Butt-Lifting Workout
The right pair of jeans or yoga pants can do wonders for the backside, but unless you’re planning on sportin’ that attire to the beach this summer it’s time to get your rear in gear. All you need for this double whammy of a butt-lifting workout is a treadmill and a jamming set of tunes.
Once swimsuit season rolls around, the only thing holding up that butt is gonna be your very own gluteal muscles!
How To Do It
The following 20-minute workout is low impact, but it targets the glutes like crazy and offers a significant calorie burn to help take a little jiggle out of that wiggle
- Begin your treadmill workout with a 3-minute warm-up.
- At the 4-minute mark increase your speed to a brisk walking pace (don’t get crazy; pick a speed that you can maintain for the duration of the workout) and adjust the incline to a moderate gradient. Do not hold on to the handrails!
- Each passing minute, increase the incline up one notch, but maintain your current speed. If you can’t sustain the level of exertion, don’t — repeat — don’t grab the handrails! Instead, decrease your speed and forge ahead.
- Stay the course, increasing the incline incrementally until you reach the 18-minute mark.
- For the last 2 minutes, drop the incline and slow your pace to cool down.
Natural Resistance
The key to this low-impact, butt-lifting workout is not speed, but gravity. Each time you adjust the angle of incline on the treadmill, the body recruits more glute muscle fibers to make it up the hill. Even at a reduced rate of speed, your glutes will be screaming, your breath will be labored and your heart rate will skyrocket.
Tips
- Not holding on to the handrails is key, but if you can’t manage try holding on for 15 seconds at a time.
- Resist the temptation to bend forward at the waist. A little slope is natural, but you shouldn’t look like you are walking into a head wind. Keep your shoulders upright and your back straight to fully engage the glutes.
Let’s hear it for high butts! I do this speedy workout three times a week! —Karen