Four Types of Squats to Tone Your Glutes
Squats are one of the best exercises to get a toned Gluteus Maximus, which is the largest muscle in your body. This exercise not only helps to strengthen your glutes, but it also works your hips, thighs, calves and even your core.
Squats should certainly be a fundamental part of any type of workout that involves the lower body. If squats hurt your knees, you might prefer the alternative forms of this exercise.
Furthermore, the key to getting firm glutes is to perform a variety of exercises and cardiovascular activities. It’s true that you may not always be able to change the form of your glutes, but you can make them firmer and stronger with the right exercises.
Four types of squats to tone your glutes
We present to you four different squat variations to tone your glutes:
1.- Squat jumps
The first type of squat exercise in this list are the squat jumps or jump squats. It’s a safe way to strengthen your legs and glutes and they also add a jump to the original squat to become an intense, total body workout.
Just as a regular squat, a squat jump is a great way to condition your muscles in the lower body and joints. Your core strength will be put to the test and the jump serves the purpose of cardio, therefore it’s an excellent option.
To perform this exercise you must start with your feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale as you slowly push your hips down and backwards, as if it were a regular squat, with the aim of keeping your thighs slightly higher than your knees.
Then exhale and jump up, with as much energy as you can. You must avoid turning your body while jumping and your hands should be on your head. Land with your legs slightly bent before controlling a soft fall in squat position.
2.- Barbell front squat
As the name suggests, the main difference between front squats and regular squats are the use of a barbell in front of your neck. This is a compound exercise that allows for muscle building and the strengthening of your lower body.
Keep in mind that squatting with a barbell adds resistance to a standard squat exercise, which allows you to train your muscles better.
To do a barbell front squat, you must hold the barbell at the level of your chest and support it with your shoulders. Then, cross your arms and put your hands on top of the barbell. Your arms must be parallel to the ground. Once you have the barbell in position, bend your knees and do a squat while you bend your hips backward.
Don’t forget that your knees and feet should point in the same direction and each foot must be shoulder-width apart. You must keep your thighs parallel to the ground. Finally, hold that position for two seconds, and then push up, with your legs and hips.
3.- Box squat
Box squat is a functional exercise that trains all the muscles you use to sit down and stand up, with the quads and glutes mostly doing all the work.
To start doing this squat, you need to find a box, chair or something that you can sit on. The shorter this is, the more work you do. A simple box of around 40cm tall will be perfect, since it will allow you to sit while placing your glutes and hamstrings parallel to the ground.
With your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward (if it’s comfortable for you), lower your body down until only your glutes rest on the box for one to two seconds. Then, squeeze your glutes and come back to the initial position, guiding yourself with your heels and hips. Focus on keeping your back straight.
4.- Single leg squat
The last of the squat variations to tone your glutes is the single leg squat. Keep in mind that standing on only one leg may increase muscular mass in the involved leg. This besides helping to improve its mobility, coordination and stability.
It certainly is an exercise that offers training balance between the limbs and requires high mobility with hip, knee and ankle stability. The more mobility you develop, the more stability and strength you’ll have to control over a wider movement range. Plus, this is a very hard exercise to do that doesn’t require any external load on the body.
To do this type of squat you must stand on one foot and extend the opposite leg out, in front of you. You may keep both arms in front of you to favor the balance during the exercise. Slowly squat as low as you can.
Furthermore, you must make sure that the knee isn’t over the toes as you’re squatting. Pause for one second while you’re low and then push backwards through your heels, squeezing the glutes as you move.
Finally, keep in mind that our list of squat exercises to tone your glutes is perfect to get a great looking lower body. And most importantly, don’t forget to do some stretching before and after each session, to avoid any type of injury.