Tone Your Tush!

Problem Area #3...your butt! Here are my top exercises to lift and tone your bum.

1. Shoulder Bridge
Begin by lying supine on the floor with your feet flat on the mat, knees bent, arms long by your sides, palms down. Inhale deeply then on an exhale begin to peel your tailbone off the mat and continue slowly raising your hips up toward the ceiling, one vertebra at a time until you are resting on your shoulder blades. Careful not to push up so far that you are resting on your neck. Squeeze your glutes together at the top and hold 5-10 seconds, then slowly reverse the motion of the spine back down onto the mat and repeat several times. You can also add hip dips--when you are at your peak in the bridge, dip your hips down toward the mat and push back up again.

2. Heel Beats
Begin by lying face down on the mat with your forehead on your hands and your legs extended long behind you, feet glued together. Lift your abdominal muscles away from the mat and feel your spine lengthen. Squeeze your butt together to give yourself an external hip rotation, so your heels will be together. Feel like your legs are lengthening toward the back wall and use that energy to hover your legs above the mat, and begin to quickly beat your heels together. Do about 20 beats, rest, and repeat a few times.

3. Leg Lifts
Begin on your hands and knees with your back flat, creating a "table top" like position. Lift your abdominals in and push your shoulders down your back and away from your ears. Extend your right leg straight out so that it is parallel to the floor (at hip height) , heel up toward the ceiling, toes facing down and lower and raise your leg, tapping your big toe on the floor, raising the leg back to hip height. 10x each leg. You can also quickly pulse the leg while its up at hip height after your reps.

4. "Fire hydrants"
Beginning on all fours (just like in leg lifts). Lift your right knee out to the side so your thigh is parallel to the mat and perpendicular to your torso. Keep a right angle under your knee as you lower your knee onto the mat, and raise it back up again. Repeat 10x each leg. (This one is called fire hydrants because the position you end up in sort of resembles a dog at a fire hydrant, haha. Not a very attractive position, but very effective!)

5. Grasshopper
Begin lying flat on your stomach, forehead on your hands. Bring the bottoms of your feet together, knees apart with your hips in external rotation. Your body position will resemble grasshopper legs when you are in this position. From this position you will squeeze your glutes together and lift your legs up off the mat. They won't get very high--maybe only an inch or two, but you will feel it! Do about 10-15 reps.