No-Squat Butt Workout – No Lunges or Squats Required

Are you there yet? Are you at the point where one more squat or lunge during a butt workout might just have you pulling your hair out? We’ve got a no squat butt workout that will get your booty in shape – no lunges required.

You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again: the best way to tone your backside are those two nasty words, squat, and lunge. Every fitness expert around seems to agree on that one fact.

Therefore, the squat—and its fraternal twin, the lunge—tend to show up in nearly every workout you come across. So you’re doing them.

You’ve done every version of them: on balls, with bands, holding weights, over Bosus, and even in walking patterns.

You’ve done so many of them, you can’t do them anymore. There’s got to be another way! Or at least other choices to fill in when the “S” and “L” words are driving you bonkers.

Do Squats and Lunges Really Work?

First and foremost, let’s get this on the table: there’s a reason squats and lunges have become the go-to moves for trainers and fitness specialists—they work! 

They work your entire lower body, including the glutes, quads, hamstrings, hips, and thighs. In addition, they are functional in nature.

Don’t throw them out! However, something else we know about fitness is that mixing up your workouts is good. The American Council on Exercise states two good reasons for mixing up your workouts:

• To prevent workout boredom
• To keep you from hitting a plateau

In other words, your body ceases to change if you do the same thing over and over. In addition, some people are unable to do squats and/or lunges due to injury, arthritis or post-surgery recovery. So let’s add something new to the mix!

Let’s pull out a different tool, the resistance band, and see (and feel!) just what it can do for your backside.

How A Resistance Band Helps Tone Your Lower Body

The resistance band is one of the most effective and yet underutilized tools around. This inexpensive, light and portable device packs a punch for your workouts, forcing you to use different muscle groups and perform different ranges of motion than you’re body is used to. We have incorporated the band into the exercises below.

Choose your resistance from the thicker, more challenging bands to the thinner and less intense ones. The following moves are designed to tighten up your booty sans any form of a squat or lunge. So relax, be guilt-free; you’re not alone. Many others will read the title of this workout and be joining in right along with you.

No Squat, No Lunge Better Booty Workout

This workout requires a resistance band. For each of the following exercises, perform 12 reps. Once you have gone through the entire routine, start at the top and go again. Three times through will provide optimal results—but two will give you the tightness you are looking for if you add this to your workout routine two to three times a week.

When you finish the entire sequence, begin at the top and repeat a second and maybe even third time! Don’t forget to stretch out those glutes afterwards—they just might be feeling it tomorrow! Watch the video below or see the full descriptions beneath it if these moves are new to you.

Resistance Band Tick Tock

1) Stand on band with feet shoulder width apart and hold handles next to hip bones.

2) Keep legs long as you press right leg out to the side, then set right foot down and press left leg out to the side. That is a total of one repetition.

3) As you alternate pressing legs side to side be sure to keep your abs tight so your body stays tall and doesn’t “tip” over to the side.

 Glute Bridge

A) Lie on back with bent knees hip distance apart, and feet flat on mat stacked under the knees.

B) Engage the core and squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips to a bridge. Hold that squeeze for a few seconds and return to mat with control.

Perform 12 repetitions.

Related: 3 Exercises to Tone Your Inner Thighs

Resistance Band Alternating Glute Squeeze

1) Hold handles next to hips with elbows bent and place both feet on the band hip width apart.

2) Lift right foot and press the band back at an angle squeezing your glute. Keep leg straight. Release and switch sides. This is one repetition.

Perform 12 repetitions on each leg (24 total presses).

Resistance Band Butt Blasters

1) Kneel on floor and wrap band under right foot, and place hands down under shoulders holding handles against the floor.

2) Lift right knee off the floor slightly and push right foot back to extend leg straight against the band, squeezing your glute.

3) Release slowly bringing knee back in to a bent position.

Repeat for 12 repetitions, then switch to left leg for 12 repetitions.

Single Leg Bridge Lift

A) 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.

B) Squeeze glutes and lift hips off the mat into a bridge. Hold a few seconds as you squeeze your glute.

C) Slowly lower to start position. Repeat for 12 repetitions and switch legs.

Perform 12 repetitions per leg.

Resistance Band Outer Thigh Press

1) Lay on your back with legs straight in the air above hips.

2) Place the center of the band around the bottom of your feet and hold handles together at your chest.

3) Press the feet wide open until legs are in a straddle position and band is tight. Release slowly.

READ THIS NEXT: How to Build a Better Butt