The Best Stretching Moves to Tone Up Your Butt

Although strength training improves muscle tone in your buttocks, stretching also tones subtly as it gradually warms up your muscles. It also better prepares your muscles for strength-training exercises. In addition, stretching prevents too much muscle tone by relaxing the muscle. Muscle tone is the amount of contraction in a resting muscle which varies between exercise and sleeping, according to NeuroSoma. Since everyone has different levels of flexibility, goals and joint health, there aren't any best stretching exercises for everyone. The best stretches to tone your buttocks would depend on which sport or activity you play and during which part of the workout you stretch.

  1. Static Stretching

    • Static stretching is lengthening a muscle to the point of slight discomfort for a duration of 20 to 30 seconds, which reduces neural stimulation to your muscles and enhances relaxation. This type of stretching helps prevent and treat acute muscle cramps that are sometimes accompanied by dehydration and overuse of muscles, according to athletic trainer Kevin Miller, Ph.D. of North Dakota State University and his colleagues. Preventing and alleviating painful cramps in your buttocks allows you to continue to train without interrupting your training schedule to maintain muscle tone and function. Do this after training because static stretching can reduce your strength by as much as 5 percent and power by 2 percent, according to the "Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports." Hip stretches where you lie on the floor can relax your body more than standing positions, such as the lying crossover stretch and supine-butterfly groin stretch. Always take slow, deep breaths as you stretch.

    Dynamic Stretching

    • Dynamic stretching is like warming up your car engine before you drive, triggering your butt muscles to repeatedly contract and relax and aids in toning. It stimulates your nervous system and muscles to move, which can involve moving your hips and legs in various planes of motion rather than holding muscle length. Although it doesn't improve your range of motion as well as static stretching, it better prepares you physically and mentally for your upcoming training, says fitness professional Anoop Balachandran of Exercise Biology. Examples of dynamic stretching include leg and hip swings and the iron cross stretch.

    Functional Stretching

    • Functional stretching is a type of dynamic stretching that is based on choosing specific movement patterns and body positions that mimic the type of activity or sport that you play. It's based on the SAID principle -- specific adaption to imposed demand -- which states that your body will adapt to whatever stress you place upon it. The adaptation is specific to the movements you perform as your muscles try to get better at what you practice. For example, if runners want to improve the toning their buttocks muscles get during a run, they should dynamically stretch their hips and legs from a standing position. They can do exercises such as standing knee lifts and butt kicks. Wrestlers, on the other hand, should stretch in a crouched or supine position, doing such exercises as mountain climbers and the iron cross.

    Warning

    • Overstretching can cause your muscles and joints to undergo a stretch reflex, which is an involuntary contraction of your muscles when you stretch too much and too quickly. This serves to protect your joints and muscles from tearing, which can cause a loss of function and pain. In severe cases of overstretching, muscles and joints can get inflamed and become tighter and more sensitive to touch, which reduces your flexibility.