26 May Summer beach body tips: firm up your buns

Most of us would like to change something about our butt. It’s either too big, too flabby, too small, etc., etc.
Doing the right cardio and strength training activities can help re-shape your backside, depending on your body type and genetics
If you’d like to firm up your backside, here are some simple tips to work your buns back into shape and look better on the beach.
1 Move it, and lose it – If you move more during the day you’ll work some flab off. If you have a busy job, make sure to get up at least every 30 minutes and walk around. Take a walk on breaks – also walk and talk while on the phone if you can.
2 Flex appeal – Contract your glutes from time to time, like if you’re standing in line, walking or even sitting. Working the glute muscles will help them get more toned.
3 Eat right – Make sure to eat right because excess calories will pack the pounds on throughout the body, especially onto the butt for some people.
4 Do cardio – Walking and running on a treadmill or outside, biking and hiking are some of the great ways to work your muscles, especially the glutes. Plus you’ll get in better overall shape.
5. Do strength training – Work with weights, stretches and your own body weight to strengthen your glutes.
Some of the best exercises are squats, lunges, step-ups, hip-extensions and one-legged dead lifts.
Bonus tip – One of the simplest and most effective exercises to strengthen the glutes, as well as the quadriceps, is the Invisible Chair Wall Squat.
It can be done anytime and anywhere there’s a wall. Stand straight with your back against the wall. Keeping your back against the wall, squat down until your knees are almost parallel and imagine you’re sitting on an invisible chair. Squeeze your glutes and quads. Hold for 10-20 seconds, Rest for 10 seconds and repeat five times.
If you’re feeling strong enough try to go for more time in each set.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com