The 14-minute resistance band workout that will set your buns ablaze

Welcome to Trainer of the Month Club, our fitness series, where we tap the coolest, most in-the-know fitness leaders to create a month-long fitness challenge. On Mondays, we have our “sweat drops” where you’ll get access to the week’s workout that you can follow along at home. This week, Bec Donlan’s firing up your glutes with a 14-minute butt workout. 

Butt exercises are the only moves I can do while feeling cute at the same time. Like, I’m not checking myself out in the mirror when I’m doing crunches at the gym or knocking out some chest presses. But(t) if I’m doing squats or donkey kicks, a glance over to the mirror certainly happens now and then.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I’m doing butt-sculpting exercises, I blast my fave pop star of the moment and put some groove into my moves, making sure to secure a spot right by a mirror. And that’s exactly what I’m doing with this month’s Trainer of the Month Club workout from Bec Donlan. Her week-four installment is all about the peach, and it’ll have your rear fired up by the end of the first round (there are three rounds, mind you).

The best part of it all? You don’t need much floor space. Just your resistance band and some Beyonce playing in the background.

Keep scrolling to try Bec Donlan’s glute-sculpting workout.

Do each move for 15 reps, then cycle through for a total of three rounds.

1. Side steps: Put the resistance band around your ankles and step behind your mat. Pull your stomach into your spine, keep your back super flat, and your hands in front. Then, take a nice wide step to the side, staying super low. Do a side step, come up with your feet together, and step out in the other direction.

2. Side step squats:  Start in the same position, and do a side step to the left with your knees wide and your butt nice and low. It’s like a plie squat position where you’re focusing on your inner thighs. Use your hands to propel your body back up, push up from your heels and explode up to stand tall.

3. Pop squats: Start by standing and jump out into a squat. Alternate sides of your hand coming down to the floor between your feet, and keep your knees wide when you jump down into the squat.

4. Curtsy lunges—right: With the band around your knees and your feet together, stand up nice and tall, think about pulling your stomach into your spine so your core is engaged. Take a step with your left foot behind your bent right knee and come all the way down, pointing your toe at the end. At the top of the motion you’re nice and tall but get as low as you can into the curtsy. Shake your legs out before switching to the other side.

5. Curtsy lunges—left: With your feet facing forward and hands on hips if you need to, pull your right leg behind your left. Make sure you’re breathing. When you come down, you should feel a tension in your oblique, then breathe out as you come up.

6. Plié squat pulse: With the band flat above your knees, step out into a wide squat with your knees wide, toes pointing out.  Pulse for one when you’re down, then come back up as you’re squeezing your glutes. Push through your heels and keep your butt super low. Repeat two more times, alternating between the right and left in the side step squats.

For strengthening the rest of your body, here’s Bec Donlan’s resistance band back workout, and her resistance band abs workout that’ll leave you sweating and sore.