Thursday, December 15, 2011

Observations of Butts

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Yes, this is my butt, and no, it doesn't look like this today. It does look like this at competition time though and this picture was taken October 1, 2011.

I am always astounded by how little effort people put into training their glutes but they talk about them all the time. Don't they know that you need to actually train this area and devote a great deal of time to it just as with any other body part?

Our lifestyle makes a huge difference and I see that in the butts of the world as I walk around. I work at a university, so I am walking around campus a lot. There are over 30 thousand students enrolled here, and while they may not all be on campus at once, the place is teeming with young people everyday.

Last week as I walked to a meeting across campus I was observing the young healthy bodies surrounding me. For the most part they looked great, however what I noticed is most of them had flat butts. No glutes to speak of.

I think this is from the sedentary lifestyle that most of us enjoy these days. The young people of the world are not as active as they once were, they sit at their computers and game or interact with friends via Facebook.

It's unfortunate.  

Not only do they have flat butts, they are setting themselves up for lower back pain and injury as they age. A strong set of glutes is very, very important to your overall heath.

Be sure that you focus on your glutes!

So what does my butt look like today after gaining 15 pounds? Not bad, it certainly isn't flat!




5 comments:

  1. I think my butt is pretty flat. I try including as many glute plumping exercises as I can in my routine. My biggest issue right now is my butt and outer thigh fat. I don't know if it's mostly a loose skin issue or a flat out FAT issue. How does one tell for sure? I barely have any fat to spare, but it ALL sits in my butt and thighs. You have no cellulite either (I'm SO jealous)! What do you recommend for my lower body problems?? You seem such a good person to ask. I've been trying for years!

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  2. Charlotte- Most women do have a fairly fatty hip and glute area due to estrogen. I am lucky in the genetics department that I don't. You can tell if it's fat really by assessing the rest of your body. If you have a layer of fat everywhere, you will have a much bigger layer on the hips and butt. If you are fairly lean everywhere else, then it may just be skin. But a qualified and experienced trainer can test to see if its fat or skin. I have never had a problem with cellulite. I do beleive that many issues are caused by excessive sodium though. If you eat a lot of packaged foods such as lean cuisine and any pre-made meals from Trader Joes, dressings, etc. They all have tons of sodium. Studies have shown this to increase the cellulite in women's lower areas. You must eat clean food- no packaged stuff. Do you eat much of this?

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  3. Charlotte I woke up in the middle of the night and realized I never told you what are the best butt firming exercises! We all respond differently to training, but expert after expert will tell you this, and I can attest to the effectiveness of them: squats. Good ol back squats. Wide stance, go at least parallel and heavy as you can with good form. If that is only the Olympic bar for you then that if great. I do some form of squat twice a week. This last for weeks I have been doing 200 squats a week! Romanian deadlifts are also good. Its really the whole body exercises that work, they hit everything else too!

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  4. Thank you SO much for taking the time to respond. I used to eat packaged foods, but in my quest for good health and a better body, I have cut all that junk out. I try to eat as clean as possible. I am quite lean now, skinny even. Not that I try to be. (I am 5'6" - weight 110) I am constantly trying to lose the saddlebags. People think I'm nuts trying so hard to "lose weight" as skinny as I am, but I figure I just have to if I ever want to rid myself of excess thigh fat. It seems to come off everywhere but there, so I basically look like a skeleton with flabby thighs....it's hideous. While I do get smaller and smaller all over, the problem never seems to go away. I will try the heavy squats. Right now, I'm in a light weight - higher reps portion of training. Last month was heavy. Well, heavy for me is like 110lbs - which is probably what most people warm up with LOL. Thanks again for the advice.

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  5. Charlotte, 5' 6" and 110 is fairly thin, I am guessing you would want to add more muscle mass. I am 5' 3" and 129 at the moment. I was 133 a week ago, but we all fluctuate according to the foods we eat, carbs will make you hold onto water weight. So you can see I am quite a bit shorter than you and much heavier! I have found weight training to be the key- not cardio to be honest so make sure you are lifting! 110 is fine! I did a light day today and only used 95 pounds, but I did 100 of them...

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