Who has time for exercise these days? On top of your daily list of tasks, busy work schedule, and trying to please everyone at home while still having at least a bit of a social life, there’s often little-to-no time left for sweating it out trying to incorporate some exercises in as well. Which is exactly why I put together this list of easy butt exercises for the time-poor individual.
They are perfect if you want to keep your butt from losing tone, getting saggy or out of shape. I also practice a similar easy workout daily as part of my glute activation routine, which is great because it preps my glutes to activate properly and the best thing about this is that the muscles stay a lot more active throughout the day as a result of this.
What does this mean? It means that my usual daily movements like walking around, getting up and down from my office chair, getting in and out of the car and going up stairs etc are all performed with a higher level of glute activation than they would be otherwise. Basically, my 5 minute routine in the morning keeps my glutes working throughout the day (with no extra effort on my part) rather than having my butt muscles ‘shut down’ because they have forgotten how to work!
How’s that for a quick and easy workout that pays off? It’s the gift workout that keeps on giving…
You Want Easy? I Hope This Delivers For You…
These exercises can be done in just 5 minutes or less, and in most cases won’t cause you to break into a massive sweat, so you don’t even need to worry about changing into specialist gym clothes or setting extra time aside to shower afterwards.
Not only that, but the exercises I’ll be presenting to you can be done at home, work or office without minimal or no equipment.
There is a catch though. These easy butt exercises will not necessarily get you a bigger or better butt – to really see positive and drastic changes you’ll need to look at your whole exercise and diet routine and make changes that are in line with your goals. However, these easy butt exercises will help you keep your butt from deteriorating from the condition that it is currently in, and also help to work against any of the negative effects that lack of exercise can bring (sagginess of the butt, loss of muscle tone and the like).
Something is Better than Nothing!
Okay, so the easy butt exercise routine may not be intensive enough to give you the butt of your dreams, but I can tell you now that investing the 5 minutes it takes to do these is a going to be a lot better than doing no exercise at all! While everyone will respond differently, I am certain that most people will see positive results if they do this program, as 5 minutes is much better than 0 minutes if it all comes down to the choice between a 5 minute easy butt workout versus doing no exercise at all.
The 5 Minute Easy Home Butt Workout Routine (No Equipment)
Bird-dog (1 min)
Start from an all-fours crawling position on the ground, with knees under hips, and hands under shoulders.
- Balancing on your right hand and left knee, lift your left hand and right leg up so that they are both horizontal.
- The raised arm and leg should form a straight line with your back. Clench and squeeze the butt cheek when lifting the leg.
- Keep the back and spine in neutral position throughout the exercise.
- Lower the hand and leg and repeat reps for 30 seconds on one side, and 30 seconds on the other side.
Fire hydrants (1 min)
Start on all fours as per the bird-dog exercise.
- Lift your right leg up and out by rotating at the hip joint only.
- The leg should remain at 90 degrees and arc out and up – squeeze the glutes strongly to lift the leg.
- Repeat very controlled reps on one side for another 30 seconds, then repeat on the left side.
Froggy glute lifts (30 sec)
Lay facedown on a bed or mat. Froggy glute lifts can be performed as per the instructions found here.
- Place knees out towards the side at a 30-45 degree angle or whatever is comfortable.
- Bending the knees, bring the heels together in the air behind you until they are touching.
- Squeeze the butt cheeks and lift up to raise your heels so that your thighs are clear of the ground.
Back extensions (30 sec)
Start laying facedown on a bed or mat, arms stretched out overhead in front of you, and legs extended out behind.
- Lift the upper torso and both legs off the ground at the same time.
- Squeeze the glutes to raise the legs as high as possible off the ground and hold for 30 seconds.
- For extra difficulty “paddle” the arms and “kick” with the legs in the air throughout the exercise.
Deadlift ( 1 min)
Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forwards.
- Stick the butt out behind you as if you are sitting into a chair, at the same time tilting the upper torso forward by hinging at the hips.
- Squeeze the glutes to ensure the movement is supported by (and is activating) the glutes.
- Drop your arms down vertically as you squat down lower, keeping straight at the back. Stop once the hands are about at the knee level.
- Engage your glutes as you stand up straight, being sure to have a reverse tilt on your pelvis (tuck your tailbone under) at the top of the movement – this will allow you to really focus on and squeeze and target the glutes.
- Repeat for 12 reps, taking your time for each one (around 5 seconds each).
Squat to side leg lift (30 sec)
Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed forwards, slightly angled out.
- Squat down slowly, pushing your butt and hips back to sit back into the movement. All the weight of your body should be in your heels.
- Engage the glutes as you stand up out of the squat.
- At the top of the movement, shift your weight to one leg and balance on it, lifting the opposite leg outwards.
- Squeeze the glutes at the top of the movement for optimal effect.
Glute Bridge (30 sec)
Start lying face up on a bed or mat, with feet shoulder-width apart, bent at the knees and feet flat on the floor.
- F0cusing on the glutes, use these powerful muscles to lift your butt into the air until your torso forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
- Lower back down.
- Perform reps for 30 seconds – probably about 10 reps, taking your time to really engage the glutes and not let the hamstrings or back muscles take over.
You can also learn how to do a glute bridge by following the article here.
The 5 Minute Easy At-Work Butt Workout Routine
The following list forms the basis of some ideas for exercises that can be performed (somewhat) discreetly in a work or even office environment. That is, if you’re like me and you don’t see anything wrong with busting out a few air-squats and deadlifts in the toilet cubicles at work. 😛