Tight Butt and Legs, Part Two

With the Holidays on their way, dooming us to days filled with fun-size Snickers, pumpkin pie and seemingly endless trays of cookies, we can all use a few helpful hints on how to keep our butts and legs looking like we want them to!

This is a follow up to Better Legs and Glutes, and in this article I’m sharing slightly more advanced ways to keep our butts nice and strong, and well above our knees!

Single Leg Squats

• Stand approximately three to four feet in front of a flat bench.
• Put the top of one foot on the top of the bench.
• Look straight ahead with your chest up.

• As you lower your body, throw your hips back until your upper thigh is parallel to the floor.Slowly push yourself back to the starting position.

Single Leg Deadlifts

This type of deadlift is difficult and should only be done with dumbbells, not a barbell (it might be tough to balance with a barbell)

• Keep your head up and your shoulders back
• Slightly bed your supporting leg and bend over slightly, lifting your other leg up behind you as you go.
• Almost touch the floor with the dumbells
• Keep your chest up and your back slightly arched

Additional Tips:

• Don’t allow your back to round forward during the movement
• Any lateral movements should be avoided as they can result in injury
  

Box Jumps

• Stand in front of a secured box or platform knee height or above (the better you get at this, the higher the box can be)
• Jump onto box and immediately back down to same position. Immediately repeat.
• Jump back and forth from floor and box as fast as possible.

The first time you perform each of these exercises, I recommend doing two sets of 12 – 20 repetitions.  After you’ve done them a few times and feel more used to the movement, increase the sets to four sets of 12 – 20 reps.

If you watch your diet and workout 4 – 6 times a week, you can be sure and keep your lower body candy corn-proof throughout the next few months.  Of course, for some additional help, Part Three of my Butt and Legs regimen will be coming soon!

Ann currently works for a Fortune 50 company as a Global Project Manager, and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Psychology / Communications and Human Relations.  She lives in Connecticut with her boyfriend and two adorable dogs.