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When was the last time you ran your fingers over an orange peel and thought, “I wish my bum skin looked like this”?
Probably never, right?
So it’s no surprise that if you have cellulite – which is often described as “orange-peel-like” or “cottage cheese” skin texture – it’s the bane of your existence.
The good news is you’re not alone. Almost everyone has at least a little cellulite, and I have yet to meet anyone who loves it.
The other good news is that we’re going to do something about it.
But first, let’s discuss what cellulite actually is, so we can understand how to get rid of it.
What Is Cellulite?
The dimpled appearance that we call cellulite is actually just uneven fat distribution beneath your skin.
Think of your fat cells as mayo squished between two layers of body bread: on the bottom is your muscle and on the top is your skin.
When your body begins to store fat, it doesn’t do it in smooth layers, but instead as clumps that push against the skin from beneath. This results in a spotty or dimply look from the outside.
This is one of the reasons cellulite creams that promise to get rid of cellulite don’t work.
Sure, they may plump the skin to reduce the appearance of cellulite in the short term, but we’re after a long-term solution.
Of course, factors like improving skin health and elasticity through hydration and good nutrition can definitely help reduce the appearance of dimples by helping keep your skin taut above your fat cells (1).
However, losing fat while building muscle is going to go further in helping you get rid of cellulite. This is because development of cellulite is largely hormone and circulation-based, with high insulin levels and estrogen being correlated with a risk of developing cellulite (2).
When you exercise and sculpt muscle, you increase your sensitivity to insulin, which helps your body use calories more efficiently and store less fat. Plus, you’re also increasing circulation to help break down excess fluid in the tissues that could result in a bumpy appearance.
How to Get Rid of Cellulite on Butt
Getting rid of cellulite on your butt is a two-step process.
First, you want to focus on muscle-building exercises to lift and tone your glutes, while also doing workouts that get your heart rate up to blast away excess fat.
Many of the workouts below are a great combination of both, so you get a cellulite-crushing routine all in one workout.
Not to mention, some of these circuits are also high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which involve alternating between high-intensity exercises and low-intensity rests.
This type of training has been shown to be the best way to burn fat quickly (and much more efficiently than spending hours on the treadmill) (3).
Cellulite Exercises: 15 Workouts for a Better Butt
Now, before getting started with any of these workouts, be sure to get in a 5 to 10 minute dynamic warm up involving light stretches and bodyweight moves to help warm up your muscles.
Check out this post for some dynamic warm up ideas.
1. Pilates Glute and Thigh Workout
- Level of difficulty: Beginner
- Equipment needed: Mat
- Time: 16 minutes
This workout uses a variety of pilates moves like bridges and supermans to thoroughly engage and sculpt your glutes.
Since the entire workout uses just your bodyweight, it’s great for beginners to get in a great glute and thigh burn in under 20 minutes.
2. The Workout That Tones Your Butt and Thighs
- Level of difficulty: Beginner
- Equipment needed: Mat, dumbbells
- Time: 5 minutes
A great glute and thigh workout in 5 minutes? It’s all in the intensity.
This workout boosts the intensity of squats and sumo squats by adding in dumbbells, then layering them with glute-sculpting bridges for an awesome burn.
3. Awesome Finisher to Tone Your Legs and Butt
- Level of difficulty: Beginner
- Equipment needed: Bench
- Time: 10 to 20 minutes
Adding in a glute and leg finisher to the end of your regular workouts is a great way to get in a lower body workout when you’re short on time. This finisher uses only a bench and exercises like Bulgarian split squats and hip hinges to give you a thorough glute and thigh burn.
4. Bench Workout Blast
- Level of difficulty: Beginner
- Equipment needed: Bench
- Time: 10 to 20 minutes
This lower body circuit not only helps sculpt and lift your bum with glute-activating exercises like single-leg hip thrusts, but also gets your heart rate elevated to burn off excess fat.
These type of exercises are important because they make sure you’re actually using the glutes in your lower body workouts, instead of only your thighs. When we sit often, the glutes become inactive from not being used, so in essence it takes targeted exercises to fully wake them up.
Plus, your balance will also be challenged with some of these moves, which will help strengthen your stabilizer muscles.
5. Butt and Leg Workout With Mini Band
- Level of difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Equipment needed: Bench, mini band
- Time: 10 to 20 minutes
A mini band might not look too intense on its own, but wrap it around your thighs and you’re in for a glute-and-thigh-burning treat.
This workout includes banded squats and hip thrusts which forces the glutes to activate fully, leaving you with a rounder, firmer bum.
6. 25-Minute Legs and Bum Workout
- Level of difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Equipment needed: None
- Time: 25 minutes
This bodyweight workout gives you a well-rounded (pun intended) glute and leg burn.
It uses simple moves like squats and bridges with excellent instructions on proper form, while also getting your heart rate up with short rest intervals.
7. Best Exercises for Your Butt and Thighs (8 Moves)
- Level of difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Equipment needed: Dumbbells, band, bench
- Time: Varies
While this video doesn’t outline a workout per se, Abby provides information on cellulite along with 8 great moves for sculpting lean legs and a firm bum. You can add these 8 moves to your lower body routine, or even structure them into a finisher workout.
For instance, using only half of the exercises she features, you could string together an effective routine by doing 2 to 3 rounds of:
- Deadlifts (8 to 12 reps)
- Banded hip thrusts (10 to 15 reps)
- Single-leg hip thrusts (10 to 12 reps each leg), and
- Band standing hip external rotation (15 reps each leg),
- With minimal rest between exercises
8. Grow Your Butt (Without Growing Your Thighs) Workout
- Level of difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Equipment needed: Barbell, bench or box, cable machine
- Time: Varies
This “workout” is another video similar to the one above that gives you a list of exercises that are excellent for targeting your glutes as much as possible without building your thighs.
