10 Butt-Tightening Exercises You Can Do At Your Table

That dining room table or desk is good for more than dinner parties or answering email. Clear it off and get to work on this set of 10 feel-the-burn backside exercises. You’ll walk away with a firmer, tighter butt — and a whole new perspective on that table.

Crystal Stein, American College of Sports Medicine Health and Fitness Specialist, Level 1 Precision Nutrition coach and a Tier 3+ trainer at Equinox in NYC, created the ultimate go-to resource for lifting, firming, tightening and toning your backside. For these moves you’ll need a sturdy table. Add a few of the exercises below to your current total-body routine (perform 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps). Missed some of the moves from earlier this week: here’s everything you need for 50 Shades of amazing glutes.

Table Hamstring Curl

Stand facing table. Bend forward, resting forearms on table with palms up. Keep spine long and lift right leg directly behind body as high as possible without rotating hips. With right foot flexed, bend right knee, bringing right heel toward glutes. Extend leg straight.*

Curtsy Kick

Stand to left of table with right hand gently resting on tabletop, left hand on hip. With heels of feet touching, bend knees lowering into a squat, keeping spine long and hips in line with shoulders. (Imagine sliding between two glass panels.) Go as low as possible without lifting heels, then push up to stand.

Related: 6 Moves To Resize Your Butt and Thighs

Narrow Plié

Stand to left of table with right hand gently resting on tabletop, left hand on hip. With heels of feet touching, bend knees lowering into a squat, keeping spine long and hips in line with shoulders. (Imagine sliding between two glass panels.) Go as low as possible without lifting heels, then push up to stand.

The Right Way To Train Your Core

(Photo: Getty Images)

There’s a lot of misinformation out there on how to best train your abs. Take a look at any late-night infomercials for a prime example; you’ll see no shortage of ab machines that guarantee ripped, 12-pack results — and most often with nonfunctional movements demonstrated by models who have clearly been doing more than crunching or twisting on a machine. 

Related: The 10 Moves You Need to Get a Rock-Solid Core 

The smartest way to get a balanced, strong, stable core is simple: you need to train the muscles to resist forces when you’re extending your arms or twisting, work the muscles in their full range of motion, and rely on functional, compound exercises.  

Related: Add These Four Moves to Your Routine, Look Good Naked 

Incorporate these four tips into your training, and you’ve got it.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Strengthen with Arms Overhead

If your abdominals are strong and functioning properly, you should be able to resist a force against them when your arms are raised overhead — say, during an exercise like an ab-wheel rollout — and maintain a straight spine.

Practice the rollout to gain better core stability: Begin kneeling, your hands on either side of the wheel, and start with a slightly rounded spine (think of using “bad” posture here). Push hips toward the floor as arms begin to roll forward with the wheel.  If you feel it a lot of tension in the low back as you roll out, shorten your range of motion and stop shy of full extension.