Workouts: Booty Buster

While some woman tend to gain weight and get a bigger back-side during pregnancy and after birth, I lost mine! As I stood in front of the mirror 6 weeks post-partum, I stared at the remains of what used to be my 'apple bottom' (almost in tears). As a former sprinter and fitness fanatic, I had an outstanding hiney. However, age, child birth and neglect robbed me of that and I was left with a 'pancake'/ 'teacher' butt. I started having flashbacks to the days of Rocky's and 'mom' jeans, the ones with the 16 inch zipper that also covered your belly button (probably acid washed)... I shivered at the thought. Something had to be done. Two things popped into my head: Squats and lunges. The BOOTY BUSTERS! If you want results in the derriere, here's you ticket. Squats are my FAVORITE, maybe because there are so many variations. Single leg, sumo, weighted, assisted, front, back, jumps, press, pistol, plie...the list could go on! First things first, you need to know what you are doing. You won't get any of the results you want if you are not lifting properly, especially if you are clueless towards weight training. If your hurt/injure yourself, no progress can ever be made. Additionally, you will not be getting the most out of the exercise and cheating yourself of a good workout.

Common mistakes

 - Not going down low enough

 - Losing good posture (keep chest high and shoulders back)

 - Lifting you heels off the ground (you want to DRIVE from your heels)

 - Letting your knees fall forward or lean past your toes as you squat down

Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes slightly pointed out. Bar bell should be placed on 'meaty' part of back (using proper lifting technique to life barbell). Squat down as if you were going to sit down into a chair, pulling your abs tight and shoulders back. Focus on the horizon, chest open, knees in line with toes, butt back and weight in your heels. Sit into squat, torso no more than 45 degrees and push through your heels to rise up. Sometimes I even wiggle my toes or pull them up to keep myself from rocking forward when I feel fatigued.

* I am pictured using a barbell WITH weight. There are several variations that you can do if you are not advanced enough. You will still get the full benefits from the exercise. A couple of my favorites are:



Weighted w/out barbell



Assisted w/out weight using the barbell

Assisted w/out weight using chair

TRY THIS (using weighted w/out barbell or air squats):

20 Squats

400 M jog/run

30 Squats

400 M jog/run

40 Squats

400 M jog/run

50 Squats

400 M jog/run

60 Squats

* That is 1 mile of track time (400 M is .25 on a treadmill) and 200 squats! Your hind-side should be on FI-YAHHHHH!  Time yourself each time and try to beat you previous best! If you can't get all the way through it, don't beat yourself up. It will give you a goal for the next workout. Good luck :)