Running on a treadmill is a great way to help your heart and whittle your waist, but it can also be a great tool to get a perky butt.
- Hilly workouts: The next time you hop on the treadmill, don't do your regular flat workout — add rolling hills into the mix. Adding inclines will both keep your workout interesting and target your glute muscles. Try this treadmill workout with hills [1] to work your backside.
- Walking lunges: Adding lunges to your treadmill workout helps you warm up before a run. Walking lunges also have the distinction of helping you shape a perky, lifted backside. "It's a great way for women to tone the butt, to get that kind of shelf butt," says Jennifer Pattee, owner of Basic Training [2]. "Normally you can't really spot reduce, and it's hard to really tone specific muscle groups, but that one works." To do walking lunges on the treadmill [3], slow the speed down to 2.5 or 3 miles per hour, and up the incline to 15 percent. Hold on to the handrails if you need help balancing.
- Go backward: Don't lower that incline just yet: you can work your backside even further by walking backward on the treadmill. Turning around helps strengthen your glutes [4] as well as calves and quads. Lower the speed to a very slow walking pace (2.5 miles per hour) and grab on to the handrails before you turn around.
