How To Get a Firm and Tight Butt

As long as men have been trying to learn how to build muscle, women have been asking how to get a tight butt to trainers and fitness experts worldwide. Nevertheless, I have good news for you, by the end of this article you will know exactly what steps you can take to get a firm butt and why so many people are doing it wrong.

There is no such thing as ‘spot reduction’

The first misconception to dismiss is “Spot Reduction”, every beginner in fitness and even some veterans believe in this magical theory that has been disproved time and time again by studies. No matter how hard you work one particular area like your butt, thighs or abs, you will NOT directly burn fat away from that area.  When you do lunges for example, you are not burning fat directly away from your butt and thighs, you are only building the muscle underneath the fat and in a way tightening or shaping the muscle along with burning calories throughout your entire body.

 

You have fat stores placed all over your body, which includes places like your butt, hips, abdomen etc. And when you do any exercise you are decreasing the total fat from all of these areas, not specifically targeting the one area you are working.  Your body just does not work like that; the only way to reduce fat from your entire body including your butt is through regular exercise and dieting.

Your butt is a group of muscles…

Eventually I will address both these techniques for you, but let us begin with exercises and a short anatomy lesson. Your “butt” is actually a complex system of gluteal muscles including the Gluteus Maximus, Medius, and Minimus.  The largest of the three, shown below is the Gluteus Maximus.

This is the muscle primarily responsible for the shape of your butt and is the main muscle you should target to achieve your goal as quickly as possible. The Gluteus Maximus is one of the most used muscles for basic movement and is responsible for hip extension and external rotation.

The other muscles I mentioned are the Gluteus Medius and Minimus, which are smaller muscles that can be found underneath the Gluteus Maximus and are responsible for abduction and internal rotation of your hip.

 

 

How to get a tight butt through exercise

As I said before, to develop a firm and tight butt you are going to have to exercise regularly and follow a proper diet. Nevertheless, with your gluteal muscles being responsible for so much of your lower body movements, you have many exercises to choose from:

Walking Lunges

Side Lunges

Back Lunges

Stiff Legged Deadlifts

Sumo Deadlifts

Squats

Split Squats

Step Ups

Lateral Step Ups

Standing Hip Extensions

Leg Presses

However, to further help you, I will go over the exercises I feel will benefit you the most.

Lunges

Lunges come in many variations and can be performed with just your bodyweight, a barbell or dumbbells. However, the same basic movement applies for all of them and that is what we will cover here.

General Guidelines : To  ensure proper safety during lunges be sure to keep your torso upright during the entire movement to avoid stressing your  lower back.  Also, be sure to keep the lunge at a long but safe stride length to emphasize the Gluteus Maximus muscle.

Step 1. Depending on which type of lunge you decided to do, either grab a dumbbell firmly in each hand, or un-rack a barbell on your back. If you do not have access to weights or are a beginner, bodyweight lunges will be fine as well.

Step 2. To begin the movement lunge forward with your left leg in a slow and controlled motion until your back legs knee is almost in contact with the floor as illustrated below.

Step 3.   Pause at this bottom position shortly before returning to your original standing position. That is one repetition and should be repeated while alternating leading legs.

Step-Ups

Step-ups are another exercise, which can be performed almost anywhere and yield great results.  You can do them on a bench, flight of stairs, footrest ect and this is what makes them so versatile.

General Guidelines:  For proper safety when performing step ups please be sure the surface your stepping up on is at a low enough height so you do not have a risk of falling or pulling a muscle. Also, be sure the surface is flat and not slippery. The shorter the surface you are using to step up on the easier the exercise will be.

Step 1: Stand directly in front of the ledge, bench, or platform.

Step 2:  Lift your right foot up and  plant it on the surface then follow up with the left foot , you are now completely on top of the surface.

Step 3:  Step back, leading again with your right foot and following with your left into the starting position.

Step 4:  Alternate which foot you lead with and repeat the motion.

5 Diet tips for a firm butt

The last step to get a tight and firm butt is to monitor your diet, which will help get rid of the extra fat stored around your body and therefore on your butt. I included an easy to follow list of diets tips below to help you.

1. Distribute your protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake evenly throughout the entire day and at each meal.

2. Go for whole grains and fresh vegetables over refrained grains and simple sugars, as a good amount of fiber and starch will aid overall hunger control.

3. Avoid empty calories drinks or highly processed foods whenever possible, which contain many calories and do not effect your feeling of fullness.

4. Drink 8-12 cups of water per day, The National Academy of Sports Medicine recommends individuals looking to lose weight drink 96 ounces of water plus an additional 8 ounces per 25lbs they want to lose.

5.  Weigh and measure your food to become aware of actual serving sizes.

Sample Workout routine

Congratulations, you now know the ins and outs of each step you can take to reach your goal and now all you have to do is combine them and implement them! The most important thing will be your diet followed by the exercises l listed above, but if you want results even faster, you could also do a cardio session around 3 times a week such as jogging or biking.

Here is an example of a routine someone could use in addition to dieting properly and expect great results.

Monday– Do 30 minutes cardio such as jogging or biking

Tuesday– Do 5 sets of 1 minute of lunges, then immediately 1 minute of step-ups, rest 60 seconds in-between each set

Wednesday – Do 30 minutes cardio such as jogging or biking

Thursday– Do 5 sets of 1 minute of lunges, then immediately 1 minute of step ups, rest 60 seconds in-between each set

Friday– Do 30 minutes cardio such as jogging or biking

Saturday– Do 5 sets of: 1 minute of lunges, then immediately 1 minute of step-ups, rest 60 seconds in-between each set

Sunday– OFF

 

 

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