You can use Pilates exercises, like the one-legged pelvic tilt, to activate and sculpt your glutes.
Image Credit: fizkes/iStock/Getty Images Pilates can do a lot for your body, including building a strong core and improving your posture. The workout can even help develop your rear, if that’s a personal goal, by activating the different glute muscles and helping build your mobility and flexibility.
Advertisement
Read more: Mat Pilates Is an Equipment-Free Workout You Can Do Anywhere
Video of the Day
Anatomy of Your Glutes
Three primary muscles make up your butt: the gluteus maximum, gluteus minimus and gluteus medius, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE). While most people tend to emphasize the glute max in training, as it’s the largest and most visible portion, it’s important to strengthen all three parts of your glute.
Advertisement
Your gluteus maximus is responsible for extending and rotating your hip, helping you move in and out of exercises like squats, according to the ACE. The medius and minimus have similar roles, depending on your positioning. They help move the leg away from your body's midline and stabilize the pelvis.
How to Grow Your Glutes
Just like when you’re building your biceps or delts, you’re going to need resistance to make your glutes grow, according to the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Advertisement
While you'll want to incorporate a weekly strength-training routine in order to build a bigger backside, you can also use other workouts, like Pilates, to vary the way you target the muscle. Mat Pilates, which uses just your body weight, involves plenty of exercises that activate your glute muscles.
Reformer Pilates can also help you develop your butt, as you can adjust the springs and cables to provide different levels of resistance. Whether this resistance is enough to really make your bum grow depends on your starting point. If you’ve already been heavy squatting and lunging out on the gym floor, a Reformer session may help improve your mechanics so you can nail those exercises and get better results.
Advertisement
Read more: 12 Benefits of Pilates (Besides Strong Abs!)
Best Pilates Exercises for Your Butt
Pilates offers a number of exercises that activate all three muscles of your glutes. If stronger butt muscles are your goal, use them in addition to moves such as barbell back squats, weighted lunges, single-leg squats and weighted step-ups.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Three major behind-builders from Pilates include:
- Flutter Kicks
Lie on your abdomen on a mat, and turn your head to rest one cheek on the floor. Let your arms lie by your sides and extend your legs behind you. Squeeze the legs toward each other and lift them up off the mat. Keep your hips pressed toward the floor as you flutter straight legs for 30 to 60 seconds.
Advertisement
2. One-Legged Pelvic Tilt
Lie on your back on a mat, bend your knees and plant your feet about hip-distance apart. Lift your hips and feel a squeeze through your booty. Raise your right leg straight up to the ceiling, keeping your hips lifted. Slowly lower your hips almost to the floor and then lift back up to the maximum height. Repeat 10 to 15 times, then switch sides with the left leg lifted.
Advertisement
3. Side Leg Kicks
Lie on your right side with your hips and shoulders stacked. Inhale and raise your left leg as high as you can. Exhale and lower back down. Repeat 10 to 15 times, then switch sides.
Read more: The Best Pilates Workouts for Every Body Part
Advertisement
Advertisement
references
American Council on Exercise: "Build your Glutes with this Strength Training Routine"
NASM: "Back to the Basics: Hypertrophy"
references
American Council on Exercise: "Build your Glutes with this Strength Training Routine"
NASM: "Back to the Basics: Hypertrophy"
You can use Pilates exercises, like the one-legged pelvic tilt, to activate and sculpt your glutes.
Image Credit: fizkes/iStock/Getty Images
Image Credit: fizkes/iStock/Getty Images
American Council on Exercise: "Build your Glutes with this Strength Training Routine"
NASM: "Back to the Basics: Hypertrophy"
