How Long Does it Take to Get a Toned Butt?

Tip

If you're consistent with your workouts, you can start to see results in about 4 to 6 weeks. However, modest muscle growth requires about 6 to 8 weeks of consistent work, and in 6 months to a year, you can change the musculature and body composition of your butt.

Toned Butt vs. Bigger Butt

"A lot of people think, 'If I work on my butt, my butt's going to get bigger,'" says Holly Perkins, BS, CSCS, creator of The Glutes Project. But, as she explains, that's not always the case. There are two ways to improve your backside and the method you choose depends on your goal.

How Long Will It Take?

This is the million-dollar question. According to Perkins, it depends on frequency (how often you're working out) and intensity (how hard you're working out). "In my experience, clients see the best results with heavier weights and lower reps."

The type of exercises you do matter, too (more on that below). "A squat is very different from a fire hydrant," Perkins says. Plus, you need to stay consistent.

The Best Exercises for a Toned Butt

The most effective workout for building your glutes involves a strength- training program that involves progressive overload — "Progressive overload is everything!" Perkins says. That means, when a weight is easy to lift or you've maxed out your reps, you need to increase the weight.

You simply can't get a nice, rounded, pretty and toned butt without resistance training of some sort. According to Len Kravitz, PhD, of the University of New Mexico, muscle mass is four times more metabolically active than fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn even when you're lying on the couch.

To maximize muscle gain, you have to do exercises for more than just your butt. Whether you do full-body workouts, or upper/lower body splits, or another type of split routine, be sure to train all your major muscle groups — arms, shoulders, chest, back, abs and legs — two times per week.

However, if your butt is your main focus, you can weight (pun intended) your workouts to focus on the glutes. For example, you might have an extra leg day each week, or you might include more exercises for your legs than your upper body.

Compound Glute Exercises

For your glutes and the rest of your body, compound exercises are most effective and efficient. Unlike isolation exercises, compound exercises use more than one muscle group at a time. Because of their intensity, they burn more calories while you're doing them. Try including these exercises to make your bum bigger and rounder in your routine:

Move 7: Step-Up

You also need to be sure to include adequate rest in your routine because that's when your muscles repair and grow stronger and bigger. Take at least one full day off each week, and don't work the same muscle group on consecutive days.

Sets, Reps and Weight

To really make progress, you want to be sure that you're pushing yourself. In the beginning, it's fine to start out with lighter weights — or no weights at all — until you learn proper form and muscle memory.

For a toned butt, do more reps (15 or more) of each exercise at a lighter weight. For a bigger butt, aim for 8 to 12 reps, using a weight that's light enough that your form doesn't break, but heavy enough that you feel very challenged by the last rep of each set.

Once you're feeling confident and strong, it's time to increase the weight and add more complex exercises. To continue getting results after the first month of your program, you must progressively load your workout. If you've currently been using 10-pound weights to do biceps curls, go up to 12.5 or 15 pounds. Continue to add weight as you get stronger.

You can also reduce the number of reps you do, especially when you're working your glutes. Do 6 to 10 reps with a heavier weight — this will increase strength and build the butt muscles so your rear end looks firm and toned.

Should You Do Cardio if You're Trying to Tone Your Butt?

Not only is cardio good for your heart, it's an effective way to burn extra calories and tap into your body's fat stores. You can do any type of cardio you like, as long as you do it regularly and at the right intensity. How much cardio you need to do depends on your goals and how easily you build muscle.

If it's really hard for you to gain muscle or your main goal is building muscle, you'll want to do less cardio, Perkins says. "But don’t cut it out completely, because you need cardiovascular activity for your overall health." And if you gain muscle easily or you're going for a toned butt, you can do more cardio.

Ready to build the butt of your dreams? This 10-minute resistance band workout is as effective as it is quick — follow along with the video below and get ready to meet your glute goals!

Additional reporting by Jody Braverman, CPT, FNS, RYT

Read more on: livestrong