I am a fan of long walks, where I can just let my mind wander and take in the beauty of my surroundings (usually something in nature is the best!). I used to set aside at least 10 minutes for a walk first thing in the morning, just a little bit of me time where I could center myself, reflect on life in general, and practice gratitude.

Walking is still one of my favorite things to do, whether it be to relax and wind down from a busy day, or prepare for the day ahead. A lot of people might go for a daily walk, but sometimes this kind of light exercise doesn’t really do much for our bodies in terms of building muscle or creating drastic changes.

Will walking tone the butt
photo credit: Angelo Benedetto via photopin cc

I got asked the question the other day, whether or not walking will tone your butt?

Walking is a great way to lose weight, but may not necessarily do much for your butt muscles, because the glutes have a nasty habit of being lazy and shutting down. If your glutes suffer from this condition, then you’ll still be getting great exercise by walking, but you may not be doing much for your butt if your glutes are not being activated through the movement.

So how can you improve the effectiveness of your walking so that you get a good butt workout at the same time, and really tone up your butt?

I came up with a few simple ways that you can achieve this.

Use Hills or Inclines to Target Your Butt

Find a place to walk that includes hills, upward slopes, or stairs. Inclines are great for working the butt as they shift the focus of the walking movement so as to require the glutes to activate and participate.

Pre-fatigue the Glutes

Do some butt exercises prior to walking to really activate and wake up your glutes, so that they are more actively used when you go for your walk. If your glutes are firing more during your walk, you’ll get more of a toning effect just from walking.

You  can take it a step further and perform some butt exercises until your glutes feel the burn and you can feel that your butt muscles are fatigued. Again, this will make your walk more effective when it comes to toning the butt.

Clench Your Butt Cheeks While You Walk

Walking to tone up the butt
photo credit: Sangudo via photopin cc

This one requires a bit more concentration, but basically try focusing on your glutes while you are walking, and actively concentrate on squeezing and using the glutes during your walk.

One trick is to imagine you have a pen wedged in between your butt cheeks, and you need to squeeze them together so that it doesn’t drop out. Okay, I know that’s random, but it works!

 Try Toning Shoes

Remember toning shoes that were all the rage a few years ago? These things work by creating an uneven surface at the base of your shoes, so that your muscles are constantly activated to help you keep your balance. Do they work? Not sure, but it’s worth a shot trying them out.

 

 

Will Walking Tone Your Butt?
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2 thoughts on “Will Walking Tone Your Butt?

  • December 8, 2014 at 11:06 am
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    I love walking and I can tell that it helps your butt and all the rest of your body. My muscles get toned and the excess fat goes away. I sometimes wear toning shoes for faster results.
    Hilda

    Reply
    • December 9, 2014 at 12:47 pm
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      Thanks for sharing Hilda, I remember toning shoes got quite popular a while back but I have not seen them around recently – I will keep my eye out though, if you are reporting positive results! It is a great way to add that little bit extra oomph to a walking workout!

      Reply

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