Does Incline Treadmill Tone Your Bum? (Will It Make It Bigger?)

Having a bigger bum is on many people’s bucket lists. After all, a firm bum looks more sculpted and, thus, shapelier compared to a flat one.

If that’s your goal, too, you came to the correct webpage.

We’ll discuss how incline treadmills benefit your glutes and how to sculpt your buttocks better while incline walking. Keep reading below!

Table of Contents

Is Walking Uphill Good for Glutes?

According to Healthline, walking uphill is excellent for your glutes because it activates your posterior-chain muscles. These muscles include your hamstrings (the back of your thighs) and your gluteal muscles.

That’s why people who climb many stairs or go hiking say their legs are on fire after a strenuous workout.

Having strong glutes and hamstrings is excellent for your health because they:

Decrease the risk of injury
Improve your posture because they support your lower back, helping you sit straighter
Increase your athletic performance
Cushion your joints from sudden impacts

Is Running on an Incline Good for Your Butt?

Running on an incline is also fantastic for your butt. If you’re strengthening your posterior-chain muscles with uphill walking, imagine the effect of uphill running on your buttocks!

The difference between these two is that running on an incline:

Puts more pressure on your knees and ankles.
Exercises your quadriceps more.

As such, incline running can tone your bum better than simply walking at the same angle.

Will Incline Walking Build Glutes?

Incline walking isn’t the best way to build your glutes. By comparison, squats, lunges, and deadlifts are more effective.

However:

Walking uphill is better than walking at no angle if your goal is to build your glutes because it strengthens your hamstrings and calves more. These muscle groups give increased support to your gluteal muscles, basically lifting your buttocks.

Thus, the stronger your hamstrings and calves, the higher your butt will sit.

Does Running on Incline Build Glutes?

Walking on an incline has a moderate effect on building your buttocks, but running can be better. Running uphill will strengthen your posterior chain muscles more than simply walking at an angle.

Therefore, your glutes will:

Look firmer
Sit higher on those stronger hamstrings and calves

What Incline Build Glutes?

Choose the right incline for glute building if you yearn for that nice “before and after” photo with your butt. The tilt is more important than your speed because a higher angle means your glutes push against a more considerable force.

Here’s why:

If you remember your high school physics, the force your but will train against is G (your weight * gravitational acceleration) * the sine of the inclined plane’s angle. Also, the sine of an angle grows as the angle grows.

So, if you want to tone your bum, increase that angle to as much as you can cope with. You can start with a mere 2-3ᵒ tilt if you’re a beginner, but aim to reach at least 15-20ᵒ for optimal results.

In Conclusion

An incline treadmill can make your butt more prominent, but you’ll have to set it at a challenging angle of at least 15-20ᵒ. Running at that same angle is more effective, but go for that bigger tilt if you have to choose between a larger angle and running.

So, our advice is to choose a treadmill with a steep enough slope to tone your butt. You should also ensure that the slope’s easily adjustable in tiny increments. These minute adjustments will help you progress faster towards a steeper incline and, thus, increase your buttocks more quickly.

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Mary D. Brown

Mary is a mom of three, blog writer, strength training addict, fitness psychology guru, Origami dork, and Metallica lover. She has degrees in Communication and Physics and is a certified Personal Trainer.

Mary advocates for one powerful idea: fitness is about challenging yourself, but it’s not a race against the clock. She wants people to understand that the best fitness equipment doesn’t have to be expensive or very popular. The best workouts and machines should always fit your style and needs, not the other way around. So, Mary’s dedication and hard work are the engines that keep this website going.