Pauline Nordin’s Butt of Steel Workout
Provided you follow the golden rule of adding more and more challenging resistance as the muscles get stronger, you should have a perkier butt and shapelier, stronger legs overall.
Does your backside need a boost? As the founder of Fighter Diet and the Live Life Lean fitness app, I have a workout to whip your butt into shape. This workout will strengthen, lift and shape the glutes while tightening up the tie-in (i.e., the intersection of butt and thigh).
My program primarily features foundational movements modified slightly to better emphasize the backside. My workouts are based on old-school, solid, effective exercises like squats and I make sure I put the body through several different variations of more or less the same exercises since a small change in angle, stance and range of motion hit the muscles a bit differently.
To help wake your booty up and jumpstart results, I suggest doing this workout 3 times per week for 2-4 weeks. As you get stronger and lift more weight, you can dial it back, as you'll need more time for recovery. If you're already consistently training, substitute this workout for your other quad or glute/hamstring workouts.
What kind of results can you expect? Provided you follow the golden rule of adding more and more challenging resistance as the muscles get stronger, you should have a perkier butt and shapelier, stronger legs overall.
Butt of Steel Workout
Side Lying Hip Abduction: 3 sets, 20 reps per leg
Split Squat: 3 sets, 10 reps per leg
Wide-Legged Squat: 3 sets, 6 reps per leg
Dumbbell Lunge: 3 sets, 10 reps per leg
Wide-Legged Squat: 4 sets, 10 reps per leg
Bilateral Duck Buck : 3 sets, 15 reps per leg
Side-Lying Hip Abduction
Begin lying on your side on a bench. Support your body by holding on to the bench and/or by placing your hand on the ground. Extend your top leg forward straight out from the hip. Then, raise the leg up toward the ceiling. Return to start position.
Pauline's Tip: Make sure you brace your core and minimize rolling back and forth.
Split Squat
With a barbell positioned across your traps or holding dumbbells, get into a lunge position and shift your weight forward into the front leg. Descend to your lowest comfortable position (strive for your back knee lightly touching the ground). Drive through the front heel to return to starting position. Complete all reps on one side before moving on to the next. You can also elevate the back foot on a bench to further emphasize the glutes.
Pauline's Tip: Avoid letting your knee travel forward beyond the toes of the working leg.
Wide-Legged Squat
With a barbell positioned across your traps, take an extra-wide stance and turn toes out slightly. Keeping your abs tight and torso upright, lower down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Focus on pushing through your heels as you drive upward toward the starting position.
Pauline's Tip: Keep your head looking straight ahead throughout the set.
Dumbbell Lunge
Beginning with your feet together and holding dumbbells, take a big step forward with right leg. Descend to your lowest comfortable lunge position (strive for your back knee lightly touching the ground). Push through your front foot to return to the starting position. Complete all reps on the right leg then move on to the left leg.
Pauline's Tip: Avoid letting your front knee travel beyond your toes.
Bilateral Duck Buck
Position your body face down on the bench with your hipbones partially off the end. With bent knees, raise the legs up towards the ceiling.
Pauline's Tip: It can be uncomfortable to lie on the bench in this position, but it helps to tighten your abs.