Today, for something different, I thought I’d bring the ’80s back to life (at least in my living room) and give the original ‘Buns of Steel’ workout video by Greg Smithey a spin.
If you haven’t heard of it before, ‘Buns of Steel’ is a (awesomely named, I should add) workout video for the glutes, directed and produced by a guy named Greg Smithey in the 1980s.
This workout is extreme, and let me tell you, it definitely lives up to its name… I have honestly never felt my butt burning as much as I did during this workout!
Not sure what to expect other than ’80s perms, high-cut fluorescent workout clothing, and awesome ’80s pumping tunes? Neither was I, but if you’re interested then you can read on for my review of this butt workout, and find out exactly what you’re up for if you want to get your very own buns of steel.
‘Buns of Steel’ Workout Review
Where to Buy: Amazon.com for $22.70
Time: 50 minutes
Equipment: Nil
Areas Worked: Butt (!!), Inner Thighs, Abs, Legs… oh, and did I mention Butt?? Because it is going to be on fire by the end of this!
Difficulty: Beginner
Style: Aerobics-style floor bodyweight exercises, this workout is described as “intense target toning with less aerobics”. It’s intense, but it’s low intensity, so nearly anyone can do it.
Introduction
Buns of Steel is a workout video that was originally released on video tape (VHS) and was super popular, selling over 1 million copies.Today it’s available on DVD, but it’s still the original workout production from the ’80s, which I think is a fantastically entertaining. Here’s just a peek of what you can expect:
The Moves
The workout starts off with about 10 minutes of aerobics-style warmup, but if you’re wanting to build a better butt, then you’ll be more interested in what follows after that.
I’ve seriously never come across a butt workout like this one before. I’ve had this DVD sitting around for a while now, but never really bothered to have a go at it. I’m telling you now though, that I will definitely be doing this one again.
The moves are unique. With a name like “Buns of Steel” I was expecting the usual glute exercises – squats, lunges, glute bridges, deadlifts, or the like – but none of these even popped up!
Most of the moves are carried out on the floor and are a series of bodyweight leg raises and kicks, that will work your glutes, hips and upper thighs from multiple angles. Apparently some of these are the same lower body exercises that Greg Smithey used to use to train for his pole vaulting. The best part about this is that they are all low impact, done from the floor (in most cases, a lying down position), so there’s no stress or pressure placed on joints.
The Sequencing
I really like the sequencing in this workout. A rough summary of how the workout breaks down is as follows:
- Warmup
- Butt work
- Inner thigh work
- More butt work
- Ab work
- Stretch and relax
Okay, so not to state the obvious, but the main reason I got this DVD was to get some serious glute workout action, and the way this workout is sequenced does not disappoint. The butt work in the first part of the workout is extreme. And I mean holy dooley, I have never felt anything like this from just bodyweight exercises before!
There is a little break while you do some moves that target the inner thigh, but when you come back for the second round of glute exercises, it is no joke! The previous glute work acts as a pre-fatigue to make the second round even more effective.
The Good and the Bad
The Good
- Hands down the most unique glute-targeting moves I have seen.
- Super effective – if ‘butt burn’ is anything to go by, this workout definitely will get you buns of steel.
- No equipment needed – the perfect at-home butt workout: quiet and low-impact.
- Awesome ’80s music track makes for an entertaining blast from the past, and it’s timed perfectly to fit with the moves!
The Bad
- I found Greg Smithey to be hilarious, but some find him annoying.
- A little fast paced in some areas to allow for good form.
- ’80s video production which could be viewed as a negative if that kind of thing bothers you. I liked it. 😉
Effectiveness
Crazy effective. I’m really interested to see how my butt feels tomorrow.
Overall Impression
This was seriously one of the best butt workouts I’ve done for a little while! I must admit that I really had low expectations, especially during the warmup section, but the DVD lived up to its name. This one has my full recommendation – if you’re at all interested in a better butt, you simply must grab yourself a copy of this one!
Hi Jolie,
Lots of in depth information about the Buns of Steel video. I’m sure you watched it and had fun in the process. That stuff was cutting edge back then. I’m one of the sufferers of the dreaded “No _ss at all” disease. Do you think this could video could help me? Cheers
Hi Ed, definitely was a fun experience 🙂
I think this workout will really help tone up and tighten one’s backside, and you would see some improvements by following it.
However, if it’s adding some extra meat to your butt that you’re really after to combat the old ‘pancake butt’ syndrome, you’ll be better off looking at a program that focuses on building muscle bulk, as the types of exercise are different to those which only tone up what you’ve got. Check out my articles on how to get a bigger butt, or products that can help with this are Gluteus to the Maximus and StrongCurves.
no one wants a bigger butt anymore. That trend is dead.
Butt trends are interesting aren’t they? Funny you should say that as I did write a post wondering if the big butt trend is dead a while ago too!
I found this really interesting and it is nice to take a blast from the past. I think some of the older workout videos such as this can be more effective.
I know other people have done them since but mainly from film stars and pop stars just trying to hype up their name.
Enjoyed this 🙂
Thanks
Chris
Thanks for your comments Chris!
The first photo really looks like a steel butt, can’t believe there’s hip exercises programs in the 80s! The music must have been fascinating haha! :p
I actually really liked the music Keye, it was an all-round awesome experience! Totally agree about the cover photo, it definitely does the video title justice, lol!
I guess the exercise videos will be something similar to this LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRscYVvEFt8
Hahaha, that’s a crack-up Keye! Wasn’t quite as upbeat lol…
My mom used to work out to buns of steel. I was really young then but I could totally work out to a 80’s video lol
Awesome Bryan, well it was very popular apparently! I don’t know why I’ve only found out about it now – I also was too young back then to have seen it, but in any case I’m glad it has resurfaced lately, if only for the entertainment value!
This workout looks right up my street, do they do others? I’m not so worried about getting a perfect butt, however I do like the style and the 80s look of it. Cheers Greg
There are actually a whole heap of workout videos in this series, though not by Greg Smithey. I found a whole heap of them, on VHS for even more authenticity: Abs of Steel, Legs of Steel, Arms & Abs of Steel, Thighs of Steel (seems to be enough there to nearly create a whole body of steel!), there appear to be classic 80s versions as well as more current ones with similar titles.
I actually have the original old school vhs version. Along with Abs of steel lol…. I used to watch them as a kid.
Nice, even more authentic on VHS! They are totally an awesome flashback, if the abs of steel workout is anything as epic as buns of steel then I’m sure it would be super effective!
I just bought the Buns of steel collection volume 2 with (legs of steel, buns of steel and abs of steel). How often should each video be done. Each day, every other day? I know from past experience from the original VHS tapes that legs of steel would be to hard to do each day as my legs will be week and I will fall over. LOL
Hey Dawn! I found this information about that over at the Buns Of Steel website FAQ:
From the sounds of this, it’s entirely up to you but make sure you at least take a day or two per week as a rest day to allow your muscles to recover!
I hope you enjoy, I know that workout is a killer and definitely one of my favorites!
I’ll pitch a Wiggles version of Buns of Steel to Caterina, Evie and Lucia ❤️??