‘I tried the booty workout celebs swear by – here’s how it went’

Glute goals right here

As a girl with no bum to speak of and a fear of being made to slip her pancake butt into a pair of jeans, whenever I hear the words ‘booty workout’ my eyes light up like a kid in a candy store. So when I was invited to test out the tush training that attracts A-listers, I threw on my best buttock-hugging shorts and ran out the door. 

When buts are all the rage and lacklustre genetics have got you praying for a miracle, the idea of a class designed entirely for the behind is enough to leave your glutes clenching. 

Or cramping, as they were in my case, just five minutes into the Booty Boost Workout Experience powered by Amy Castano and Acero Gym at last weekend’s AusFitness Expo in Sydney.

Alongside fitness fanatics of all ages, we squatted, lunged and glute-bridged our way towards our derrière dreams, while our posteriors called out in pain. But half an hour later, mopping up my own sweat and tears, I was hooked and ready for my booty transformation. 

“When clients come through the door, they’ve obviously got different goals but we definitely do hear a lot of females being like, ‘Oh I definitely want to grow my booty, I want to keep everything else pretty trim and slim but also just grow my booty’,” Amy Castano, co-founder of Acero gym, tells Body+Soul. “That’s definitely a trend that we’ve seen with clients and their goals. Everyone wants to grow their booty.” 

Speaking of clients, the premium and very private gym – which has two locations in Sydney including one in a hotel – has had plenty of star power with head trainer Jono Castano (yup, that would be Amy’s ex-hubby) putting the likes of Rita Ora, Rebel Wilson, Richard Branson, Michael Clarke and Candice Warner through their paces. 

On Sunday, it was Jono's team (which includes his former wife who still remains his business partner and bestie, four years after their split) who pushed a bunch of attendees through the steps which will soon form part of Acero’s new offering. 

“We’re typically, and for four years have been, just one-on-one, so what we are doing is moving into a very boutique class area, which we’re rolling out in November, says Amy. "That was a little taster of what you can expect from booty-focused classes in our offering,” 

She adds that training has come a long way in recent years: “It used to be more about smashing out a very, very intense workout for like 45 minutes to an hour, and obviously that type of training is still very popular, but I think with the aesthetic side of things there's more of a focus on maintaining muscle and collagen in the body.

"That's where our focus in terms of weight training has come in to add that benefit to our programs," she says.

The dream. Image: iStock

How to nail your next booty workout

Here are just some of the exercises that had us all sweating and shaking during the Booty Boost Workout Experience powered by Amy Castano and Acero Gym: 

Squats

“Squats are obviously a more functional movement that includes more compound muscles, so squats are good for toning all of the lower body because they include much more different muscles in those,” says Castano. 

Lunges 

“Lunges are also a compound movement and include quite a lot of different muscles, including the booty, the legs, quads and hamstrings,” adds the co-founder, who oversees the running of the business.

Glute bridgen and building booties. Image: iStock

Kickbacks

“Then we did some focus exercises like kickbacks, which were more focused on the booty,” Castano explains. “So what we like to do in our programing is to include some compound movements at the start because we want to smash those out first and then focus on the isolation. So getting into the muscle and really focusing on activating different areas of the legs as a whole.” 

Glute bridges

“Glute bridges are also an isolated movement, so that was you laying on your back and doing the bridge and lifting your booty up, so that is focused on booty and was part of the isolation part of the program,” she adds.  

Jumping lunges

“There were jumping lunges so that adds an aspect of cardio, so it's obviously tiring out the muscles and also bringing up your heart rate as well before the cooldown with lower body stretches,” Castano says. 

Don't be afraid to lift weights, urges Castano. Image: iStock

Tips for building a booty 

“You're going to need to be consistent,” the Acero co-founder says. “Definitely consistency is key there.

"And also, don't be afraid to lift weights and go heavy, especially if you do have guidance with a personal trainer or if you are doing it on your own, make sure you are taking those steps to ease into it, but also be consistent with it and don't be afraid of lifting weights," she says.

"I think it’s been such a stigma for females particularly that if you lift weights, you're going to get massive. But actually, it's the contrary. You're going to be tightening and toning your body.”

Originally published as ‘I tried the booty workout celebs swear by – here’s how it went’