Exercise tips: buttocks, hips and thighs
Unlike their male counterparts, women have three main problem areas: the buttocks, thighs and hips. Getting rid of excess fat in these areas can be a challenge because they are the last place that weight comes off and some of the hardest areas on the body to tone. Here are a few tips for training these trouble spots for a firmer look.
Easy buttocks exercises
The secret to great buttock muscles is doing squats. Place your feet a little wider than shoulder distance apart and bend at the knee until your buttock muscles are ninety degrees from the floor. You can rest your arms on your legs as you hold for at least 30 seconds per repetition. Other great buttocks toning exercises are the basic lunge and stair climbing.
Shapely hips
Don’t believe what you see on TV. Models that are pencil thin with no hips in sight are not the norm. Most women have some shape to their hips – it’s whether they are toned or not is what truly sets some women apart from the rest. But how do you get tones hips? Once you are at an ideal weight, your hips still may seem flabby and inadequate. Total body cardiovascular workouts like running, speed walking, swimming, stair climbing and aerobics are some of the best ways to tone this trouble spot. Yoga is another great way to strengthen up and tone that area. Trying to isolate only your hips for any period of time is just not natural. A better approach is to add a few activities a week that help work out the entire body.
Firmer and thinner thighs
All women dread cottage cheese thighs, but you don’t have to put up with it any longer. That unbecoming dimpled look is a clear indication of a lack of exercise, not necessary of an overweight person. One of the easiest and best exercises to get thinner thighs and lose the cottage cheese is bicycling. Whether you choose a stationary bicycle or a traditional one you will have the most success with interval training on the bicycle. This means that you cycle at a steady pace for a short amount of time and then incorporate short periods of high intensity pedaling and speed. This type of workout helps keep the body guessing, and in turn, the body burns more fat and tones muscles more quickly.