Toning your bum

Sexy cheeks like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez are the envy of men and drive men wild, so don't get hung up if you have a curvy derrière. Here's how to get your behind in good shape.

A bit of anatomy
Aside from our fat reserves, there are three different gluteal muscles in our buttocks:
-The gluteus maximus is the biggest and the uppermost of the gluteal muscles, and takes up most of them. A nicely toned gluteus equals a nice firm bum!
-The gluteus medius sits on the outer surface of the pelvis. It's a thick, short, fan-shaped muscle mainly used for sideways lifts and hip rotation. A toned gluteus medius outlines the top of the buttocks and adds shape.
-The gluteus minimus is a much smaller, deeper-lying muscle. Like the medius, it aids hip rotation. A toned gluteus minimus prevents fat from gathering where your thigh and pelvis join, where women tend to stock a lot of fat.

Three easy exercises
5 minutes a day is enough, as long as you keep these up!
- On the floor
Sitting with your legs stretched out in front of you and your back straight, roll from one buttock to the other, using your arms to balance yourself. Repeat 30 times.
Variation: still sitting down, but with a rounded back and your feet together, roll from one buttock to the other, using your knees to restrict your movement. Repeat 25 times.
- Against a table or wall
-Standing up straight, stretch one leg out to one side (the leg furthest from your table or wall, so that you keep your balance), keeping your hips straight. Lower yourself until your foot almost touches the floor and repeat 20 times on each side.
Variation: keeping your leg at a 90° angle with your toes pointed, make little circular movements 10 times on each side.
- In water
In the pool, in a sitting position with a band or board under each arm and bent legs, open your knees by pushing outwards, then bring them together in front of you. Repeat 30 times.
Variation: do the same exercise with your legs straight out in front of you (at a right angle to your trunk). Repeat 30 times.

Daily habits
We don't actually use our gluteals much day to day, but it's easy to get them working without too much effort:
- Walk. Get about on foot as much as much as you can. Use your buttocks, push off from your legs and lengthen your stride.
- Take the stairs. There's nothing better than a bit of climbing for toning your bum! Go up two by two, one slow and one fast, pushing off your legs well.
- Clench your buttocks when you're cooking, on the bus, queueing at the post office, in the shower and as often as possible, holding yourself upright, breathing deeply and holding the position.
 
Good sports for your gluteals
- Running. Not only does it burn fat: running is also fab for toning the buttocks. There's no point in going too fast: you're better off having a longer run (at least 30-45 minutes), regularly.
- Hill walking. Going up and down inclines works your buttocks constantly in different ways.
- Aquaerobics. Great for toning, building muscle mass and eliminating toxins.
- Swimming gives all the gluteals a good work-out and builds muscle mass (any stroke). Swimming with flippers is even better. 
- Dancing. Any type of dancing (salsa, rock, African and all the rest) are excellent. Whenever you use your legs in dancing, you also use your buttocks.
-Outdoor, winter and extreme sports (skiing, boarding, windsurfing, roller blading, skating) all involve lots of pushing movements which require flexion and extension of the leg - perfect for buttock toning.
- Aerobics and elliptic training. Just like climbing stairs, but set to music with an instructor (which is far less boring!). Cross trainers and step machines do the same job.