The six exercises below, on the other hand, are specifically designed to harness the power of walking to boost your behind. Perform one workout every day of the week, with one day of rest, to see results in 8 weeks. (Walk off 22 pounds in just 8 weeks and get an MP3 player!) Power Endurance Walk With this routine, you’ll sustain a challenging pace over an extended period of time with little to no fluctuation in speed. To identify your power walk pace (for most people, it’s 3.5 to 4.2 miles per hour), find the speed that you can sustain, just shy of transitioning to a jog. Once you’ve established your pace, take off through a safe neighborhood or park, or on a track. Walk at that pace for 60 minutes, and aim to cover 3.5 miles. Fartlek Power Walk Fartleks, a Swedish term that describes a combination of continuous training and interval training, work the heart and lungs while toning the butt. Here’s how to do it: Perform 3 minutes of your fastest power walk followed by 2 minutes of walking at a comfortable pace. Repeat that pattern for 25 minutes (5 sets). One thing to note: The high-pace intervals should be very challenging. If your fastest power walk does not make you breathe very heavily, you may want to consider either transitioning to a faster pace (jog/run) for the high-pace interval period or spending more time in that interval and less in the recovery interval. MORE: How To Start Walking When You Have 50+ Pounds To Lose Hill Repeats Find an outdoor incline steep enough that your butt will feel the burn of the hill, yet shallow enough that you will be able to trek to the top without stopping. The length of this incline should be approximately one-tenth of a mile, and you should aim to make it to the top of the hill in 1.5 to 2.5 minutes. Give yourself 1 minute to actively recover as you walk down the hill, allowing momentum to carry you. Repeat for a total of 30 minutes, which will add up to 10 to 12 hill climbs. (Stuck indoors? Try this treadmill hill workout.) For extra muscle burn, wear a weighted vest, like the Hyperwear Hyper Vest Pro, pictured. 3:1 Walk-to-Squat Ratio Find a safe neighborhood, track, park, or sidewalk and walk for 3 minutes. Then stop and perform 1 minute of body-weight squats. Drop as deep as you can into your squat without triggering pain in your knees, hips, or lower back. After a minute of squats, continue walking forward. Repeat this 3-minute walk to 1-minute squat series 10 times for a 40-minute workout. Half-Mile Walk to Step-Ups Begin your walk at a park or track with a bench, picnic table, stable rock, or bleachers that can be used for step-ups. To start, walk away from your starting point (the step) for a quarter mile, and then turn around and walk back. This will take 6 to 7.5 minutes for most walkers. Once you’re back at the step, perform 22 step-ups, alternating your lead leg each time. The step-ups will take 75 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the height of your step. Repeat the walk to step-ups 4 times. Expect this workout to take 30 to 40 minutes. MORE: 3 Best Exercises To Target Butt Cellulite Traveling Warrior III to Lunge Forward This movement pattern will challenge your strength, stability, mobility, and flexibility. Balance on one foot and tip at your hips until your torso and opposite leg, which is extended long to the back, are parallel to the ground. This will strengthen your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Next, step the back leg through to lunge forward with your knee positioned over your ankle, bending through your knees and hips. This will strengthen your glutes, quadriceps, and core. Continue moving forward in this pattern, lifting up to Warrior III from your lunge forward. You will not walk far with each step, but distance is not the goal. You will be slow, steady, and strong, sculpting your butt and thighs. Perform this pattern for 10 minutes.
