If you’re after developing seriously tight glutes and legs, then you have to include these six favourite exercises of mine in your lower body routine. Besides developing buns of steel, these exercises will tone and tighten your quadriceps and hamstrings for the complete package. Richard Geres writes

Before commencing the exercises below, make sure to perform a thorough warm-up. If you are a beginner, you can perform 5-10 minutes on a cardio machine, and then follow this up with some dynamic mobility exercises, focusing on the hip region, the quadriceps, lower back and hamstrings.

The amount of additional weight resistance you use to perform these exercises depends entirely on your level of strength. You may start of these exercises without any additional weight, as your bodyweight will provide more than sufficient resistance for any beginner. Never sacrifice good form for weight. Initially work on good technique and develop full range of motion on all exercises. Once you have mastered these basics you can begin to add more weight.

Barbell back squats

The barbell back squat is the big mama of the squat, the one that all of the variations originate from. In performing barbell back squats, you center both the barbell and the trunk's center of gravity between the hip and knee. This exercise requires that many joints function and therefore activates many muscles, some even in your upper body and trunk. However, squats primarily stress the quads and glutes.

Place a barbell on the squat rack so that it is somewhat even with the collarbone. Grip the bar with a wider than shoulder-width grip and pull the body under the bar so that the bar rests on the upper back. Position the feet comfortably, approximately shoulder-width apart. Inhale and bend the knees and hips to lower the body under control into a squat position. Keep head up, heels on the ground, and back slightly arched. After squatting as deeply as you can, quickly reverse direction and exhale through the sticking point (the most difficult part of the movement). Do not bounce out of the bottom position.

Richard Geres is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer

www.richardgeres.com