The Best Butt Exercise of the week this week are sumo squat pulses, guaranteed to get your booty burning!
This exercise is not too intensive cardio-wise, but I promise you that it will give you a good burn in your legs and butt.
Exercise: Sumo Squat Pulses
Muscles worked: Glutes, inner thigh, quadriceps
Jolie Recommends: 3 sets of 30 – 60 seconds
Difficulty rating: 3
Effectiveness rating: 5
Best Butt Exercise #39: Sumo Squat Pulses
Sumo squat pulses are a great variation of the squat that can serve as a great ‘finisher’ move to really make sure you’ve worked your butt muscles hard.
This squat variation gets it’s name from the sumo wrestling stance, but from this position you can get a great butt workout if you hold and pulse. The wider stance works to take the majority of the effort of squatting from your quadriceps and shift it into the glutes.
The range of motion is small, but this move keeps constant tension on your muscles, which is what makes them really work. Trust me, you will feel this one burning.
How to Do the Move
This video demonstrates what the wide sumo squat pulses look like. As usual, try it with just bodyweight first, then add weights to make it more difficult after you have mastered the movement.
- Start with your feet in a wide stance, toes pointed out as far as is comfortable.
- Keeping your back and spine in a neutral position, and torso upright, tighten your core.
- Bend the knees outwards so they remain over your ankles, and sit down with your butt into a squat position.
- Squeezing your glutes, rise up about 2-3 inches, and then lower. This is one ‘pulse’.
- Continue pulsing for the desired amount of time to complete a set, then raise yourself out of the squat to finish.
Perfecting Your Form
- Keep the knees pointed outwards and over your ankles. Avoid them from caving in towards the floor.
- Squeeze your glutes hard the entire time, to really ensure they are working during the pulsing.
- Core muscles should be tight and your torso upright – not leaning forward. There should be no stress on your back.
- Pulse with control, using your muscles to do the work (not momentum).
Reppin’ It
I like to do my sumo squat pulses in terms of a time limit rather than a number of reps. Try going for 3 sets of 30 seconds of pulsing, but you can work your way up to a full 60 seconds as you get stronger.
Once you’ve mastered this, it’s time to add weight. You can do this by holding a pair of dumbbells, a weight plate, or a kettlebell. Hold it close to your body between your legs.