Trainer Sara Haley leads Better Booty Challenge

PHOTO: Trainer Sara Haley demonstrating the fire hydrant kick.

Finally it looks like beach and pool weather is settling in, and I know many of you want to put your best body forward.

To help with that, Chicago born and raised trainer Sara Haley has put together a 14-day Better Booty Challenge.

Exercise enthusiasts — especially busy moms — know Haley from her DVD brand, Daily Sweat. Many a mom-to-be has used her Expecting More DVDs. Her latest, Expecting More: The Fourth Trimester, focuses on post-delivery workouts.

But back to the challenge, which features five exercises. Here are Haley’s description of each:

• Booty Lift: Keep knee bent at 90 degree angle. Flex your foot, kick your butt, and lift your knee off the floor. Squeeze your booty to lift your foot up towards the ceiling. Make sure your knee stays facing the floor.
• Attitude Lift: This is similar to Booty Lift, except that you turn out from the hip so your leg is in a dancer’s attitude position and the foot is pointed.
• Fire Hydrant Kick: Lift your knee up as if you are a dog at a fire hydrant. From there extend your leg all the way out to the side. Once again, work to keep your hips square to the floor. You may need to lower down to your forearms to do so.
• Straight Leg Lift: Begin with the leg extended out long and your toes touching the floor. Lift the leg to hip level, keeping your toes facing the floor.
• Tail Wag: Begin with the leg extended out at hip level. Rotate from the hip so your leg is turned out. “Wag your tail” ( your leg) to the outsides of each butt cheek.

Check out this infographic to see how each looks:

On day one, you do each 14 times. Day two, you’re doing them each 15 times. Every day you add another set of reps of each of the exercises. By that last day you’ll be doing 27 reps of each and those gluteus maximus should be looking stronger. Do this while watching TV (but pay attention to your form).

Beyond looks, there are good reasons for having strong butt muscles. They’ll keep your body better aligned. They’ll help you maintain the correct form while doing exercises, which lessens the chance of injury.

Give the Better Booty Challenge a try!