The Best Under Butt Exercises to Lift Your Booty

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Having a strong set of gluteus muscles is essential for so many reasons! For one, a strong butt is a good looking butt. For another, this large muscle group will help you reach your weight loss goals even quicker! Since muscle burns fat, it only makes sense to focus on developing the biggest muscle on your body, right?

Ready to see my favorite under butt exercises? Keep reading…

Why Exercise the Glutes?

The glute muscles are actually made of 3 different muscles: the gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in your body), the gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimus.

The best way to get a firm butt and get that crease in your underbutt area is to add in different exercises that target these muscles into your exercise routine. While you can’t lose fat in a specific area, strength training with heavy weight (“heavy” is totally relative to your specific needs and abilities) is what you need to get the best results and avoid dead butt syndrome!

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The Best Under Butt Exercises to Lift Your Booty

These are super effective exercises that work a lot of your lower body muscles to give you strong glutes, strong hamstrings, and even a bit of your lower back.

The important thing to remember here is to always use good form to reduce your risk of injury.

To see these exercises in video form, check out my web story for a demonstration!

Negative Reverse Lunges

Start this exercise standing on top of something – like a box or a step. You will be stepping off, so make sure that it is stable and can handle a change in weight distribution. 

Step your left foot back and slowly lower your left leg down into a lunge position off of the box. Keep your weight in the heel that is on top of the box for complete glute engagement. 

Once that back knee has almost touched the ground at a 90-degree angle, press your front foot back into the box and return the leg to the original standing position. 

Repeat on the same leg for 8-12 times then switch.

Things to keep in mind:

1. The higher off the ground you are, the more challenging this move can be. Start with a small incline and work your way up to a more traditional height of a plyo box. 
2. Form is extremely important for this move. Keep your knees in line with your ankles and your core engaged the entire time to help reduce risk of injury. 
3. Hold dumbbells in your hands for an extra challenge, but wait until you master this move before adding any additional weight. 

Dumbbell Donkey Kicks

Begin a dumbbell donkey kick in the tabletop position on the ground – make sure your shoulders are directly above your wrists and your hips are in line with your knees. 

Place a dumbbell on the back of your left knee (flex your leg muscles to help hold it) and slowly raise the dumbbell with your knee bend until the thigh is in a nice horizontally straight line with your back. Imagine you are pushing your left heel towards the ceiling.

Slowly raise the weight back down to the ground. 

Perform the move 10-15 times on the same leg. Switch sides and repeat on the right side. 

When performing a dumbbell donkey kick, remember to keep your hips aligned with the ground while keeping your core strong. This will encourage your glutes to do most of the work and help you gain the best booty lift!

Romanian Deadlift

This technical exercise is known throughout the world and favored by most athletes looking for booty strength. The Romanian deadlift used to be Olympians secret weapon, but now the secret is out and ready to be used by everyone for a firmer, stronger butt.

As a personal trainer, this is one of my favorite glute exercises and is one I recommend to many people to get stronger glutes!

To begin this move, start standing straight with both feet hip-width apart and planted on the ground. Holding a dumbbell in each hand and with a slight bend in the knees, hinge your hips as if you were pushing your booty back towards the wall behind you.

Keeping your back flat, lower the weights to about knee level (or until you feel a stretch in the back of your thighs), then return back to the starting position standing straight up. 

To do this move properly, move slowly and picture your hips moving in a straight line horizontal to the floor. Focus on proper form and squeezing your glutes the entire time. (I know it sounds strange, but pretend that you are holding something between your cheeks – it works!)

Repeat this move 12-18 times. 

Prone Frog Lift

This silly move is one of my favorites! Not only does it work really well for lifting your tush, but it is so fun to do. If you have little kids at home, you have to get them to try it too! 

The prone frog lift starts by laying facedown on a yoga mat or a towel. Hold your chest up by crossing your arms in front of your head so that your core is engaged. Meanwhile, you want to position your legs like a frog. Bend your knees so that they are shoulder length apart but keep your feet together. 

A great visual is to make a diamond shape with your legs. 

Once you are in position, squeeze your booty as you lift your legs a few inches. WARNING: this one burns! 

Try to perform this move for 30 seconds, taking breaks when you need them. 

Related: Check out these gluteus minimus exercises too!

Glute Bridge Sliders

Glute bridges are a great exercise for your rear body parts, but this version is next level. Performing glute bridge sliders are challenging, but they are SO effective that I couldn’t write up these under butt exercises without it on the list.

