The butt is a group of muscles that can very much be reshaped and firmed according to your liking.

The glutes are comprised of three different muscles (maximus, minimus, and medius). If you spend a lot of your day sitting on this particularly large muscle group, you will find that it begins to go soft, and lose it’s shape. Because it is a large and heavy muscle, it may even begin to sag without regular exercise.

All of the exercises in this Butt Lift Workout are designed to get your rear back in good shape-literally. As an added bonus, while you are reshaping your butt, you’ll also be burning a good deal of calories. We estimate that this routine can burn 310 - 410 calories, depending on many different variables, including gender, muscle mass, bodyweight, etc. (these numbers are rough estimates and the exact figures depend on a large number of complex variables).

All you need to do this routine is a bench or chair, and dumbbells (or resistance bands, or a medicine ball, or 2 cans of soup…etc). Do make sure that the bench or chair you use for the Step Up Kick Backs is solid and not going to scoot across the floor when you step onto it.

Here are the exercises in this routine:

1. Downward Dog Leg Raise – This is one of my favorites. Because of the Downward Dog position, you get a bigger range of motion on the reverse leg lift. Make sure that you use smooth and controlled motions (no swinging or using momentum) and squeeze the bum at the top of the movement.

2. Squats + Leg Kick Backs – The leg kick back at the top of the squat turns this into a bit of a plyometric exercise. That means that along with toning the booty & burning extra calories, you’re also building strength & shortening your muscle reaction time (read more about Plyometrics under our “Fitness” category).

3. Standing Rear Leg Raises – Essentially quick, mini leg lifts, this is a small, but effective range of motion for lifting the butt.

4. Butt Twisters – Hit the glute muscles from multiple angles with this variation of the kneeling leg lifts. Again, focusing on smooth and controlled movements is paramount for this butt exercise.

5. Swinging Bridge – This is a fantastic and low impact way to tone and bring shape back to the derrière. Focus on really pushing upward through heels so that you feel it in the glutes at the top of each side of the “bridge”.

6. Step Up Kick Back – A calorie burner and toner, this move also puts a heavy demand on your core because you have to balance yourself each time that you step up onto the bench or chair.

7. Assisted Single Leg Lunges – This is essentially a beginner level single leg lunge. You don’t have to go very far down into the range of motion in order to feel a burn in the glute and quads.

8. Plie Squat + Upright Row – In comparison to a regular or Sumo Squat, the Plie Squat has your toes pointed outward and your upper body more upright. Along with engaging those glutes, the thighs also get a working over with this exercise.


Doing this workout 3-4 times per week will make a big difference in reshaping and lifting your butt. Ideally, you should sandwich this routine in between two short cardio sessions. For example: 15 minutes of cardio prior (this can also double as your warm up period), and then an additional 15 minutes after.

Always make sure to warm up before doing any strength training or toning workouts. You’ll also want to make sure that you stretch once you are finished - check out our complete full length workout video library in order to find some great lower body stretching routines.