You don’t need squats – this five-move Pilates flow will fire up your glutes in 20 minutes

If you thought squats were the only way to get a booty pump, you're mistaken...

A woman performing superman exercise
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Squats may be hailed as the ultimate booty burner, but if you don’t have access to any equipment or can’t get to the gym, wait till you’ve given this Pilates workout a try! With no equipment needed and these five simple exercises, you may be left wondering whether squats are really that bad after all. There's only one way to find out, so grab your gym water bottle, an exercise mat and get ready to embrace the burn.

Pilates may be perceived as ‘easy’ in comparison to the likes of lifting weights, but don’t be fooled, this workout may just require your bodyweight, but it packs a punch. Guaranteed, Pilates isn’t going to build muscle like hypertrophy training, but it can help strengthen your muscles and build endurance through repetitive movements. A stronger backside can lead to improved balance, athletic performance, and reduce the likelihood of injury.

You’ll want to grab yourself a towel or an exercise mat for this workout, as all the exercises are floor-based movements. There’s no rest in between exercises, instead you want to try and flow from one movement to the next (you can probably already feel the burn). Then, once you’ve completed all the exercises, rest for 60 to 90 seconds before repeating the workout two more times. Complete 10 reps of each exercise, here’s the workout: 

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Remember, if you don't know how to do any of the exercises, just give the video above a quick watch. If you embraced that burn and are ready to feel it once more, then here's another speedy Pilates workout to tone your glutes. This one is only three moves, so it's ideal for adding to the end of a full-body workout, like this Pilates one, which is excellent for improving your posture and core strength.

Bryony Firth-Bernard
Former T3 Staff Writer

Bryony is a former Staff Writer in T3’s Active vertical. She is a certified personal trainer and part-time fitness instructor. In her spare time, she could usually be found in her natural habitat – the gym – where her training combined bodybuilding and powerlifting. She used to write about accessible workouts, nutrition and innovative fitness products that could help people reach their fitness goals and take their training to the next level.