10-Minute Ab and Butt Workout

Whether you’re male or female, young or not-so-young, it seems everyone wants a flatter belly and a higher, tighter butt. All you have to do is look at the latest cover of your favorite fitness magazine (which by the way are totally touched up!!) and you’ll see: flat abs and toned glutes are pretty much always “in fashion.” While of course it’s nice to be able to zip up a pair of jeans and feel confident in your body, belly and butt exercises benefit so much more than just your appearance. So if you’re ready for an awesome 10-minute ab workout and butt workout, read on!

Strong abs keep your back healthy while protecting your entire mid-section and promoting better posture! In the meantime, toned glutes not only look more lifted, but as the largest muscle group in your body, strengthening your glutes helps with total-body strength and stability. So what’s the best way to fine-tune those butts and guts? Let’s take a look.

Tips To Make The Most Of Your Ab Workout

Before you get to work with our 10-minute ab workout, here are four things you should be doing to help these tummy-toning moves work their best!

1. Target Your Transverse Abdominus

If you want to tone your tummy, you have to do more than just the occasional sit-up. You have to learn how to work on your transverse abdominus. This is the small muscle located in the lower abs that stabilizes your core and pulls your tummy in tight; it almost acts as a “girdle” that goes around your waist. When it’s toned, your low abs have a flat, lean appearance. The exercises we provide in the 10-minute ab workout below will target the transverse abdominus while also working your obliques and other core muscles needed for success.

2. Check Your Diet

If you want to tone up your tummy, you need to be sure to eat good, clean, whole foods. Stick to things that come from the earth (i.e. fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds), good animal and plant protein, healthy fats such olive oil or coconut oil and stay away from packaged foods that contain lots of preservatives and fillers. Also, lower your sugar intake and keep in mind artificial sweeteners cause belly bloat.

3. Get That Cardio In!

You can’t spot-reduce body fat; if you want to lose weight, you need to lose weight all over. (Spot-toning of certain muscles is possible, as we’ll outline with the core-targeted exercises below. But you can’t see a toned six-pack if it’s buried underneath a layer of fat!) The best way to slim down is by mixing both strength training and cardiovascular exercise that will burn some of that belly fat. Aim for 30 minutes of cardio, 5 days per week.

4. Stay Hydrated

Finally, drink lots and lots of water. Hydration makes a big difference in your hunger signals, your energy, your appearance and your overall health. Plus, contrary to popular belief, staying hydrated won’t make you bloated; it actually helps flush toxins from your body and keep you trim!

Related: One Week Hydration Challenge

Tips To Make The Most Of Your Butt Workout

Perhaps the number one thing standing in the way of a nice,well-rounded (pun intended) butt is the way you are training. The type of exercise you choose and the form you use when performing it will make all the difference in your results. Here are some ideas for an awesome butt workout.

1. Don’t Skimp On Strength Training

Strength train! The only way to achieve a great butt is to strengthen your glutes. Choose moves that allow you to focus on engaging your glutes; proper squats and lunges are always good choices. Once you master the basics, there are a variety of lunges or squats you can perform to mix things up, keep them interesting and assure you are training all the different muscles in your lower body.

2. Practice Good Form

You can do hundreds of squats and lunges a week, but they won’t make a difference if your form is bad. For instance, to get results from your squat you need sit back, drop your rear end to at least the level of your knees, and push upwards through your heels as you return to starting position. This kind of form will better target your glutes and give you excellent results. On the other hand, doing a squat that only goes down a few inches or one that pushes your knees forward instead of sitting back, will use more leg muscles instead of a butt workout.

3. Choose Glute-Enhancing Cardio

Finally, in addition to incorporating good lower-body strength moves, choose a cardio exercise that not only gets your heart rate up, but helps to strengthen your rear end as well. Things like the stair climber, walking uphill or at an incline, or going backward motion on the elliptical are good choices. This will help you not only get your cardio time checked off but also add the bonus of a better butt along the way.

10-Minute Ab and Butt Workout

Let’s get to it! No equipment needed for this quick and effective 10-minute ab workout and butt workout! This bodyweight workout combines core exercises and lower body exercises to target your entire core (obliques and transverse abdominals), legs, glutes and hamstrings!

