Toned gluteal muscles are every woman's dream. Let us take a look at some exercises which will help get your rear end in shape.
Every woman wants to have shapely and gorgeous glutes. Contrary to the belief, getting them in shape is not a difficult task. You will have to follow the right exercises.
It is important to note that there is a lot of fat deposited on the glutes and thighs in case of women. It is primarily because of the way they are naturally made. However, there are various exercises to get the posterior muscles in shape.
Most of these exercises, can be done at home. The important thing is not to skip your workout, so that you can reach your goal at the earliest. Before you do the glute exercises, warming up is very necessary to prevent injury.
You can practice, marching or jogging on the spot or walk up and down the staircase (which incidentally, is good for shaping the posterior) or do some jumping jacks.
Start doing these exercises only after warming up for about 10 to 12 minutes. Stability ball exercises are also said to be good for working the buttocks. Let's take a look at these exercises.
Squats
This is one of the best exercise for strengthening, shaping and toning the butts and the thighs. Hence, it is said to be one of the best compound exercise.
To do this exercise, you can use some weight either on your shoulder or in your hands. Place your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, keep your torso straight and contract the lower back muscles.
Slowly go down till your thighs are parallel to the floor. Make sure your movements are not bouncy. Hold the position for some time, push into your heels and push yourself back up to the starting position, as you contract your gluteal muscles. Repeat the exercise, for at least one set of 10 to 12 counts.
Lunges
There are a number of ways of doing this leg exercise. We will see the basic way of doing it. Stand straight, place your right leg about one foot in front of you. You can use some weight either on your shoulders or in your hands.
Slowly lower your torso, so that the right thigh is parallel to the ground and your left knee is about to touch the ground. When you do this exercise, you will have to make sure, that the knee of the leg in front does not cross forward than the toes.
To keep your balance, you will have to push your weight on the heels and not the toes. Slowly come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise for 10 to 12 counts on the right leg, before you change sides.
Bridge Pose
To do this exercise, lie on your back. Bend your knees and place your feet closer to your thighs. Place your hands to your sides. Now slowly lift your hips off the floor, keep your back straight and contract the buttocks. Hold this position for a few seconds, before you release the pose.
Kicks
There are three different types of kicks, that you can practice to get shapely buttocks. Stand with shoulder-width distance between your feet. Lift your right leg, keep your leg straight and kick it in front, come back to the starting position and repeat the exercise 10 to 12 times. Then repeat the exercise with the other leg.
The next variation in this exercise is to kick the leg backwards in a semicircular arc, as far as you can. Repeat the exercise 10 to 12 times. The last variation is the side kick. Kick the leg straight out to the side and come back to the starting position, to repeat the exercise.
While doing any one of the variation, make sure you do not keep your leg on the ground. For better effect, you should place the leg on the floor only after all the repetitions are done.
Along with these glute exercises, you should also do some cardiovascular exercises like walking, running, walking up a hill, cycling, to shape up the posterior. However, do not forget to warm yourself up.