This is a great resource for those of you worried about getting bulky thighs from lifting heavier weight, but who also want to grow the glutes.
9. Sculpt A Better Butt Workout
- Level of difficulty: Beginner – Intermediate
- Equipment needed: Stability ball, band, optional treadmill/rowing machine
- Time: 15 to 20 minutes
This routine, developed by bikini competitor champion Ashley Kaltwasser, includes exercises like heart-pounding jumping lunges and banded fire hydrants for maximum fat burn and glute activation.
It also includes options for “glute-centric” cardio, which can further help blast away cellulite.
Find the workout here: Oxygen Magazine
10. 2-Move Butt-and-Gut Workout
- Level of difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
- Equipment needed: None
- Time: Varies
For the record, fewer exercises doesn’t always equal easier when it comes to workouts.
In this two-move circuit, you’ll be doing maximum (and by maximum, I mean 200) reps of a glute exercise and ab exercise. Prepare yourself for the burn.
11. The Glute Workout From Hell
- Level of difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
- Equipment needed: Bench
- Time: 10 minutes
Here’s another two-move workout that will make you wonder how such a short workout can create such a burn.
This one has a unique structure where you alternate 5 reps on each leg for 5 minutes of one exercise, then move on to the next and do the same for another 5 minutes.
Embrace the fire – it’s helping to firm and tone those glutes.
You can also use this workout as a finisher to your usual lower body routine.
12. Amanda Latona’s Best Booty Workout
- Level of difficulty: Intermediate – Advanced
- Equipment needed: Dumbbells, barbells, cable machine
- Time: 20 to 30 minutes
Pro bikini competitor Amanda Latona provides you with a challenging lower body workout that will chase dimples away from your thighs in no time.
Challenging supersets using dumbbells also get your heart rate up, so you get an excellent two-in-one combo of glute sculpting and fat burning in your circuit.
Find the workout here: Oxygen Magazine
13. Ultimate Booty Workout
- Level of difficulty: Advanced
- Equipment needed: Dumbbells, smith machine, treadmill, box/bench
- Time: 20 to 40 minutes
International fitness model Ashley Horner will take you through several intense supersets that will blast away cellulite on your lower body while also sculpting toned legs.
This workout also includes a 20-minute treadmill HIIT following the circuits to further blast away dimply fat.
14. Gluteal Gluttony
- Level of difficulty: Advanced
- Equipment needed: Dumbbells, band, bench
- Time: 10 to 15 minutes
Seesaw lunges sound fun, right? Keep that mindset when your legs start to feel as if they’re on fire. This workout combines moves like this one with excellent glute activators like hip thrusts.
The short rest time between workouts also turns it into a high-intensity interval workout which will help melt away excess fat.
15. MetaCardio Lower Body Workout
- Level of difficulty: Advanced
- Equipment needed: Dumbbells, bench, band
- Time: 10 to 15 minutes
This workout is a maxed-out version of a HIIT and lower body circuit that will blast away every last dimple on those thighs when done regularly.
The combination of glute-activating bands, HIIT cardio, and plyometric and weighted moves will have you feeling a white hot burn while breaking a big sweat.
Train Away Your Cellulite 3x a Week
You should focus on glute and lower body training about three times a week for best results.
If you’d like to maximize your results, add in one day of high-intensity interval training to boost your fat burn.
You can use a HIIT-based workout like the MetaCardio Lower Body Workout listed above, or do HIIT intervals on a treadmill, rowing machine, or even while cycling. However, be sure to keep your HIIT workouts to twice a week max, since they’re pretty hard on the body.
Another way you can incorporate these workouts into your routine is to use them as “finishers” to your regular workouts.
Finishers are shorter than full workouts, and usually involve doing 2 to 3 sets of some of the most effective lower body exercises. See some of the finisher workouts above for examples.
Get Rid of Cellulite on Butt and Elsewhere
In addition to exercise, there are several other tactics you can try that can help get rid of or at least ease the appearance of cellulite.
Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is a great way to not only improve cellulite by increasing circulation, but also ease the soreness you’re likely to feel after doing the workouts listed here (4).
Try to foam roll at least a couple times a week to help break up knots and other fibrous tissues in your muscles that may be blocking blood flow to your lower body. This post will give you some good rolling moves.
Dry Brushing
Incorporating dry brushing into your skin care routine is an inexpensive and effective way to help increase circulation (which we know if helpful when it comes to cellulite) and help improve the texture and tone of skin.
Set aside about 10 minutes to run a dry brush over trouble areas (always brushing toward your heart) with long strokes.
Check out this post for more reasons to try dry brushing.
Diet and Hydration
Nutrition is extremely important when it comes to toning up and losing fat in general.
Limiting processed carbohydrates that are rapidly converted to sugars in the body will go a long way in preventing excess fat storage.
So what should your diet look like? As a rule, the more whole and natural the better. Think organic, free-range meats, wild caught fish, healthy fats like nuts, olive and coconut oils, and avocados, lots of vegetables like broccoli, squash, spinach, and kale, and some starches like sweet potatoes and legumes.
Check out this post for more on foods that promote fat burning.
It’s also important to stay hydrated to help reduce the appearance of dimpling in the skin. In essence, the more hydrated you are, the more of the good kind of plump your skin with look. Stick to plain water and tea, adding any of these additions for flavoring if you’d like.
Healthy Body, Toned Tush
With these workouts and tips, you’ll be able to kick orange peel skin to the curb.
Not to mention, you’ll also be building a strong and toned lower body and bum that will help you burn fat and keep it off.
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