You hear a lot of talk these days about butts, booty, rounded butts, bigger butts, scrunch-butt outfits, the peach, the backside, etc. Indeed, there is a lot of focus and fascination surrounding the butt. If you want to sport a set of nice rounded glutes that have become so popular, you need this five-minute butt blaster workout to maximize your assets!

What are the Glutes?

Your “glutes,” aka your butt, are comprised of several different muscles. The three main muscle groups are the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. The gluteus maximus makes up the bulk of your buttocks and starts at the top of your lower back, connecting to the back of your pelvis and then down and around to your upper rear thigh bone.

The gluteus medius is a mid-size muscle that also starts at the back of the pelvis and connects to the top of the femur. This muscle mainly sits above the gluteus maximus.

The gluteus minimus is under the gluteus medius and rounds out the glutes. There are also several smaller muscles that assist the glutes.

Benefits of Having a Strong Butt

Your butt muscles aren’t just for looks. These important muscles help with many (if not most) of your movements and the varied benefits of having strong glute muscles might surprise you. Just as a strong core is essential for many reasons, so is a strong butt. That includes:

• Proper Alignment
• Power
• Walking/Running/Jumping
• Balance and Stability
• Stronger Knees
• Back Protection
• Injury Prevention

Plus, having a strong, toned butt is just plain attractive!

Try This 5-Minute Butt Blaster Workout

To build a great butt blaster workout, you’ll want to include lots of posterior chain work, and these exercises will help you hit it hard. Pick 5 exercises and do each for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds and then move on to the next exercise, repeating the 45-/15-second sequence.

1. Glute Bridge Walkouts

Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Raise your hips up off the ground, squeezing your glutes. Next, keep squeezing your glutes as you walk your feet outward in a V-shape until your legs are almost straight. Walk your feet back up to the starting glute bridge position.

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2. Leg Curls on Swiss Ball

Start by lying on your back with your arms by your sides for support. With your knees bent, place your heels up onto a Swiss ball, bringing your hips up and off the ground. Next, roll the ball out and away from your body while keeping your hips high. Pause and roll the ball back to the start. Repeat.

3. Cable Kickbacks

Start with a band around your ankle and attached to the lowest setting on a cable machine (or use a resistance band wrapped around a stable surface). Choose a relatively light weight to start. You’ll want to hold onto something for support (like the side of the machine) and then lift your right leg and move it up and back, keeping your leg straight. Go as far as you can and then squeeze your glute muscles before bringing your foot back to the starting position. Do all repetitions on the right and then switch to the left side and repeat.

4. Hip Abduction Machine

If you have access to a gym, this machine allows you to work the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscles and your hip area. Sit on the machine with the pads on the outside of your thighs. Move your legs out to the sides as far as you can. Do some very light repetitions first to warm up the area. Adjust your weight and then push your legs (and the pads) apart using your glute muscles. Pause once you’ve gone as far as you can and hold for a moment before allowing your legs to come back to the center.

If you don’t have this machine, try wrapping a resistance band around your knees as you sit in a chair. Do the same movement you would do on the machine: with your knees bent, move your legs out to the sides as far as you can. Hold the contraction and then slowly bring your legs back to the center. Repeat.

5. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

This exercise will work your posterior chain by hitting those glutes and hams. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold a medium-weight dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Keeping your head upright and your torso straight, push your hips back as you let your arms move down toward the floor. Bend your knees slightly. Once you feel a good stretch through your hamstrings and butt, push back up to standing. Repeat.

6. Hip Thrusts

These can be done with or without weight. Begin by placing your feet on the ground about hip-width apart and your back on the side of a bench (shoulder blade level). Bring your hips up so your body is about parallel with the floor. To do a repetition, drop your hips slightly, and then thrust your hips upward, squeezing your glutes as hard as you can. Hold this contraction for three seconds and then release and come back to the start. Try adding weight to this exercise by placing a lightweight barbell (with a pad) across your pelvis as you go through the movements.

Building a better butt with a butt blaster workout will take time and effort. You want to build the muscle while simultaneously trimming the fat, so exercise, coupled with a healthy diet rich in quality proteins and healthy fats is essential. Round out your plan with 20 – 30 minutes of cardio a day for optimal results.

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