The Best Exercises for Getting a Big Butt

The Best Exercises for Getting a Big Butt

While exercise can't change your genetics, you can get a curvier backside by building muscle with targeted spot-specific exercises. Butt workouts help you achieve a rounded, toned shape, adding bulk just where you want it for a back view that works in jeans or a bikini. These exercises require no special equipment and can be done in the privacy of your living room, so make time for a butt-building workout a few times a week to get the body you want.

Function

Targeted exercises can help you to build muscle. Additional muscle bulk can help to give you a rounder, curvier backside. While weight machines at the gym are one option, you can use your own body weight and a chair from your dining room table with classic exercise moves to improve the appearance of your butt. If you do want to vary your lower body exercise routine, simple tools like a fitness ball or resistance bands are affordable additions to your workout.

Types

While there are a number of different exercises to shape your butt, variations on lunges, plies and squats are key to an effective lower body workout. Perform a basic lunge by stepping forward with one foot, bending your front knee. For a plie, stand with your legs spread and toes pointed out; then bend at the knees, lowering your pelvis. Keep your feet together or spread shoulder width apart for squats, bending your knees while keeping your back straight. Jump into these moves, add a twist or work to move lower in a squat or plie to intensify your routine.

Significance

Building a better butt requires that you work your glutes and the muscles that support them--the hip flexors and hamstrings. Toning, strength training and weight training will help you to build muscles where you want them. Include strength-training moves, like a lower body toning routine, at least twice a week along with cardiovascular exercise to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fitness recommendations.

Time Frame

You can get a rounder butt and curvier hips without a substantial time investment. Butt-specific workouts range from just five minutes to 15 to 20 minutes, a few times a week. Adding just a few minutes of targeted toning exercises can make a difference, or you can opt to include a longer workout for a more significant effect. Boost the butt-building effects of your targeted exercise by following a cardiovascular routine that works both your hips and butt.

Warning

Targeted butt exercises can be hard on the knees, causing strain and discomfort. Check your positioning in each exercise to be sure that your knees do not extend past your toes in a squat, plie or lunge, to reduce the stress. If you have joint concerns, speak to your health care provider before adding butt-building exercises to your workout routine.

1- Squat

2-lunges

3-Split squats

4-SINGLE-LEG HIP RAISE

5-Side Leg Lifts

7 Reasons You Should Listen To Music When You Work Out

⇢⇢⇢⇢ Best Workout Songs 2017

A recent study found that not just listening, but controlling and creating music in time to one's pace had an even more profound effect on perceived effort during a workout.

Listening to music when you hit the gym to improve your workout isn't exactly a new concept. But understanding how your favorite tunes enhance your exercise is a little less obvious.

Research consistently finds that listening to music distracts athletes from their "bodily awareness" (read: pain). And a recent study found that not just listening, but controlling and creating music in time to one's pace had an even more profound effect on perceived effort during a workout.

Here are seven very good reasons to rock out during your next gym session.

1. Music is the good kind of distraction.

While the study did suggest there's more to it than distraction, working out with music did make participants less aware of their exertion. Such a distraction canbenefit athletic performance by up to 15 percent, The Guardian reported. The faster the better, according to WebMD: Upbeat tunes have more information for our brains to process, which takes your mind off of that side stitch.

2. It ups your effort.

A 2010 study found that cyclists actually worked harder when listening to faster music as compared to music at a slower tempo. But too fast is no good, either. Songs between 120 and 140 beats per minute (bpm) have the maximum effect on moderate exercisers.

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3. Music puts you "in the zone".

Everyone has that go-to song that gets you "in the zone," and there's science to why it works. We associate certain songs with memories, often relating to the context in which we originally heard them, such as the first time you watched Rocky. Channeling that memory -- or even just the emotion of the singer -- boosts the motivational power of the song, and has been shown to improve physical performance.

4. A good beat can help you keep pace.

The rhythm of your workout music stimulates the motor area of the brain as to when to move, thereby aiding self-paced exercises such as running or weight-lifting. Clueing into these time signals helps us use our energy more efficiently, since keeping a steady pace is easier on our bodies than fluctuating throughout a sweat session.

5. Music can elevate your mood.

An August 2013 analysis found that people often listen to music as a way to change their mood and find self-awareness. Study participants said that listening to music allowed them to think about themselves, who they wanted to be and give them an escape from the present. No matter what happened an hour ago, you can use your tunes to help you escape negativity and power you through your workout -- and you know you'll feel great when it's over.

6. It makes you want to move.

You really can't stop the beat! Researchers found that when music possesses "high-groove" qualities, the brain gets excited and induces movement in the listener. Basically, your playlist has the ability to make you move -- no matter how much you're dreading that workout.

7. Listen to music already? Take it to the next level: Making music while you work has an important added benefit.

According to a study published earlier this month, the relationship between music and physical exertion may be more complicated than we initially thought. It isn't just listening to music that drowns out our pain and exhaustion, asserts lead researcher Tom Fritz. The process of creating and controlling music in time to one's exercise improves the experience even more.

Participants exercised on machines designed to alter the music they were listening to based on their movements, essentially allowing them to create their own soundtrack. Compared to exercisers who had no control over the music, those with "musical agency" reported feeling like they hadn't worked as hard.

We can't all work out on equipment that coordinates our movements with musical sounds, but we can harness the power of creating music when we exercise. The finding, said Fritz about his study may provide "a previously unacknowledged driving force for the development of music in humans: making music makes strenuous physical activities less exhausting."

⇢⇢⇢⇢ Best Workout Songs 2017

Does music improve your workouts? Let us know in the comments below!

Rules for Exercising When You’re Sick

Q: Is it okay to exercise when you don’t feel well?

A: While exercise can be helpful in strengthening the immune system to fight off illness, it is not always advisable once you become ill. Sometimes it’s better to keep your sneakers in the closet and just rest. However, there are times when light- to moderate-intensity activity may actually help you feel better. But how do you know when to get up and move and when to take the day off?

It is okay to exercise if you have these symptoms:

1. Sinus pressure
2. Sneezing
3. Stuffy or runny nose
4. Sore throat
5. Ear ache

Exercise is not recommended if you have these symptoms:

1. Fever
2. Muscle aches
3. Wheezing, coughing, chest tightness
4. Vomiting
5. Diarrhea

Notice a pattern? If your symptoms are above the neck, it is typically okay to exercise. If your symptoms are below the neck, you should probably consider taking advantage of that rest day.

What Should I Do for Exercise When I’m Sick?

If you feel up to it, keep your regular routine. Some people feel better when they get in a good sweat.

If you feel like you want to do something active but just can’t fathom your normal workout, consider scaling back on the intensity. Go for a walk instead of a run. Do some yoga instead of strength training. Decreasing the intensity of your workouts makes breathing during the workout easier and is less taxing on your immune system. If you find that the physical exertion makes you feel worse rather than better, stop and rest until you are well again.

Is It Okay to Go to the Gym?

Since germs are easily spread (and caught) at the gym, try to find other ways to exercise if possible. However, if you do go to the gym, be considerate of others. Wash your hands before you go, wipe down any equipment you use and apply hand sanitizer throughout your workout to lessen the spread of germs.

Bottom Line: Listen to your body and do what feels right for you.