"As I get older, I feel like my butt is starting to sag. What exercises can I do to help lift it back to where it belongs?"(Ryan) Ahhh, gravity. Why must you always be working against us, constantly pulling at us causing all those items that were once high and tight to fall down below? I suppose the alternative is to be flung out into space. Perhaps a saggy butt ain’t so bad after all. In seriousness, part of the reason our rears start to sag is because most people spend a lot of time sitting on the offending muscles. You’d probably be down in the dumps too if you were sat on all day. But sitting for extended periods throughout the day causes your butt muscles to elongate and become inactive. It gives new meaning to the phrase “lazy butt.” Fear not, though. While gravity will eventually win out in the end (pun intended), there are some things you can do to delay the inevitable. What needs to happen is for those sleeping buns to wake up. Some of my favorite exercises to make this happen can be done in the comfort of your own home (or office) using only your bodyweight. The first is what is known as a butt bridge. Lie on your back with knees bent and heels about 8 inches from the rear. Push the heels into the ground as your hips rise. Hold at the top for several seconds and release. Repeat until those buns start burning! For an even greater challenge, place the heels on a stability ball or other similar tool. Other moves to get that butt in gear are squats and lunges. And each can be done a million different ways to help overcome boredom. It’s also helpful to get up and move during your day. Simply standing up and squeezing your cheeks together will give those glutes a boost.
Anything you’d like to add, Carrie?
(Carrie) Yep, bridging, lunging, and squatting are great butt boosters, and for these reasons, so is yoga (and hence the term, “yoga butt”). Of course, yoga has many other benefits, too, and if you begin doing yoga for its backside benefits, you will soon learn it is multi-faceted and your entire being will benefit from it. Keep it up, and when you get to the point of gravity’s no return, you will at least be more calm and accepting of your keister’s southward-heading fate.
Another one of my favorite exercises for a tight tush is “The Rocking Horse”. Stand tall, keeping your abs contracted throughout the movement. Lift your left knee up as high as you can, leaning back slightly. Then lean forward as you lift your right leg out behind you. Focus on continuing to pull the abs up, and contract the glutes on the right side as you lift that leg up. Continue to raise left knee and then right leg for a count of 12 (knee then leg being one complete rep). Repeat on other side. For a greater challenge, hold the rear leg up on the last rep for a few seconds, then pulse it—doing smaller, quicker repetitions. Hold it after about 12 pulses. You can repeat another set of pulsing if you’re able to, or switch to the other side.
One final word: Ladies, love your butts! If you think you have too much of one, chances are, the man (or potential man) in your life doesn’t think so (and you can shrink it some with cardio to burn the extra fat, tighten it with strength training). If you have too little…you can build it! Trust me, I know this firsthand. Genetically, I was given just ass crack. But with all the exercises Ryan and I have mentioned, I’ve been able to build nice, little, tight buns that actually fill my jeans out and look pretty good in Spandex. J
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