic. They look more like legs on a giraffe – knobby knees included. I can’t change the way God made me but, by-golly, I can at least make them more fit looking! So, I started incorporating walking lunges in my morning run every other run and started dividing my legs up more.
Butt Why? – Pun Intended
The more I thought of it, the more I realized my glutes and hamstrings didn’t get the intensity the rest of my body did. My behind was behind! What do I mean? After leg press, squats, and leg extensions, I was always worn out by the time I got to the back of my legs on leg day. So, in order to make sure I gave my backside just as much attention as I gave the rest of my body, in addition to my interval lunges & runs, I started adding in a hamstring and butt day once a week.
One day a week, I hit heavy quads and light hamstrings and another day (later in the week) I hit light quads and heavy hamstrings and glutes. Here’s an example of one of my glute & hams workouts with the weights I used on my last workout:
3 -4 Sets of the Following:
18 Seated or Prone Hamstring Curl (80-90lbs)
18 Straight Leg Dead Lifts (30lbs dumbbells)
20 GHD Glute/Ham Developer (25lb plate)
18 Standing Hamstring Curl (40lbs on Hammerstrength)
30 Steps Walking Lunges (15lb dumbbells)
1 Set Each, Repeating Circuit 3 Times with No Rest
20 Stomps Left
20 Curtsies Left
20 Stomps Right
20 Curtsies Right
Don’t let your backside backslide! Give it the attention it deserves!
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Best Beach Buns: The Bikini Bottom Workout
Need More What?
Most of us don’t need more exercises to follow – we need more motivation to do the exercises we already know. However, as soon as I write a post about a new exercise or workout routine, people flock to it like bees to honey. bzzzzzz!
Fresh new moves are not only great to learn, they can give you a new boost of motivation as well – and staying motivated is half the battle.
The Best Beach Buns
Since everyone loves a good butt and leg workout, and bikini season is now officially here, what better buns are there than volleyball players. I mean LOOK at that body!! I just looked at PAGES of volleyball players and almost every single one of them had amazing buns and legs! They squat, they lunge and jump their butts into wedgie worthy shape – and you can too!
Get ready to sweat & tone that Beautiful Bikini Bottom!
BEACH BODY WARM UP
Bcx Express™ Warm Up
BIKINI BOTTOM WORKOUT
20 Crisscross Squat (Burn fat & tone those thighs!)
20 Sumo Squat (Glutes & inner thigh – go deep!)
20 Overhead Walking Lunges
20 Curtsy/LEFT (Keep weight off back leg!)
20 Runner’s Pose Stomp/LEFT (Burn those buns!!)
20 Curtsy/RIGHT
20 Runner’s Pose Stomp/RIGHT
(Repeat 3 X with no rest between exercises)
NOTE: Consistency trumps any one killer workout any day – so remember, no matter how awesome you think this one workout is, commit to staying consistent and repeating this workout on a regular basis.
Tell me. What keeps you motivated? What kind of motivation do you need and enjoy the most? Do you like words that pierce the heart of all your excuses? Do you like to see crazy fit bodies that remind you someone is reaching their goals and that someone could be you too if you got off your butt? Do you love a new workout routine and new move to try in the gym? What is it that moves you to put your tennis shoes on and Get-R-Done? My inquiring mind wants to know! 
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Curtsy Your Butt Up
SAY NO TO FLAT BUTTS!
I don’t know a woman who wouldn’t want to learn a new exercise to firm her bottom. Women are constantly in search for that perfect exercise that will help their butt get bikini-ready. That’s why women’s magazines are riddled with topics and exercises surrounding the backside. Although squats and lunges are two of the most powerful glute exercises hands down, there is one little danty exercise that packs some serious punch – it’s called a Curtsy.
Who knew performing this old fashioned polite gesture would tone your derriere! I’m sure Shirley Temple never even had her glutes in mind when she curtsied on stage for all her fans – however, I bet her gluteus maximus was minimus - and firm!!
Although Curtsies won’t get rid of the body fat surrounding your glutes (sorry girls, that required diet and cardio), it sure as heck will tighten and tone the glutes, and improve the overall shape.
A Curtsy works the deep within the butt, working both the gluteus maximus (the primary butt muscle) and gluteus medius (the top portion of the butt shown in this diagram in red), as well as the low back. If you suffer from “pancake butt” or you have a tear-drop butt, and are missing that perky curve, this is the muscle you want to work. It won’t take many repetitions before you will begin to feel it – and you will be feeling it the next day…and likely the next day after that too if done correctly!
If you want a fit booty, like this girl in pink, then watch the video, below, of Steve performing the curtsy glute exericse. As you can see, he is bending from the waist (not rolling the back). This forward bending action at the hip is what engages the glutes. Your upright motion, of erecting your body back to the standing position, is where you get most of the goody out of this exercises, so be sure to stand all the way back up on each repetition.
I like to finish my leg workout with this exercise. I do 20 repetitions on each side for 3 to 4 sets. Want to take it up a notch? Add a small dumbbell to the hand that touches the toe. Enjoy the burn – and the reward!
Click anywhere on the video to view. Click Like & Share on the video to spread the firm glute love!
HOT BUNS: Butt Workout for Home or Gym
Many of you have asked for more butt workouts so here you go!! We designed this workout for FitStudio, powered by Sears - complete with instructional video. This killer combination of lunges, deadlifts, bridges and knee repeaters can totally reshape your booty just in time for bikini weather!
