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Great bottom toners

Squats are an amazing lower body exercise. They recruit more of your large leg muscles than any other exercise and are great buttock toners. You can do squats in the gym or at home. You can do them with your own body weight, while holding dumbbells in your hands, or, for more resistance, with a barbell across the back of your shoulders (use a spotter when you do this).

Here's how to do a squat:

1. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart (or a bit wider if you have long legs) and your feet parallel.
2. Cross your arms in front of your chest, or hold dumbbells in your hands and rest them on your hips.
3. Inhale as you squat, going no lower than the point at which your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your head up and your back straight. One way to keep your head up is to focus on a point high on the wall, near where it meets the ceiling.
4. Exhale as you stand up. Straighten your legs completely, but don't lock your knees. Also, make sure your knees don't jut out beyond your toes. This avoids knee strain and won't overwork your hip extensors. Do up to three sets of 12-15 repetitions.

Squats are a power exercise, and you should build up to doing them with some added resistance. There is a lot to keep track of while doing squats, so look at yourself in the mirror to make sure you're doing them properly.