Strong thighs and a big round bum...

[minniebear]

...is what I used to have. Since having two dc, both have disappeared (hello squishy thighs and a flat bum). I weigh less than I ever have thanks to lots of sensible eating, dog walking and running about after two under three, but want to get my bum back. Before dc I used to swim regularly (ex country level swimmer) and do Body Pump/Body Combat. Now I don’t have the time or the money for classes or to spend an hour in the pool a few times a week. Can anyone recommend any exercises I can do inexpensively at home, or a cheap DVD for someone who’s relatively fit, who wants to tone/improve muscle tone?

Squats !!!

Yes, squats. Lots of them. And weighted if you can.

And 30 day shred for a kick start. You will need some decent hand weights - tins or water bottles do for beginners but If you already have some base strength 2 or 3kg.

I had exactly same “where has my bum gone” issue post DD2. It is recoverable, and your jeans will stop falling down .

Squats and lunges !

Squats
Lunges
Skater jumps
Plié squats

The more weight you can use to add some resistance the better!

Hold something heavy and get lunge-walking!

Les Mills on demand and BodyPump. £9 a month I think.

Check kettle bell workouts on YouTube. There are lots so can find one that gels for you. Just need a kettle bell which is good because they don't take up space and can do masses with them.

Hooray!! Thanks everyone! I’m now searching Kettle Bells on Amazon!

Which weights do you use for the Body Pump subscription classes? I used to love Body Pump, it would be awesome to do it at home! I don’t know if I have space for a big bar thing though.

Argos sell a good barbell set. Dismantle it when not in use and slide under sofa or similar gap.

Awesome, will take a look. Thanks!

Also get some resistance bands (cheap and easy for home use). Can look up videos online. They will fire up glutes before doing squats etc and can be used for different exercises in their own right.

Look up Bret Contreras (aka The Glute Guy). He is the absolute king of all things to do with strengthening glutes.
In fact, instead of (or as well as) squats you should be doing hip thrusts (look up his YouTube vids for how to do them) and things like 'frog pumps'), etc.
But, in general, you want to be looking at lifting (heavy) weights, rather than any cardio-type stuff. Hip thrusts. Squats. Dead lifts. Romanian Dead lifts. You'll be crushing walnuts between your butt cheeks by the time summer rolls around :)

Also came in to say les mills on demand/ not just pump, it’s all classes! Filmed with An ‘audience’ so bit more energy than a lot of dvds.

Thank you so much, that’s all really helpful! I hate my flat bum, something needs doing! I’ve found a good barbell set from Argos that’s under £30, so will get that and also look up Bret Contreras and try some differently Les Mills classes. It sucks-I preferred my body when I was heavier, which I never thought I’d say-I thought I’d be happy with my figure if i just lost the last stone. The grass is always greener I guess!

Definitely weighted squats, hip thrusts and deadlifts. Problem with body pump is they try to get too many reps in, so you’re generally not going low enough on the squats to fire the glutes, and because you use the same weight for clean and press and deadlifts, you’re not lifting nearly heavy enough on the deadlift. I wasted way too many years doing pump

Could you tell me how you do it? I like the fact the Body Pump video tells me what to do! How many hip thrusts/dead lifts/deep squats would you do in a typical session, how many sessions a week and what weight do you use?

Yeah I am annoyed that I have half the weight on my bar for deadlift which I could do, even for 4 mins because of clean And press. It’s stupid having them in the same track.

I try to do 2 sessions a week, I find if I do more than that on lower body I tire myself out too much and don’t manage to work as hard next time.
With most exercises I’ll do 3 sets of 8-12 reps, once I can do 12 reps with good form then I’ll up the weight again.
I had ended up with weak glutes after just running and body pump, and this has helped a lot, the squats are (in my opinion) done too quickly in pump to get the depth you need to activate the glutes.
I invested in a few PT sessions to get my technique right, and in honesty to feel confident enough to go into the free weights area of my gym.
I do leg press as well which mainly works the quads, and some lunges or step ups as well

And would second the Bret cronteras, his videos on technique are good.
I use the smith machine for hip thrusts as it means I can get the weight over me easier

Nia Shanks is another good site - she has some basic lifting schedules you can download for free.
Bret Contreras also has a book (Strong Curves) and that’ll have a schedule in it you can just follow
Lifting is all about progression (unlike a pump class) - you are always looking to incremental increase either weight or reps.

Thank you! That’s really helpful! Twice a week seems manageable. Has it made a difference-how long would you say it takes to start to notice? I’d love to feel a bit less flat-bummed on the beach!