BIG BUTT

Dear Jellybean,

I am pretty fit and athletic, and also skinny. But I have a big butt. If I tone and workout my butt, wouldn't building muscle just make it bigger? Or would that help? I'm quite confused.

Dear Writer,

This is a common misconception. When a girl works out a body area, the exercise generally makes that area tighter and leaner, not bigger. We ladies just don't have the same type of muscle-building capabilities of, say, male body-builders, so we don't tend to bulk up through exercise.

Plus, muscle may weigh twice as much as fat (it's true!), but it takes up about half the amount of room too. So if you have a non-muscled butt and you start exercising, you rear will tend to get toned, tighter, and more defined - which makes it look more attractive (and smaller) than its former, flabbier version.

Do keep in mind that everyone has their own unique shape. So if you're generally athletic and skinny, but your rear end is larger, that might just be the way you're built. And hey, lots of girls would work so hard to get that shape!

If it's important to you, of course, you can add specific exercises to your regular workout routine, that focus on toning your posterior. Check out some good exercises in the Myjellybean.com article Get A Buff Butt (click here).