If you try it, be sure to comment on FitStudio’s workout page, rate it, like it and share it with friends. We’d love your feedback!!
CLICK HERE to get your HOT BUNS and view the entire workout on FitStudio.
2-N-1: My Butt & Shoulder Workout
I combined legs and shoulders today just in case I couldn’t get shoulders in tomorrow since we are preparing for a 5K & Mini-Mudder Saturday and have been crazy busy. This ended up being a great workout – quick, a bit painful and plenty effective. Since 2 of the best body parts on a woman, in my opinion, are the shoulders and legs/glutes I thought I’d pass it along. :)
Below are the exercises I threw together and the weight I did. Of course you can modify to fit your needs.
15 Thrusters (Squat Press) – 55-65lbs (barbell)
3 X
15 Squats – 135lb (barbell)
3 X
40 Overhead Walking Lunges (25lb plate)
40 Walking Lunges with Arms out straight in front (5lbs dumbbells)
Super Set – Alternating exercises, 40 steps 3 X
15 Leg Extension (110lbs)
12 Standing Military Press (Shoulder Press) (15lbs)
Super Set – Alternating exercises, 3 X
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RANT: Fit Mags Needs to Shape Up!
I think it’s time magazines set some New Year’s Resolutions of their own! It’s time they shape up their content and lose the useless baggage they’ve all be carrying for so long!!
I was looking for a magazine at the corner pharmacy while in New York City with the FitFluential team, and was overwhelmed by all the magazine headlines – more like annoyed. “Blast Fat Fast, in only 10 Minutes” must sell magazines, but it should be an insult to our intelligence.
I guess “Blast Fat Realistically” wouldn’t sell subscriptions, or “Sculpt a New Physique in 30 Minutes a Day” (instead of 10 minutes a day) may seem too extreme – but come on people?! When will we quit falling for gimmick tricks that will let you down faster than your worst boyfriend?
When has ANYthing great come out of a little investment? How often have you reaped a big reward for little work? I’m sick of seeing these watered down workouts and false claims that prey on the hopeless. For ONCE, would someone man up and actually put a workout boldly on their cover that (dare I say) looks a little challenging and takes a little more time than 10 minutes a day?
What do you want? Do you want truth or do you want the media to continue delivering half truths and gimmick workouts that rarely actually ‘work out’? Would you actually buy a magazine that featured factual information you may not WANT to hear but NEED to hear? Or are we all going to keep buying this crap and supporting this type of media?
iPhone Pics: Actual headlines on various covers this month: Read the rest of this entry
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Baby Got Back
“I like big butts and I can not lie, You other brothers can’t deny”…
Sir Mix-A-Lot might like big butts but I think most women are working hard to get rid of their big butts – and some are even terrified of making it even bigger than it already is. This is why I believe women don’t do squats and other butt-firming exercises. They are scared they’ll make their big butt even bigger.
So, the million dollar question is: Will leg & glute exercises make your butt bigger?
It depends on the condition of your butt muscles. Think of your butt like a grape. When the grape is ripe it’s smooth, plump and round. So is a fit butt – it’s full of water and glycogen that makes the muscle smooth, plump and round (which is what we all should want). However, over time, our butt deflates like a old grape and gets unshapely and eventually as small, ugly and flat as a raisin.
Now, if you didn’t gain any weight, you’d just have a saggy unshapely pancake booty, but most people gain fat around that unshapely behind so you have nothing left that even resembles a butt muscle because it’s all covered with bumpy fat cells. Read the rest of this entry
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Get a Bootylicious Butt for Jeans Season
I love, LOVE, LOOOOOVE jeans. I’d wear them every single day if I could. Jean shorts, boot cut jeans, wide leg jeans, skinny jeans – you name it, I love JEANS! —BUTTTTTT, (pun intended) no matter what brand is hot, it’s a big “NOT!” if my butt looks bad in them.
Redbook recently did a story on the Best Jeans for Your Butt. Don’t get excited – they didn’t give you a great list of cool brands to choose from, but just gave some pointers on what to look for to “mask” your flaws. But why try to hide what we can fix?
In 15 Minute Fashion’s Best Jeans for Fall 2011 article, skinny jeans and jeggings (leggings that look like jeans) show up in the top pics. I have news for you, if you don’t like your butt – you are NOT going to have a lot of options this year because skintight jeans are still dominating the clothing stores.
If your butt was already saggy or mushy, skinny jeans will just flatten and spread it out more. So, instead of trying so hard to get a shapely pair of jeans, let’s work hard to get a shapely butt!
Have you ever seen a flat bottom on a kid? NO! They have perky firm bottoms because they are constantly active. As we age, and sit around on the computer all day, we lose muscle – including our butt muscles. Similar to a deflated balloon, we just need to re-inflate the glutes by exercising those muscles.
Steve Pfiester demonstrates his top 3 butt-lifting exercises that will perk up, and firm up, your derriere. pFit Tip: Do 3-4 sets of 20 of each exercise 2-3 times a week.
My Favorite Jeans in My Closet:
#1 Miss Me
#2 True Religion
#3 Rock Revival
#4 MEK
#5 Vigoss
#6 Joes Jeans
#7 ReRock (now available at Express)
#8 Rich and Skinny
#9 Miss Sixty
#10 Destroyed Jeans
ASK BONNIE!
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