Among all major muscle groups, our legs do the most amount of work by default because each time we decide to walk around or even stand, they are carrying the entire weight of our body. However, that also makes it harder to tone them as they are much more resilient to physical strain than any other muscle group. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t do it though, it’s just that you will have to push a bit harder. If you had always wanted a strong, toned set of legs and firm round buttocks, check out these three exercises that will help you get there.

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Squats

Let’s start this list off with the oldest and still one of the most effective lower body exercises that was ever invented, the squat. The idea is to start with free squats to get your form right and once you have mastered the form, you are supposed to add weights to your sets in small increments. The basic squat requires you to stand with your feet at a natural shoulder length, back straight and your abs tight. Now lower yourself into a sitting position while making sure that your knee is always behind your toes. Stand back up and repeat at least 10-15 times per set. There are conflicting views out there, but scientifically speaking, you should not go down too much past the point where your thigh breaks the 90-degree angle with your knees, especially when you have heavy weights on your back.

Hamstring Curls

While squats are great for the entire leg, they are not as effective for the posterior muscles of the lower body as they are for the anterior muscles. The hamstring curl is the perfect exercise to fill in that gap as it primarily targets glutes, hamstrings and the buttocks. While there’s a machine at the gym to help you do the reverse curls, we will be teaching you a version today that you can do pretty much anywhere. Get down on all fours, tighten your abs, straighten your back and lift any one leg until it’s in line with your spine. Bend that leg at the knees and bring your heels towards your buttock. Now straighten your leg again and repeat at least 10-15 times to complete a set, before moving on to the other leg.

Calf Raise

Now that we have targeted the major muscles of the lower body, it’s time to move on to the calves. Find a slightly elevated platform like the edge of a step or preferably a box. Stand with your feet apart at a comfortable shoulder length on top of the box/step with half your feet dangling in air. Keep your spine straight and simply lift your heels as high as you can before lowering it down to as low as you can. Repeat 15 – 20 times to complete a set. You can change the position of your feet (toes pointing inward, straight and outward) to target the calves from all three angles for maximum result.

While these three are extremely effective for beginners and intermediates looking to get their legs and buttocks toned, check out https://www.tonebodyfit.com/exercise/bigger-butt for a plan that’s dedicated to building a bigger set of toned buttocks. A beautiful body is all about symmetry and unless you are working hard on your lower body, it’s easy to get lost in the upper body workouts and lose that necessary symmetry.