Myth Buster: Do Butt Blasting Moves Make You Too Muscular?

Brazilian bikinis, hot pants, spandex shorts....summer is the perfect time to show off a beautiful behind.

Butt one fear I know many women share, is the worry that booty buffing exercises will also give you monstrous muscly thighs.

A friend of mine is constantly questioning this notion so I agreed to get to the bottom of it. I asked celebrity trainer Patrick Murphy whether exercises like squats and lunges, which are great for the gluteus maximus, will make your legs look bulkier.


Murphy informed me that that is impossible.

"Never blame your bulky look on your workouts," Murphy tells me. "The only way someone gets larger and ends up with the bulky look is by not having control of daily nutrition. If muscle is at a max, and then fat (which has no limit) is also added, this will result in an unwanted bulky look."

And not only will muscles not make your legs look large, they will actually help your body burn more fat and prevent cellulite from creeping up on your curves.

"Muscle is a fat burning tissue," Murphy says. "I always tell my clients that the more muscle they have on their legs, the less cellulite they will have."

Although there is no magic meal you can eat to reduce cellulite, Murphy says avoiding foods that cause body fat, like fast absorbing carbohydrates, will help too.

So now that you know that squats won't give you body builder stems, what are the best derriere drills to pump not plump?

Murphy recommends "power moves."

"Take the squats and lunges and combine them to make power moves," says Murphy. "For example, perform jump squats and alternating jump lunges in one place. Perform alternating step-ups on a bench, then follow with alternating jump step ups."

One power move Murphy loves is the "ice-skater."

"Put a rubber band around your ankles and perform side steps," says Murphy. "The "power" move example of this would be ice skaters: side to side lateral jumps, landing on one foot."


How to Do Ice Skaters

But the real key to revamping your rump says Murphy, is variety.

"It's not so much specific exercises or routines, as it is the variety in the program that gets you the perfect butt," Murphy tells me. "Changing your workouts means you will avoid plateaus, which means your body will change. In resistance training, this means implementing circuit training, supersets, balance training, agility training, strength training and so much more. Varying your rest periods between sets will also shock your body into changing."

If you get started now, you could have a banging butt by Labor Day! But if you find yourself falling a little flat before a big beach day, Murphy has one more tip for a last minute tone.

He says busting out a few butt drills before sporting a bikini will actually give you short but noticeable definition.

"You will definitely get a temporary lift, because of the extra blood flow and stimulus to the area," says Murphy. "But the lift will only last for about 1/2 an hour at the most, unless you plan on doing walking lunges down the beach for the rest of the day!"

Let the G-T-L begin!