Butt Toning Exercises for Women

A woman can skip going to the gym and tone her butt at home with strength-training exercises designed to target gluteus medius and maximus -- the main muscles in the butt. Strength-training and cardiovascular exercise are the two components required for an effective fitness program. For each strength-training exercise, healthy adults can do up to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions, unless otherwise stated in the workout routine.
Gluteus Medius
Work your gluteus medius to tone your butt. Use this workout routine that consists of the most effective home exercises for this muscle according to a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise and performed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin. The best exercise for your gluteus medius is donkey kicks. Tied for the second most effective exercise are step-ups and lunges, which you can intensify by holding dumbbells or wearing a weight vest. Single-legged squats were the third most effective exercise -- regular squats came in fourth.
Gluteus Maximus
The same ACE-commissioned study identified the most effective gluteus maximus exercises a woman can use in her home butt sculpting routine. The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in your butt. To tone this butt muscle use the following exercises as your workout. The number one most effective gluteus maximus exercise is donkey kicks, followed by traditional squats with lunges coming in third. The fourth most effective exercise is single-leg squats. Intensify donkey kicks by using lightweight ankle weights.
Booty Boot Camp
Do six exercises recommended by Lauren Brenner, the creator of Pure Power Boot Camp, at least three times per week at home to tone your butt. Begin with 60 seconds of low-dipping plie squats, followed by 90 seconds of arabesques and 60 seconds of squats with a side leg extension as you come up into the upward phase. Finish off this butt-toning workout for women at home by getting on all fours for 60 seconds of donkey kicks, followed by laying face-up on the floor for 90 seconds of glute bridges and then 60 seconds of one-legged glute bridges.
Brazilian Butt Lift
It only takes five minutes, three times a week to tone your butt with a workout from Leandro Carvalho, developer of a fitness class called Brazilian Butt Lift. For the first 60 seconds, do low plie squats with your arms extended in front at shoulder height. In the second minute, do deep reverse lunges and in the third minute do explosive lunges where you jump up to return to your standing position. In the fourth minute, do one-legged squat slides where in the downward phase you slide your non-weight supporting leg out to the side and back. In the fifth and final minute, do a set of kick-back squats which translates getting into and out of an arabesque during the downward phase of the squat.