All women want it: That shapely, sculpted, and defined butt we see in
the magazine ads for cellulite cream. Closets full of skinny jeans and
miniskirts have us focused more than ever on lifting, tightening, and
shaping our behinds
"It's beautiful to be symmetrical," says Pilates guru Siri Dharma Galliano, who helped Carrie-Anne Moss get her sculpted buns to play Trinity in The Matrix movies.
"Round is nice; square isn't so nice. It's an aesthetic thing," says Galliano, owner of Live Art Pilates in Los Angeles
Yet our glutes do more than just help us look good in our
clothes. The butt consists of three main muscles: the gluteus maximus,
gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. They work together to help us move
our legs in all directions. Because they're connected to the hips, the
lower back, and the legs, strengthening the glutes can help to stabilize
the back, says Galliano.
But what many of us really want to know is this: Is there a butt workout that can actually help us get those round, lifted, and chiseled derrieres we covet?
It depends
"If you're a 45-year-old mother of two and you start doing glute
exercises, you're not going to look like a 20-year-old woman who's never
had kids," says Maryland-based fitness trainer, speaker and consultant
Jonathan Ross
Fat cells the body has deposited around the hips and thighs are
less responsive than in other parts of the body, Ross explains.
"Progress is still possible. It just takes a lot of i dotting and t crossing when it comes to nutrition and exercise," he says
Realistically, say experts, you can improve the strength and shape of your butt with diet and exercise. But if you're expecting to look just like that picture in the magazine, you may be disappointed.
The Butt Workout: Exercises to Sculpt a Better Backside