10 workouts for Shapely butt and thighs

Do I have a big butt?’ Or ‘do I look fat in this pair of skinny jeans?’ Have these questions been bothering you? Are you conscious of those thundering thighs and your not so perfect posterior?

Well, you are not alone. Many of us share the same woes of being bogged down with a bad-looking butt and thunder thighs.

While women tend to hide them behind over sized kurtas and long skirts, men have a grave time dealing with excess flab in these problematic areas.

So, to bring you out of that jinxed situation, we list down ten workouts, which are sure to hit bull’s eye (read your butt and thighs) and give you a shapely body. Sqauts

Squats are one of the best exercises you can do for your hips, butt and thighs.

How to do it: Take a chair and stand with feet hip-width apart and squat, keeping the back straight, abs in and knees behind your toes. Let your butt lightly touch the chair and then squeeze in the butt to stand up.

Duration: Begin with 2-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions and take it up to 10 sets of 10! After you do 10, hold in the squat position for 30 seconds, and then continue with the next set. One can use weights for added intensity. Lunges

Lunges make a challenging exercise as they work on so many muscles simultaneously. One session of lunges works on your glutes, hamstrings on the front leg and quads and calves at the back.

Something that makes lunges an interesting workout is the fact that there are many variations to it, with the drop-knee version being the most basic lunges, yet one of the harder ones to do.

How to do it: Stand with your feet about 3 feet apart. Both knees should be at 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement. Now, bend both your knees, with your back knee touching the floor. The upper body should be straight and abs in while you push through the front heel and back.
Step-ups

This is an excellent exercise for the glutes, provided you use a step that's high enough. Just make sure your knee is bent to 90 degrees or less to keep it safe.

How to do it: Stand in front of a 15-inch platform or a step. Place one foot on the step, pushing through your heel on to the step. The key to make the best out of this move is to concentrate all your weight on the stepping leg. You'll feel the intensity as you take it slow and concentrate on your working leg.

Duration: You can start with 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 16 reps and then increase the repetitions as per your requirement and strength.Hip Extensions

The hip extension exercise targets the largest muscle in the body - the gluteus maximus.

How to do it: Get down on all fours, keeping your abs tight. Now lift one leg up, with knee at an angle of 90-degree till the bottom of the foot faces the ceiling and the hip, thigh and knee are parallel to the floor. Keep your neck straight and don’t arch your back. To increase the intensity you can hold a dumbbell behind the knee or use ankle weights.Kick boxing

It's another interesting workout that can help you tone-up your thighs and butt. Controlled kicks affect your hips and thighs, while combining it with punches helps work out your abs. One can burn up to 500 calories with 45 minutes of kickboxing.

How to do it: Start with your left leg with 10 front kicks, and then go upto 10 side kicks. Follow the same set with your right leg, continuing this sequence up to ten times. Dance your way!

It’s not just work outs, aerobics and yoga also make for an ideal workout for your butts and thighs. If adding fun, excitement and variety to your fitness regiment is on your mind, better enroll yourself in one of the Latin dance forms.

The Cuban motions, the hip motions and leg twirls will surely work wonders to tone up your butt and thighs and you won’t even feel the strain. Some of the dance forms that work well on butt and thighs include:

Salsa: This involves a lot of movement in the lower part of the body. On an average, on can burn 10 calories per minute in a salsa session.

Jive: Jive is famed for its high-intensity. The full body work-out that it gives, helps you burn around 500- 600 calories an hour.

Tango: This dance form is great for women, as they are required to bend down from the hip. And these repeated dips and downs provide a strenuous exercise to their butt.

Cha-Cha: Even this dance form is notorious for its extensive and exaggerated hip movements that help you tone down your hips and lend a good exercise to the thighs.Vajrasana:

This asana not just reduces flab from the thighs and hips, but also stretches the abdominal muscles, promoting digestion and stimulating blood circulation.

How to do it: Get in the cat stretch pose. Keep equal distance between your knees and hands. This is the primary position. Inhale deeply. Slowly raise your right leg towards the back till it is parallel to your back. Now, raise your lower knee and bring it towards your head. Turn our neck towards the back. Balance the body in this pose.

Exhale and bend down your neck and right knee. Bring your right knee between the arms and attempt to touch the nose. Raise your back upwards. Hold yourself in this pose for a while. Place back your leg near the knee and straighten the neck. Similarly repeat this with your left leg and complete the cycle.
Veerbhadrasana

This asana strengthens and stretches your legs, giving good work out to the thighs, apart from improving digestion and relieving constipation.

How to do it: Stand with feet apart, arms above your head, palms together. Turn to left placing your left foot 4-5 feet in front of your right foot, toes pointed forward.

Bend the left knee as shown, bend backwards and look up. Hold for 10 - 30 seconds. Push your hips up and down for 20 times. Repeat with other leg.
Kapotasana

Targeted at toning your hips and thighs, this asana opens your chest and shoulders as well.

How to do it: Bend your right knee and swing the leg forward, bringing the right knee outside your right hand while releasing the top of your left leg to the floor.

Square the hips towards the floor. Take padding under the right side of the butt as necessary to bring the hips square. Try the following variations:

Bring the torso down into a forward bend over your right leg. Let the weight of your body rest on right leg. Continue squaring the hips and breathing into the tightness.

Make sure the top of your left foot keeps pressing down into the mat. Come back up, bringing your hands in line with your hips. Bend your left knee and reach back for left foot with your left hand. Draw the foot towards your butt, stretching the left thigh. Square shoulders to the front of the room.

Release your left foot, curl the left toes under and step back. Repeat pose on the other side.

Duration: Begin this asana with five rounds and increase gradually.Utkatasana:

Utkatasana makes the ankles strong and aids in developing the leg muscles evenly. It removes the stiffness in the shoulders and corrects minor deformities in the legs. It further tones the abdominal organs and the back.

How to do it: Stand straight with feet together. Raise arms so parallel to ground, palms down. Bend the knees and raise heels as shown. Hold for 10 - 30 seconds. Start moving your hips ups and down for 20 times. Resume starting position.

(With inputs from fitness expert Kiran Swahney, dance expert Nanda Kundu and yoga expert Usha Chengappa or Bharat Thakur Artistic Yoga)

Duration: Initially practice this asana five times and slowly increase it.

Duration: Initially practice this asana five times and slowly increase it.



Duration: One can start with 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 16 reps and then increase gradually.
Duration: One can do 1- 3 sets of 10 to 16 repetitions and increase at later stages.