The Best Butt-Toning Move You’ve Never Heard Of
b12afbe2e4518bd10aa6e07ab91a4897--female-fitness-fitness-models.jpg

Your body is built to move in three ways: forward and backward, in and out, and rotationally. But we spend most of our lives just moving forward and backward—think walking, squatting, lunging, sitting down, and standing up. Because of this, many of us end up with a strong gluteus maximus (aka center of the rear) but weak gluteus medius and minimus (or outsides of the rear).

The takeaway from this is that the weakness in the sides of your butt can cause pain in your lower back. It can also weaken your hips, which get stuck in that rut of forward-backward motion.


To tone the outsides of the rear and give a little TLC to your smaller gluteal muscles, you need to do some in-and-out and rotational work. That's where clamshells, an external hip rotation exercise, come in. They're a favorite of physical therapists and personal trainers because they're simple to do, and they fight the hip immobility that tends to come with aging.
How To Do Clamshells:
© Provided by Rodale Inc.

Simply lie on one side in fetal position. Keep your feet stacked, one on top of the other, but lift your top knee up and out to form a diamond shape. Hold momentarily, then very slowly lower to starting position. You should take about 3 times as long lowering as you do lifting. Do 20 repetitions on this side before rolling to your other side for another 20.

Try to include this move in your daily routine at least three days a week to increase your hip mobility and strengthen those glutes.


If you're a newbie to glute workouts, you may not know how to activate your glutes—which means you won't see results, no matter how often you work out. "When you stand up or walk upstairs, you use your quads. But you don't use your glutes as much in everyday life," says Contreras. "They 'fall asleep,' and you need to learn how to use them again."

Here's how to test your mind-butt connection: While standing, try to squeeze one butt cheek as hard as you can. For some people, nothing much (or at all) happens. But you can learn to make the connection. Try to squeeze your glutes similarly anytime in the day when you're standing, like while you're doing the dishes. Then mindfully activate your glutes during your workout warmups with clamshells or walking band abductors (placing a resistance band just above your knee and stepping outward).
During exercise, really think about the muscle you're aiming to engage instead of just going through the motions. "You're trying to establish that mind-body connection to increase the nervous system's ability to contract the glutes, so you'll use them more," says Contreras.