Trust me, if you want a tight tushie, then you will not regret this exercise! 

Begin by laying on the ground face up with your knees bent, with your feet shoulder-width apart. Beneath your feet, add in your sliders (I like this brand from Amazon) and thrust your hips so that your body is in a bridge – like a triangle shape. Picture the 3 points of the triangle to be your feet, your bent knees, and your shoulders on the ground. 

Once you are in the proper position, slide out your right heel until your right leg is completely straight and return it by bending your knee to the original triangle position. Repeat with the opposite leg. 

Continue sliding one leg out and back in until you have completed this move for 8 reps.  

Things to keep in mind for the glute bridge sliders: 

1. If you don’t have sliders, try paper plates or even socks on hardwood floors! Sometimes you have to get creative when it comes to reaching our fitness goals. 
2. The farther out your leg goes, the more challenging this move is. Start by sliding your leg out 6-12 inches at first and slowly work your way to extending your leg fully out. You got this!

Hip Thrust

Hip thrusts, hip bridges – whatever you call it, it’s one of the best exercises for your glutes. To set up the hip thrust, starts with your back on the edge of a bench or a couch while your feet are on the ground, knees at a 90 degree angle. Grab a weight and rest it on your hips. 

Slowly start this move by squeezing your glutes and lifting the weight up to tabletop position. When lifting the weight, focus on pressing your heels into the ground while moving slowly. 

Your abs should stay braced – think of pulling your pubic bone towards your ribs.

Finish the rep by lowering your hips towards the ground – think of your body making the uppercase ‘N’. Your back should remain straight through the full range of motion, with no arching or curving.

Repeat this move 8-12 times. 

Don’t forget that your glutes are the biggest muscle group in your entire body, so don’t be afraid to try a more challenging weight. It’s a lot easier to decrease than to increase once you begin, so go for it!

Diagonal Kicks

Starting in a tabletop position, bring the right leg out then to the side. Focus on keeping your thigh parallel to the ground and your knee as far away from you as possible. 

With a bent knee, extend your leg so that the entire leg is parallel to the ground. Next, return the leg back up to the original position with the bent leg. 

Repeat 15-20 times then switch to the left leg. 

Things to keep in mind with diagonal kicks: 

1. Flex your foot the entire time. This will activate all of your leg muscles and develop more muscle- who doesn’t want that?
2. The goal of this move is to only move your leg, so keep your core engaged to help prevent your upper body from ‘swaying’ back and forth. 
3. This is a great move to try in front of the mirror just to make sure only the knee is moving, no other joints. It’s common to try and move your hips and even your shoulders with diagonal kicks and watching yourself is a great way to have proper form! 

Bulgarian Split Squat

I saved the best (or worst!) for last. Ask any person familiar with lifting weights and they will likely agree that this exercise is hands down one of THE BEST glute exercises — but also the worst because it is so challenging!

With that said though, it’s one to do if you want to get those under butt results.

The Bulgarian split squat is a version of a single leg squat. Essentially, all of your weight is on the front leg while your back leg is elevated on a chair, step, or even the park bench while your kids are playing. I prefer a lower elevation to help with stability, but you can try different heights to see what works best for you.

Begin this move by having all of your weight in the front foot while your back leg is resting on an elevated ledge. Focus on lowering your body down until your knees are at about a 90 degree angle (although your front knee may be a little more forward, which is ok). Your body positioning will look similar to the lower part of a lunge.

To return back to standing position, press your weight into your front heel to engage your lower body and stand back up. Try not to engage your back foot at all, if possible.

Perform this move on the same leg 10-15 times. Repeat on the other leg. If you want added difficulty, grab a pair of dumbbells to hold or add some squat pulses at the bottom of the movement. Burn!!

If you have knee pain with this, definitely avoid this exercise.

Stay Consistent with Your Workouts!

There are so many reasons to focus on your lower glutes for a workout. Not only will these muscles help your day to day activities, but you will be shocked at how much of a lift this workout will give your tush! 

Trust me – you will never regret this under butt workout routine. 

So tell me…. Do you have a favorite under butt exercise? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Other Workouts You May Like:

• Plank Variations to Work Your Core
• Plyo Box Workout
• The Best Exercise Equipment to Lose Weight

Get more home workouts and fitness tips here!

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