1. Squats – The king of all leg exercises, this exercise will really firm up that back region, if done properly. Standing tall, with your feet shoulder width apart, bend at the knees and thrust your hips backwards like you’re going to sit in a chair. Make sure your knees don’t go out past your toes when you squat, keep your weight on your heels and stay flat footed, and go deep enough on your squats so the top of your thigh is parallel to the ground. Supposedly, this is a Jennifer Lopez favorite.

2. Lunges – Another great exercise for the butt. If you were to just do lunges, you would make all your friends jealous of how firm your “butt" has become. Remember to step a good length, keep the foot flat, don’t let the knees go past the toes, keep your back tight, and explode back to the standing position.

3. Stiff Legged Deadlifts – You will feel this all through the posterior region, but it will be well worth it. This exercise will require you to hold weights in front of you. Keeping your back tight, push your hips backward, like you are trying to shut a car door, and bend at the waist. Go until your hamstrings won’t allow you to and then return to the starting position by bringing your hips in.

With these exercises, you want to do 12 to 15 repetitions, for 3 sets. Find a weight that is challenging, not easy.

Now, to really get the butt looking great, you need to make sure there isn’t a lot of body-fat around the area. To do this, you have to watch your diet. Don’t eat a lot of processed foods. Find carbohydrate sources that are from whole fruits and vegetables, whole wheat pasta, and whole wheat breads. Make sure you eat plenty of protein from sources like lean meat, chicken, turkey, and fish. Finally, reduce the fat intake by avoiding saturated and trans fats.

You will also need to do cardiovascular exercise so that you can burn away excess body-fat. Find a piece of equipment that will get your heartrate going for 25-35 minutes. You want to be able to speak sentences and not gasp for breath as you are training. Riding the bike, walking, elliptical machines are a great way to get your cardio work in and we’ll help burn away that body-fat.

If you can combine your diet and cardio, you will be able to show off that finely tuned rear end of yours because the body-fat will be gone. If you neglect either of one of them, you could risk making your butt a tad bigger. So, stay disciplined, work hard, and I think you could have the derriere that you will gladly want to show off at the pool this summer.