One of the questions that my clients and fitness students often ask me is how to tone their glutes.

Well, almost any leg exercise will tone your butt. In general, ballet dancers, sprinters, gymnasts, and figure skaters have well-shaped butts. That’s because they use movements that lift the leg back AND turn the foot outward.

Most glute exercises work the leg from front to back, such as running, biking, stair climbing, leg extension machines, squats, and some glute isolators. These types of movements mainly work the large muscles of the gluteus maximus and thighs.

To get a more teardrop shaped butt, you need to use some of the muscles under your glutes. That is, the periphormis muscle, which ROTATES the leg. Look at the difference in the butts of women weightlifters, runners, long distance runners, and cyclists compared to sprinters, figure skaters, ballet dancers, and ashtanga yoga and Pilates practitioners.

Try the following movements 3 times a week for the next 3 weeks,

THE SIDE KICK

Stand about two feet away from a wall.

Keeping the belt buckle (or belly button) and your left foot pointed toward the wall, lift your right leg behind you.

Keep your upper body upright.

Raise your leg as high as you can and hold onto it. You should feel your glutes (gluteal muscles) tighten.

Now turn your foot out so that it is parallel to the ground.

Pull your toes toward you and extend your heel. (Most people do this wrong and spread their toes and never get the effect.)

You should look over your shoulder at the extended leg. Don’t give in to the temptation to let your kickstand roll sideways. Your hips should remain pointed toward the wall.

This is like a martial arts side kick. Try to hold this for 10-30 seconds at a time and then switch legs. Walk for a minute to relax your muscles after working both legs.

Or go to a martial arts club and learn some kicks. Most kickers have hard butts and narrow waists.

THE SQUEEZE THE TAIL

OK, forget about the funny name. You can do this exercise with a weight on your shoulders or just without the weight.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and keeping your back straight, bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Straighten your legs and then squeeze your butt as if you are trying to hold a coin between your buttocks. Squeeze hard for 2-3 seconds.

Squat down again. Do it 10 to 20 times and then add some weight.

Make sure you don’t lift your heels or do a full squat. (That is a different technique).

You will probably find that you can only do half the squats that you would normally do. This is normal.

Do this exercise first thing in the morning and you will feel “toned” throughout the day.

SKATING

Paced ice, roller, or inline skating can’t help but mold your butt into shape. Use exaggerated skating motions to develop your lateral leg and glute muscles.