Yeah, you heard me right - a tight end - rear-end, that is. Look, we all admire, dare I say envy, those celebrities, models and athletes that look like a sculptor chiseled their backsides. And, believe me, they hire trainers and coaches to get them into peak condition. And they follow healthy nutrition plan on top of that.

But with exercise alone in mind, let me offer you something that will help you chisel your own butt: may I present to you “The Squat?” This is perfect to help you develop good form in your daily life, as when you stoop to pick up little kids or some kind of weight (think heavy laundry basket, power tool, box of toys, etc.). This exercise is within every good trainer’s arsenal to help sculpt the rear-end and build tremendous foundational strength.

It’s at least one exercise that these well-defined (ahem) celebrities use to achieve strong, firm posteriors. For a more detailed understanding of why this exercise is so necessary and effective, allow me to tell you that we all squat in our daily life. Whether it’s getting out of a chair, stepping upstairs or getting out of bed, the squat is definitely a functional exercise. It’s essential to build on this or else you will grow weaker with age and, if you’re not weight training, you will lose muscle (about half pound to a pound yearly starting in your thirties).

Why else do you think the mature population becomes decrepit? Is it just because they are old? Not at all, I guarantee that if they kept up with resistance training in their younger days and today, they’d live a much better quality of life. Why is the squat effective, because it forces the muscles of the posterior and thighs (both front and back thighs) to exert themselves during the movement.

Have knee trouble? Then this is all the more reason to implement the squat into your exercise regimen. Just bend down low enough to wear it’s comfortable (no sharp pains!) and slowly rise up as you contract your rear-end and exhale. Soon you’ll notice that you’ll crank out more of these and your thighs will be more defined because of them!

If you’d like to understand the technique, then follow along with me and I’ll guide you through proper form.

1. As with any weight-bearing or resistance exercise, it’s always advisable to do a warm-up to help limber your muscles and get the blood flowing to them and the joints. So, for example, marching in place for a minute or so will help you to that end (bring your knees high and make sure the foot you have on the floor is flat on it with the heel and ball of the foot touching the floor). You should feel a bit warmer after your march.
2. Now, an excellent place to start the squat, especially if you’re not familiar with it or have weak muscles around the hips, thighs and knees, is to stand against the wall. Place your feet out at an angle in front of your body and make sure they are about shoulder width apart. That way, as you lower down, your feet will align themselves directly under your knees. Raise your insteps off the floor slightly (those are the arches of your feet). You can place your hands on your hips or against the wall with your palms facing forward (see picture A).
3. The next step is to inhale and lower toward the floor while keeping your back (and arms if they’re out) against the wall. Your knees ought to bend forward a tad and be directly over your feet. If your knees are extending past the toes, then either don’t go down as low or step your feet out a little further.
4. Here’s the tough part, exhale as you begin to ascend while pushing through the entire foot (do not let the heels raise off the floor or else you’ll fatigue your calves and not your derriere).

Picture A: Begin with back against the wall. Put your hand behind your low back, and, if your whole hand/forearm goes behind the arch easily, then tilt your hips until only the fingers fit behind yo

So how many do you do and how often, you ask? Ideally, shoot for 8-12 repetitions about three times. Rest after each set of 8-12. You can stretch or perform an upper body exercise, let’s say.

If you need lots of help with your hind quarters, then make sure to do this every other day. Don’t do this every day because your body does need a rest to rebuild those muscles.

Now, you might notice the term “weight training” or “resistance exercise. “ I mean resistance of any sort, and that could encompass using your body weight (hence the wall squat), dumbbells, kettle bells, resistance tubes, etc. Weight machines also fall into this category, but I don’t advocate exclusive use of machines. We’ll leave that to a different article down the road. And, if you’re not currently exercising and don’t know where to start (and you live in the Cleveland area), then you are welcome any time to attend one of my Fitcamp classes free of charge to see if it’s a good fit for you. But you have to let me know in advance. Otherwise, check back here for more tips that you can use to build a strong fit body.

Good luck building those buns of steel!

Liz Donnelly is a proud member of National Association of Professional Women, International Youth Fitness Association, Lakewood Early Childhood PTA and Junior Women’s Club of Lakewood and mother of three. She is the Owner, Fitness Trainer and IYCA-certified Youth Fitness Specialist for Training by Liz, LLC. She also runs a blog on family fitness at www.FamilyFitnessGuru.com. For comment or to request speaking engagements contact info@familyfitnessguru.com.

Copyright 2009 by Training By Liz, LLC.  This article is not to be reprinted in any format without the express permission of Liz Donnelly or Training By Liz, LLC.