Best booty-toning moves

Having trouble toning your butt? Achieving a perky backside is a goal for many women, but it’s not always easy to get the results you want. Make the process easier with six no-fail booty-sculpting moves to add to your workout routine.

Lying flat on your stomach, bring your hands in front of you on the floor, bending at the elbows, with one hand on top of the other to create a platform to rest your chin on. Start by engaging your core, with heels perpendicular to the sky and toes pointing downward on the mat. Raise your heel two inches off the ground, squeezing your glutes throughout the whole movement, and alternate lifting your heels — right and left —  for 10 sets. Note: The keys are remembering to engage your core and making sure to squeeze your glutes for maximum booty sculpting.

Start flat on your back with your feet slightly wider than your hips and your elbows bent at 90-degree angles on the floor for support. Your hands should be on either side of your legs to mark how far to open and close your knees. Raise your hips off the ground into a bridge pose. Use your open palms to guide your knees as you open and close them. “This exercise helps to slim the hips and raise the glutes,” says Veal. Do eight to 10 repetitions and repeat.

Heels can only do so much to lift your booty, but this powerhouse move can do a lot more to help get your glutes in shape, says Veal. Lying on your back with your feet slightly wider than your hips, come into a bridge pose. With bent knees, come up onto your toes, shortening the distance between your glutes and your feet. Raise your heels off the ground and then raise and lower your hips. Do 10 to 15 repetitions.

Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, raise your arms above your head for more resistance or keep your hands at your hips for less resistance. Lower yourself into a squat, stopping mid-movement three times. Bend slightly lower into the squat in each of the three increments. “This exercise targets quads, hamstrings and glutes,” notes Veal. Do eight to 10 squats.

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, squat down and press back up to a standing position using the strength of your legs. Then swing your right leg behind the left, coming into a tight lunge, paying close attention that both knees are bent. Reverse legs. “This exercise chisels the abs and tones all the way down to the legs,” Veal says. Do 10 repetitions on each side.

Starting in a squat position with your feet under your hips, place your hands in front of your hips, sandwiched on top of each other. Extend your right leg back into a deep reverse lunge (your right leg should be straight), then bring your leg back to the center and up to hit your stacked palms. Do eight to 10 repetitions on each side.