FitSugar

Work Your Backside With These 3 Booty Moves

FitSugar — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:21:11 PDT

If toning your backside is on your to-do list, here are three booty moves you can do at home - no equipment required! These exercise are not your basic (read: boring) lunges and squats. Not only are they fun to do, but they will also work your glute muscles from a variety of angles to really firm and lift your bum. Let's kick that big booty to the curb.

Want more FitSugarTV in your life? Try our Yoga Abs video to tone your midsection.

Small Workout Window? Focus On Big Muscles

FitSugar — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:30:01 PST

Chances are, if you have time to sneak in a workout over the holidays, you'll have a small window of time in which to do it. So save time by going big - big muscles, that is.

One way to make the most of quick holiday workouts is by focusing on the big muscle groups, including your chest, back, glutes, and quads. The bigger the muscle, the more muscle fibers activated, which means you're burning more calories and boosting your metabolism.

Try doing squats, such as these dumbbell squats (above), which work the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Other big muscle moves include chest presses, lunges, back exercises, and planks. Do you focus on large muscle groups for short workouts?

How Do You Refer to Your Rear?

FitSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:13:27 PDT

It seems that women have a love/hate relationship with their butts. Either you want a smaller rear or a more shapely tush, and if you love your booty the way it is, I say shake your money maker. Regardless of your emotional relationship to your derriere, trainers and fitness class teachers use a wide variety of terms for "butt" - it's such a crass term with a schoolyard feel to it, and only slightly better than the formal "buttocks." When it comes to talking about your backside, tell me . . .

Latest Exercise Trend: Ramping

FitSugar — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:45:00 PDT

I am always looking for a way to do something new, fitness wise. At one point, step aerobics was the latest thing, but that time has since come and gone. You'll still find step classes in almost every gym, but they are not nearly as popular as they once were.

Enter Ramping. I know it sounds a little odd but ramping is very similar to step aerobics (in fact it was created by the very same person that created step aerobics) but it is requires a lot less impact on your joints because instead of stepping up onto a flat step or bench, you lunge on and off an adjustable-incline ramp (half-moon looking contraption pictured above) specifically designed for ramping. Ramping is great for really working your butt and hamstrings. Great for getting those legs short shorts ready this summer. Check out the ramping site online for more information as well as to find a class near you.

4 minute Booty Workout Video

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:19:21 PDT

Springtime is upon us and so are mini skirts and hot pants. Swimsuit season is just around the corner, so it is time to start toning the booty area. For me, a toned backside is really great for all season, but soon we will be showing more of it so let's get down to business.

Here is a 4 minute exercise video for you to try.

I will have the printable gym version ready for you all tomorrow, since I have never seen someone working out with a laptop at the gym.

Here are a few tips:

Use a soft mat when performing the first 3 exercises - be nice to your knees.
In Charlie Chaplin really pull your abs away from the floor and your hand. This will help keep your low back muscles relaxed to ensure more work in your glutes - which is what we want, right?
Bridge with your legs in parallel (heels in line with sits bones) and your heels close to your booty (this will make the hamstrings work less and the glutes more). You can use a small ball or a pillow between your knees to get the inner thighs more active too.
Read this post You don't know SQUAT for more on the technique of Squats.
For Plié Squats and Lunges remember to not tuck your pelvis under and you'll be golden.

REMEMBER: If a move hurts or feels weird, try the motion smaller. If the move still feels weird, stop and try it again in a couple of days.

Click here for: Take it to the Gym -Print out of the video.

MBT shoes = A Toned Backside, No Lie

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 08:45:00 PST

My backside feels almost dead after sitting on it all day. My favorite way to resuscitate it is walking in my MBTs.

MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology. A Swiss company put a lot of research into creating a shoe that imitates what the foot does when it is not wearing a shoe. Twist your mind around that one. I must say their research paid off and they get paid handsomely for each pair of shoes - they retail at $245.

If you can swallow the price the shoes are wonderful. They activate the back of the leg with every step and force the body into alignment. Plus they decrease the stress on your knee joint. As I move up years, further from 20 and closer to 40, my knees appreciate it.

You might have seen them in the Bliss catalog claiming to be the anti-cellulite shoe. But the Swiss makers of the shoes make no claim to this, but the shoes have been proven to increase muscular activity in the legs and glutes.

So the shoes might not be all that pretty to look at, but they turn any walk into a workout, especially if you are headed up an incline.

To learn how the shoes work and to see more styles just

read more The shoes have a sensor, or a roll bar, toward the heel of the shoe that make the shoes unstable. By stepping on the bar, rather than hard on your heel (like most us of do), you activate under used muscles that should work like when you are walking barefoot. When wearing the shoes you take smaller strides, stepping onto a slightly bent knee, then pushing off with a straight leg activating your hamstrings and glutes. I do so love that I work my booty with every step.

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Peruse the Walkers Warehouse for all your MBT needs.

Amazing Glutes: These Glutes Were Made for Walking

FitSugar — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 08:00:00 PST

This video brings new meaning to working your buns. Check this out.

It Is Thigh Time: Bridge With Pillow Squeeze

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 09:02:32 PST

Here is another IT IS THIGH TIME exercise video. To slim down muscular thighs you need to strengthen the hamstrings and glutes to balance out the overworking quads and IT band. What is great about this exercise is that you can do it anywhere. You just need a pillow (a ball or towel) to place between your knees.

Let me know how it goes by commenting below.

Keep a look out for more exercise videos. New ones are coming soon.

Work It Girl: Step it Up (a Stair Technique)

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 07:30:00 PST

They say that there's more than one way up the mountain. Well, I'm here to tell you that there is more than one way up the stairs. Yep, that is right - there are different techniques to it.

Try this:
Step onto the stair with your entire foot and press your heel into the stair to push yourself up to the next stair. You should feel your upper hamstring and your lower glutes working.

Not only does this "technique" work the often underused muscles of your backside, it is better for the health of your knee.

Fit's words of caution: This is a little difficult to do in heels since the heel can get stuck on the back lip of the stair.

Work It Girl: At Your Desk BOOTY

FitSugar — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:50:00 PST

You sit on it all day. You fear it might be spreading. Stand up and take a few moments to work your BOOTY while at work.

Move 1) Place your hands on the back of your chair for balance. Reach left leg out directly behind you, pointing your toe.

Move 2) Keeping your knee straight, lift your leg just using your booty, without leaning forward. Don't worry, it won't go very high. Use your deep abs to keep from arching your back to lift your leg and to help you stabilize. Repeat 15 times at a fairly quick pace, then switch legs and do the other side.

Try to do this multiple times a day. It gets the blood moving in your seat.

And to see how NOT to do it,

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