Take a glance at some of your favorite women in entertainment and you’ll realize that this is the year of the butt. Yep, you read that right. Divas like Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian and the Queen Bey have girls (and of course guys) bowing down to their toned, ehem, assets.
Ladies it’s time to flaunt your curves and make them better than ever! Her Campus met up with Miami sophomore and fitness instructor Nikki Heffron to learn her top five moves for getting your booty into shape. If you don’t have a glitter leotard, get out your yoga pants because it’s time for you to werk it.
1. Jump SquatEveryone knows how to do a basic squat, but make it more intense by adding a jump. Sit your glutes back as if you were sitting in a chair and make sure your knees don’t go over your toes. Then, explode from your squat, extending your arms above your head. Make sure to keep your shoulders pulled down and back, and keep your abs tight by pulling your belly button back into your spine.
2. Lunge With A Leg LiftStep forward into a basic lunge. Make sure both legs are at a 90 degree angle in front and back. Your back heel should be off the ground. Then, straighten out your front leg while lifting your back leg until your body is horizontal to the ground. Your body should make a straight line from your shoulders to your lifted foot.
“Keep a neutral neck. You should be looking at the ground in the horizontal position,” Nikki says. Stay on one leg for the first set and remember to switch to the other side for the next.
3. Bridge MarchLay on your back with both feet on the ground and knees bent. Raise your hips to the ceiling to do a bridge and then raise one leg up, keeping it at a 90 degree angle. Alternate legs.
Nikki says, “Make sure your shoulders are down and away from your ears. When your hips are raised to the ceiling you should have a straight line from shoulders to your knees.”
4. Plank Leg LiftGet into a plank position on your forearms with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Make sure your back is flat and your tush is in line with your torso. Tighten your abs and glutes as you raise one straight leg to the ceiling at a time.
5. Grasshopper LiftsThis move feels a little weird (kind of like its name), but get ready for a bangin’ bum. Lay on your stomach with your legs extended and forearms stacked. Rest your forehead on top of your arms. Form a diamond with your legs keeping your thighs on the ground and heels together in the air. Contract your glutes to raise your thighs off the ground.
For a quick Tabata-inspired 12-minute workout, do each move for 40 seconds as fast as you can to complete a set. In between sets, give yourself 20 seconds to rest. After finishing all five moves, rest for one minute and repeat.
Not intense enough for you? Repeat this set of moves four times to get in a good 24-minute “rock hard booty” workout, Nikki says. Make sure to do each move properly, even at a fast pace to avoid injuries.
You can check out more of Nikki’s moves in her Tabata Boot Camp, Total Body Tone and Shock Wave classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays at the Miami rec center.
Now shake your new bootylicious booty, babe.
Photos by Ellie Conley.