Ultimate Women's Lifting Fitness Guide

Looking for some great butt exercises? When it comes to working the tush if you've been running or stair stepping it's time to stop. These are great form of cardio but if your trying to build some new muscle it's not going to help much... in fact cardio can actually break down your muscle.

And you want a rounded, tight tush not a flatty patty bottom!

Here are my favorite butt fitness exercises to help you get amazing results. One thing I want to add before I go on is if you really want to see results make sure you are not working the same muscle groups on back to back days... they need rest to repair and tighten up after a strong workout. So keep it at 48 hrs before doing the butt again!

Your Guide To Butt Fitness

1. Lunge walks: These are great because they are suitable for beginners and easy to make more advanced. Do lunge walks with no weight and with arms on hip (or make it harder by holding arms up to the sky). If that's too easy grab some dumbbells and either hold them by your sides as you lunge forward or do a compound move where you do bicep curls at the same time as you do your lunges.

2. Superman Swims. Get in the traditional superman hold but then while holding legs and arms off the ground move them apart and together as if you're swimming. If you need more of a challenge go with a weighted back extension.

3. Deadlift. No this isn't a bodybuilder move, it's one of the best butt and hamstring exercises around! Make sure the move is coming from your butt and legs and not all your back.

4, Box jumps. This is a great heart pounding move and muscle toner. Choose a height that is challenging but not high enough where you can't make it. Stand in front of your box, squat down and jump up on to the top. This is a plyometric move and a killer way to end your workout!

These butt toning exercises are handsdown awesome! Adding a few of them to your total body workouts will lift and tighten your rear and give you a butt you're proud to show off in a great pair of jeans.

Up next... It's all about toning up those arms!

Have you ever gone to wave to someone and realized that long after you were done your arm was still jiggling in the wind in the wake of the wave? Or maybe you're have no arms at all but more like snow-woman stick arms. But don't worry the exercises I am going to share can have your arms looking better than Jessica Biel's.

Working the arms are more than just doing bicep curls... after all you have biceps, triceps, shoulders and the chest which all affect the overall outcome of the arms. That's why I am giving you the total arm fitness workout. So you leave no rock unturned!

1. Push-ups: I can't deny them, they've been around for thousands of years so they must be doing something! Push-ups are amazing for the body... they tone your entire arm, hit your chest, back, core and even butt. Plus they can be pretty intense and a great move for burning fat. In fact, right now I am doing 100 push-ups during my workouts!

2. Dips: If you have a dip bar (most gyms do) then this is an amazing exercise for the triceps (the back of the arms) and for the shoulders. If you don't have a dip bar then you can do them off the side of a bench or chair. Just make sure to not go below parallel because then you may be adding too much stress to the shoulder joint.

3. Curl to press: A favorite of mine. Grab a barbell or a couple of dumbbells and hold the weight with down in front of you with palms facing down. This is a reverse bicep curl position. Curl the weight up and then push it up to the sky over your head. These moves combine make it a more compound move targeting big muscle and giving big calorie burn.

4. Bench press: Not just for the boys. This is a great move that can be changed around to fit any skill level. And with the different varieties you can continue to get results and you're body won't adapt. You have close grip bench for a more tricpe targeted move, you have decline, incline, and level bench and more! Try one variety out the next time you are hitting the weights.

Having a fit core is more than just having a flat stomach. Most people by the age of 25 experience back pain of some sort because of bad posture and bad core strength. The cole with core fitness isn't just giving great exercises that tone your abs but great moves that make your entire core healthier and stronger.

Remember the core is more than abs... it incorporates your entire trunk... the back, sides, you get the picture.

1. Plank hold. Hold for 15-20 sec. If you're more advanced go for 30-60 second holds. And if you really want a challenge move your hands... put them further out past your head or put your feet up on a stability ball.

2. Pulse ups. Lay on your back with feet straight up to the sky. Slowly lift your shoulders and upper body off the ground in an effort to touch your toes. Lower down and repeat.

3. Wipers. Get in the same position as above and slowly lower your legs towards the right side (don't let them hit ground) come up to start and go towards the left. Repeat!

4. Stability Ball Crunches: This has always been one of my favorite moves. It's great range of motion gives a core workout to the abs and back and it's a great way to use the stability ball that is collecting dust.

If you want to lose fat and tone your physique then the research shows that full body workouts are the way to go! They incorporate big muscle exercises for optimal efficiency for toning and calorie burning. Thing of it this way, a bicep curl is a little move with little fat burning potential but that big curl to press move is much bigger and uses more muscles which makes it a better fat burner.

Here's a great fat burning workout to help you get results.

You're going to do these exercises as a quad-set… that's four moves back to back before resting. Do a set of 1a, then a set of 1b and on and on. But the kicker is instead of resting you're going to try and add an active rest!

For 45 seconds in between the sets you will jump rope or jog or whatever you prefer! But no sitting down. Other ideas are jumping jacks, tuck jumps, skipping... etc.

Do each quad-set for 2-3 sets aiming for 10-12 reps.

• 1a. Walking lunges
• 1b. Push-ups
• 1c. Leg press
• 1d. Inverted Rows

-Jump Rope. Run, etc-

• 2a. Seated military Press
• 2b. Leg curls
• 2c. Burpees
• 2d. Med Ball chops

-Jump Rope, Run, etc-