Here’s What To Expect:

This workout will take you back and forth between the two areas: first an ab exercise, then a butt exercise, and so on.

There are 10 moves total, adding up to a simple 10-minute ab workout and butt workout.

Do 10-15 reps per move (except the Pilates 100 which you only do once for a count of 100!)

Try this workout 2-3 times a week in addition to your cardio exercise and, when you’re ready for more, we have a longer workout called Butts and Guts found in our Rock Your Body Bootcamp on GetHealthyU TV!

V-Ups

Here’s how to do V-Ups.

1. Lie on your back and extend your arms behind your head. Keep your feet together and toes pointed.
2. Keep your legs straight and lift them up as you simultaneously raise your upper body off the floor. Keep your core tight as you reach for your toes with your hands. Slowly lower yourself back down to the starting position.

Plié Squats

Here’s how to do Plié Squats. 

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder distance apart and toes turned out into a 45-degree angle.
2. Bend knees and lower your torso, keeping your back straight and abs tight.
3. Squeeze your glutes and come to a standing position.

Pilates 100

Here’s how to do Pilates 100.

1. Start lying on your back. Bring both knees into the chest to form a tabletop position. Bring your head, neck, and shoulder off the mat. Arms are long at the sides. Extend legs long and lower as far as possible while keeping the abs engaged and back connected to the mat in a slight imprint. (can modify by bending knees or bringing feet to mat with bent knees)
2. Pump the arms up and down in a quick, controlled manner while taking five short breaths in and five short breaths out (like sniffing in and puffing out). Be sure to keep your shoulders and neck relaxed and focus on your abdominal muscles doing all the work.

Kick Through Lunges

Here’s how to do kick through lunges.

1. Stand tall with your feet hip distance apart. Take a large step backward with the right foot and lower your body toward the floor. Both legs should be bent at a 90-degree angle at the bottom of the lunge.
2. Straighten your left leg and kick your right foot forward to hip height or higher if possible. Repeat for desired number of reps then switch legs.

Oblique Crunches

Here’s how to do oblique crunches. 

1. Begin by lying on your side, forearm down, knees slightly bent.
2. Roll slightly back onto your glute, like your sitting on the back pocket of your blue jeans and lift legs a few inches off the mat. Bring top hand behind the head so elbow is also bent.
3. Lift legs up bringing your knees to your elbow while at the same time crunching your elbow toward your knee. Squeeze your waistline with each lift. Perform desired number of reps and switch sides.

Booty Pop 

Here’s how to do a booty pop.

1. Begin in a low squat with knees and toes pointed outward, hands on the floor in front of you and chest lifted so torso is tall.
2. Straighten the legs to raise your hips up keeping your hands on the floor and relaxing head down.  Return to start and repeat.

Sweeping Scissors

Here’s how to do sweeping scissors. 

1. Start lying on the mat with arms over your head and legs long.
2. Sweep arms out to sides and bring head, neck, and shoulders off the mat reaching arms long and lift one leg up and in towards the chest.  Reaching arms forward on the sides of the leg. Roll back to mat lowering the leg, and repeat on the other side.

Cross-Behind Lunges

Here’s how to do cross-behind lunges. 

1. Begin standing with your feet hip distance apart.
2. Transfer your body weight onto your left leg and cross your right foot behind your left leg keeping your hips facing forward as you bend both knees and lower yourself toward the floor in a lunge. Keep your back straight and chest lifted to keep your weight in the front leg. Step back to start position and repeat on the other side.

Side Plank Scoop

Here’s how to do a side plank scoop. 

1. Begin in a full side plank position with right hand below shoulder, left arm reaching high above left shoulder and legs long. (Modify by placing bottom knee onto mat if needed)
2. Tighten abdominals and slowly scoop left arm under the body, following with your eyes until you see behind you.
3. Slowly reach left hand back to start position.
4. Repeat for desired number of repetitions and switch sides.

Single-Leg Hamstring Bridge

Here’s how to do a single leg hamstring bridge. 

1. Lie on back with bent knees hip distance apart, and feet flat on mat stacked under the knees. Extend one leg long towards the ceiling.
2. Squeeze glutes and lift hips off the mat into a bridge. Lower and lift the hips for desired number of reps then repeat on other side.

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