How do I strengthen and tone my um….Butt.

“How can I tone and tighten my rear end?”. I hear this question a lot, and the answer I give is “Squats, Lunges and Deadlifts”.  Soon after my answer I will see a look of disappointment followed by another question, “you mean its not leg lifts or one of those butt machines?”.  Let me say this very clearly-Squats, Deadlifts and Lunges will work your Glutes better than any machine can. Not only will they activate your glutes but they’ll work your quads and hamstrings as well, not to mention burn more calories.
The University of North Carolina Research Team Wanted to answer this question for themselves. They conducted a study with the goal of finding which exercises worked the Gluteus Maximus the most. They tested the 12 most common”Glute” exercises. What they found wasn’t surprising to anyone in the fitness world.

The top 3 exercise for activating your glutes are:

1. Deadlift

2. Transverse Lunge

3. Single Leg Squat

I know these exercises aren’t sexy or even fun, but sometimes sticking to the basics will yield the  best results.