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The folks at Cosmo did a fascinating piece on the way your butt, booty, derriere, donkey, dat ass, rump –whatever you call your own–changes every decade. They spoke to two doctors, Dr. Karen E. Boyle of Chesapeake Urology Associates and Joshua Zeichner M.D., director of cosmetic, clinical research in dermatology at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Both practitioners broke down why your backside looks the way it does at certain ages, and what you might have to look forward to if you don’t up your squats.
For instance, when you enter your teen years at 13, fat distribution is the lowest it will be due to estrogen levels just increasing thanks to puberty. With that being said, your butt is the smallest it will be, it’s not very curvy, and the chances of you getting pimples back there is high because of new hormones. The upside to a young booty? It’s firm.
By 20, the college years, your shape has formed, and you have a lot more fat back there. With that being said, before babies, your booty is on fleek, it’s still firm, and it’s still lively (a.k.a., high). Dr. Boyle and Dr. Zeichner recommend that women start getting in those toning exercises so that it gets strong and stays strong way past your 20s.
Now that you’ve hit 30, according to Dr. Boyle, you need to work as hard as you can to tone and lift because “it’s all downhill after 30 for the butt.” Things decrease around this time. That includes muscle mass, tone, skin cell turnover and collagen production. So if your butt is starting to dip and wrinkle a little during this decade, that’s why. Dr. Boyle told Cosmo that despite all that, it isn’t too late to get things right and tight.
Team 40 in the house? This is the time where you could see a bit more sagging going on, fat distribution around your hips, and a booty that isn’t so perky. But, again, both doctors said that lunges, squats, and other butt workouts can help keep an already lifted and shapely backside intact. This is important because with your 50s comes a significant change (in hormones) that will have quite an effect on your butt.
Yep, we’re talking about menopause. As you enter 50, you might be preparing for “the change,” which will decrease estrogen, put more fat around your stomach and hips while fat in your butt will be lost. It’s around this time that backsides tend to look a bit flatter, but, once again, it’s recommended that you keep up the posterior exercises. No need to cut them off and just let everything fall apart. Your body still needs a strong backside.
Once you hit 60, your backside will continue to fall. However, the docs said having developed strong glutes before this stage in life is crucial. Why? Because your back and hips need that support to keep you from falling and injuring yourself. With that being said, a tight and toned butt is not solely to stay on top of trends or to look like a video or Instagram model. In fact, it’s critical to provide the support your body will need as you age.
So with all that being said, get to work on five more of our favorite bottom-specific workouts, ladies. That is, in case you missed our previous post on the best booty workouts:
High-Knee Lunges
Single-Leg Bench Squats
Modified Mountain Climbers
(Take feet to the outside of your hands as opposed to the usual knee to chest move.)
Toe Taps
One-Leg Squat
(Feel free to do this one on the ground if the Bosu ball is intimidating.)
