HAVING A TONED butt isn’t just about looking good in a pair of jeans. It’s also crucial to staying healthy—and mobile—as you age.

As we get older, muscle mass declines while intramuscular fat increases. Sitting too much and hormonal changes can also contribute to “flabby pancake butt,” says Bryan J. Lehecka, a professor in Wichita State University’s department of physical therapy.

The glutes, or main butt muscles, are crucial to how we get around. Here are five exercises that help strengthen and sculpt them.

1. Squeeze those cheeks. Butt squeezes are effective “because they elicit higher muscle activity from the gluteus maximus than almost all other body-weight exercises,” Lehecka says. “Imagine trying to squeeze a $100 bill between your cheeks, firm enough that nobody could pull it away.”

2. Master the glute bridge. This is a simple exercise you can do while lying on your back. With your knees bent and your feet about 24 inches away from your hips, press your hips up into the air and hold for five seconds. Release, relax and repeat.

3. Squat like a Bulgarian. The Bulgarian split squat—named for a Bulgarian Olympic weight lifting coach who popularized the exercise in the 1980s—is especially effective at targeting your quads and glutes. Stand in front of a couch or bench, facing away from it, and prop an elevated foot on top. With your standing leg (not the one on the couch), bend your knee to dip down into a partial squat.

4. Take the hill (or stairs). Maximize glute gains on your daily walks—whether on the street or the treadmill at the gym—by walking steeper uphill grades at faster speeds. When you’re in a building with an elevator or escalator, opt for the stairs instead. At the gym, do step-ups with just your body weight or holding dumbbells, or get on the stair-climber machine.

5. Do the clamshell. This exercise is typically used in physical therapy to help with back pain and sciatica but also works the smaller muscles of the glutes. Lie on your side with your head resting on your lower arm and your knees bent at a 45-degree angle. Raise your upper knee as high as you can while keeping your feet touching and not moving your lower leg off the floor. Be sure to maintain form, keeping your hips stacked.

Whatever your glute exercise of choice, adding a resistance band can take it to the next level. —Eric Spitznagel