buttblaster
Hi Kimmy! Hang in there and Don't give up! You will get there!
I'm just chiming in here since Cathe is away mastering these very plans to raise our booties even higher and tighter!
We all know that there is no such thing as spot reduction and that diet plays the most important important role in maintaining or lowering our bodyfat levels! Consistency in clean eating coupled with a well designed program (aerobic activities, strength training & flexibilty) will always promote positive results. If you are doing all of these components then there are many other exercises that can help you IMPROVE this area ! The exercises that you are doing are great but you may have plateaued and overused these exercises causing an imbalance around your knees! As with any imbalance you need to strengthen the surrounding muscles before you go back to what you were doing! Work on that and while you are doing leg workouts now try to do go Beyond the basic butt workouts and give your butt a boost by thinking both isolation (glute lift) and compound (one-legged squat). "Isolation exercises work specific muscles deeply," "Compound moves use your glutes as well as your legs and abs to keep your body stable." Put them together and you've worked your muscles as completely as you can. An example of this is the One-Legged Squat)(try a peterson step up) and One-Legged Glute Lift! You can stand on your tall box holding a bar for balance for this and work each leg on top of the box with glute lifts, (add ankle weights later for resistance) then you can work the full leg front,side and back to balance everything out!
The bridge is another excellent exercise which functionally trains the glutes. By adding a resistance band such as the Band Loop to this exercise resistance to turning the hip, thigh and knees outwards will help you achieve a greater isolation of the gluteus maximus than could be otherwise be accomplished.
Starting position:
Lay on your back and place the band loop around your thighs just above your knees
Place your feet directly under your knees
If necessary tie a knot in the band to allow for more resistance The exercise:
Maintain normal respiration (avoid holding your breath!)
Squeeze your glutes tightly
Push your knees outwards against the band
Slowly lift your tailbone, then buttocks, and then lower back up in sequence
Slowly lower the bridge from the top down
Relax Repetitions:
Perform 8-10 repetitions very slowly twice a day (up to 10 seconds/repetition)
Increase to 3 sets over time
Not sure what else you have access to but if you have cables you can do cable glute kickbacks, use a glute blaster if you don't have that it can always be mimicked on the floor with a bent knee and a dumbell behind your knee. While on the floor you can focus on pelvic tilts , bridges, fire hydrants, hamstring curl, and other leg extension exercises. If you have a stability ball, more endless options , alot of great glute exercises can be done on these, here's a link to check out some moves!
http://www.mochasofa.ca/health/program/expert/02april29a.asp
HTH have fun isolating those glutes
