Butt Shaping Exercises You Can Do at Home

There's a reason why most women don't wear thong bikini bottoms. I'm not sure I know one woman who loves the shape of her bottom...OK, maybe one. But the majority of the bathing suit wearing population strives for a more toned and shapely derriere. So I asked our resident trainer, Leslie McNabb, for some easy butt shaping exercises that can be done in the privacy of one's living room.

The first exercise, shown above, will target your gluteal and hamstring muscles:

Bridge

• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Tighten your abdominal muscles and squeeze your gluteal muscles (the muscles in your rear end). As you squeeze, lift your bottom off the floor without raising your shoulder blades.
• To work the gluteal muscles (or glutes) and not your lower back, lift your hips only as far as you can without losing the glute squeeze.
• Lift and lower the hips from the floor 20 times.
• For an extra challenge to your inside thighs, squeeze a ball or pillow between the knees while performing the exercise.

Click here for more exercises (including the power "glute squeeze").