The year of the booty might have been 2014, but since we won’t be booking any backside-enhancing injection treatments anytime soon, we’re going after the perfect derriere the good old-fashioned way. Cue: Nicole Winhoffer, the newly announced global trainer for Adidas Women.
Winhoffer was the woman behind Madonna’s super-toned, age-defying body for many years. She’s also lent her unique fitness philosophy to the likes of Stella McCartney, Abbie Cornish, and Steven Klein, and served as the creative director for Hard Candy Fitness (Madge’s gym network). With her new Adidas gig, Winhoffer will bring her ass-kicking workouts around the globe and road-test McCartney’s designs for the German activewear giant. “Adidas is looking to do what I did with Hard Candy and create a program at the gym that was new and different based on what I did with Madonna,” Winhoffer explains. “It allows more people to have access to what I would do with a VIP client.”
We can be sure she’ll be sharing some of her highly effective moves—a mixture of dance and toning—through Adidas’ videos and pop-up classes in the near future. Until then, she shared some of her top shape shifting workout routines exclusively with Style.com. Do these butt-busting moves for 15 minutes every morning and 15 minutes before bed, and Winhoffer says you’ll see results in just one week. “I believe the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do before you get out of bed, your body remembers it quickly,” she says. “Do it for seven days in a row and you will see results instantly because they’re muscles we don’t use everyday.” Count us (and our asses) in.
The Shanghai Surprise
“This is one of my favorite moves—it’s all about getting a tight butt through compound movements. You can’t isolate movements and muscles because then the body isn’t burning calories. If you do multiple angles, your muscles have to work hard to balance,” explains Winhoffer.
The How-To:
1. Lay on your left side, almost like you would in child’s pose, with your knees into your chest.
2. Extend your right leg straight out in front so that your body forms an L shape. As you lift the right leg to the ceiling, push off with your forearm into a side plank. This simultaneously works both the side of the left leg and the top of the butt cheek.
3. Switch sides. Reps: 45 per side.
The Bubble Butt
“This move builds the medius, which is the top butt muscle. You want to think about the way you move and how fast you are going. The rhythm is very important here,” she notes.
The How-To:
1. Starting on all fours, lift up onto the ball of your left foot.
2. Open your right hip, keeping the knee bent. (Editor’s note: Think of a dog at a fire hydrant and you’ve nailed it.)
3. Extend the right leg straight back behind you, returning to the bent-knee position. “These pulses should be fast and very small,” says Winhoffer. Repeat the movements using your right foot as the anchor and lifting your left leg. Reps: 50 per side.
The Side V
“Women [commonly] do forward motions and don’t move laterally or cross their legs. This move is great because it supports your side and targets the inner thighs, obliques, and butt,” she explains.
The How-To:
1. Get into a side plank with your left hand on the floor and right hand reaching up toward the ceiling.
2. From the plank position, cross your right foot in front of your left leg, planting it firmly on the floor. This is the starting position.
3. Extend the right leg up and out—forming a star-like position. Return to the starting position, digging the heel down into the floor to “get rid of stubborn cellulite.” Reps: 40 per side.
The V
“This gets into the crease under your cheek. You don’t want your butt to droop—you want a smiley face. The saddlebag area is a common problem area for women,” she says.
The How-To:
1. Start on all fours and lift your right leg up off the floor, flexing your foot and keeping your back flat. The starting position should look like you are going to make an imprint of the bottom of your foot on the ceiling.
2. Next, cross the right leg diagonally to the left and extend it straight out. Return to neutral. Extend the right leg to the opposite diagonal, ultimately forming the letter V with your foot.
3. The motion should be very strong, “as if you are kicking someone—like your ex-boyfriend,” she says. “Give intention to the movement.” Switch sides so that your right knee is firmly planted and your left leg is doing the movement. Reps: 50 per side.
To take one of Nicole Winhoffer’s private class in NYC, sign up here: nicolewinhoffer.com.
—Kristin Tice Studeman, Style.com