I have a little-known great butt exercises for you in this week’s Best Butt Exercises post. This is a great exercise for not only your butt, but your abs and core will thank you for it too (maybe not at the time, but pain is your friend in the exercise world!).

I came across this exercise in a Tapout XT workout, the “Buns and Guns” workout to be specific. Loved it as a great butt-blaster move, and so I am sharing it with you today.

Exercise: Plank With Lateral Leg Kicks
Muscles worked: Glutes, Abs, Core (stabilizing muscles)
Jolie Recommends: 3 sets of 20 (10 per side), followed by a 4th set of 30 seconds where you perform as many reps as possible
Difficulty rating: 3
Effectiveness rating: 7

We all know plank is hard enough, but how can you make it work out your butt as well? The answer: add a lateral leg kick, made even more glute-tastic by adding a resistance band loop around your ankles.

best butt exercises plank with lateral leg kicks
Standard ‘plank’ exercise. photo credit: suanie via photopin cc

 

I love this exercise because you get all the benefit of the plank (think tight, toned abdominals and improved upright posture) but also incorporate some great butt-building variation moves in with the plank. The result is a tough exercise that will have you working hard, but gets great results.

Best Butt Exercise #14: Plank With Lateral Leg Kicks

A plank with a lateral leg kick looks something like shown in this video, but when we do the exercise, we won’t be kicking as fast and will be performing the move with much more control so that the muscles really get a workout.

How to Do the Move
  1. Start in the low-plank position on your elbows. Engage the core to create a straight line from the top of your head to your heels – no sagging of bellies or butts in the air!
  2. Keeping it straight, lift your right foot a few inches off the ground and keeping this height, move your foot out to the side (laterally) to a distance of about 1 – 2 feet. Try to keep this movement slow and controlled.
  3. At the full extension of the kick, hold for about 1 second.
  4. Keeping your foot hovering above the ground, return it towards your balancing foot, and touch down to the ground.
  5. This is 1 rep, repeat with the other foot on the other side and ensure to train both sides equally.

Perfecting Your Form

  • Keep a good plank position by engaging the core. Don’t let the stomach sag or hold your butt up high in the air.
  • Try to keep your hips square to the floor by not rotating your torso with movement of your leg.
  • Pause at the end of the side kick and squeeze the glutes to perform the movement.
  • Slow and controlled will get you a better workout and muscle burn than jerky, fast movements.

Reppin’ It

Try for 3 sets of 20 reps (that’s 10 per side). Of course, if you struggle with the plank you may want to start with less – never sacrifice form! This is definitely a challenging exercise because of the plank component, and if you can’t do it at first, do know that you will improve with practice.

For a real burn in the glutes, do this exercise with a resistance band looped around your ankles. This will provide a nice level of resistance against the lateral kick, and you’ll feel it in the sides of your butt – great for building out a more rounded butt shape!

Another thing I like to do to really finish off the glutes and ensure you get some noticeable results from this exercise, is to finish it off with 30 seconds of all-out continuous kicks. For this ‘finisher’ set, don’t worry about pausing for 1 second at the extension of each kick, instead try to perform as many reps as you can (with good form) in the 30 seconds. This will get your glutes burning by the end of it, for a great result.

Enjoy!

 

 

Best Butt Exercises: Plank With Lateral Leg Kicks
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2 thoughts on “Best Butt Exercises: Plank With Lateral Leg Kicks

  • January 26, 2015 at 9:13 am
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    I LOVE performing plank exercises. I remember when I first struggled to go a few seconds and now, thankfully my core has strengthened tremendously that I have the ability to withstand this exercise for a minute plus.

    Reply
    • January 27, 2015 at 9:27 am
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      It’s surprising how fast you can improve at it, and really rewarding too! It’s gone from one of my most hated exercises to one I’m quite proud of my efforts in, especially when you can get to that 60+ second stage!

      Reply

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