This article answers the age-old question: does running make your butt smaller, and provides some additional, supplementary exercises.
If you’ve recently embarked on a running routine, you may be looking forward to seeing some results. Aside from building muscle tone and blasting fat, regular running can also boost your mood and relieve stress. You might be wondering, however, what all that running will do for your glutes.
One of the most common misconceptions people have about running is that this type of exercise will result in a smaller butt. While this can be the case (depending on where you carry the majority of your body fat and what your running routine looks like), the reality is that running alone will not make your butt any smaller or flatter.
By having a better understanding of what running does to (and for) your body, you can tailor your own running routine to get rid of excess glute fat, build muscle tone in your glutes, or even keep your booty the same!
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It All Comes Down to Fat Burning
At the end of the day, running burns fat and calories. If you burn more calories than you take in, you’re going to lose weight and body fat. Contrary to popular belief, you can’t really dictate where you’ll lose that fat.
Still, if you have some excess body fat stored in your glutes, and you do a lot of running (or any cardiovascular exercise that burns calories), there’s a good chance some of that fat will burn off, and you’ll have the appearance of a smaller butt. However, it’s also important to understand that by this point, you will have also burned off fat in other areas of your body, such as your thighs and waist.
In some cases, you might actually appear to have a bigger butt after you’ve lost some weight due to running. This is most likely to be the case if you carry the majority of your fat in your belly and thighs. As this fat is burnt off, your waist will appear smaller and your butt will still be more-or-less the same, but it will appear larger because the rest of you has shrunk.
What If You Don’t Want a Smaller Butt?
All of this may be good or bad news, of course, depending on how you feel about your booty in its current state. If you don’t want to lose your curves, the good news is that there are some basic aerobic exercises you can incorporate into your routine to further tone and develop your glute muscles. This won’t stop you from burning fat from your glutes, but it can help to replace that fat with healthy muscle mass.
Some great examples of aerobic exercises that can help tone your glutes include:
- lunges
- deadlifts
- squats
- glute bridges
If you decide to start using any aerobic exercises to shape your rear end, make sure to spend some time perfecting your form. Improper form can not only hinder your results and waste your time, but it could even make you more susceptible to injury.
Getting the Most Out of Your Run
Don’t have time to incorporate glute workouts into your routine? There are also some ways to get in a glute workout during your run. Consider, for example, adding some uphill running to your routine. Uphill running and sprinting will help to target your glute muscles and help you get the results you want.
Likewise, if you live near a beach, consider taking your runs to the shore. You’ll likely notice that running on sand (versus a hard surface like concrete) requires a lot more effort, especially from the upper thighs and glute muscles.
The Final Word on Does Running Make Your Butt Smaller?
At the end of the day, running alone will not cause you to lose any muscle tone in your glutes. However, if you have excess fat stored in this area of your body, there’s a good chance that running will burn some of that fat and cause your butt to look smaller or less defined. This can be welcome or disappointing news depending on how you feel about your current figure.
If you’re not ready to lose the shape of your butt, you can always replace the fat you’ve lost with toned muscle. However, if you stored a lot of fat in this area to begin with, you might find that you’re much happier with how your pants and other clothes fit once you’ve burned off some glute fat.
Whether you’re looking to build glute tone or lose some of that junk in the trunk, running can help. Ultimately, it boils down to whether you’re running simply to blast fat or are engaging in high-intensity training exercises to tone muscle. No matter which route you go, you’ll enjoy the endless health and wellness benefits of having a regular running routine!
