Thursday, July 19, 2012

How to Tone Your Buttocks



Flabby, sagging buttocks are unsightly and can spoil even the best of figures. Toning exercises can help dramatically.

No matter how you try to hide flabby buttocks under clothes or by holding them in with a girdle, they will still be there. Long hours of sitting, lack of exercise and overweight all mean that a large number of people have an excess of flaccid skin around their behinds. So, too, will people who lose a large amount of weight without taking exercise to tone the muscles. Indeed, even people who are the correct weight can suffer from this condition because this area is naturally well fleshed and tends to spread unless positive steps are taken to counteract it. 

Flabby buttocks are embarrassing and in some cases can cause considerable distress. But, a combination of treatment to tight up the muscles and tone up the skin can, if practiced regularly, improve the condition.  

Toning the Muscles

Correcting flabby buttocks and toning the bottom is essentially a matter of doing exercises to strengthen the under-used muscles. 

One of the best exercises is ‘bicycling’:  you can do it upon awakening or before going to bed. Lie with your back on the floor, knees bent, arms at your side. Lift your body from the shoulders, supporting it at the sides with your hands while keeping your elbows on the floor. With legs and feet pointing upwards, knees straight, perform cycling motions. Do five, relax, and then repeat, working up to 20.

The following exercises can form the basis of a bottom-toning programme as part of your keep fit routine. 

·         Lie flat on your stomach. Lift both legs and high off the floor as possible, toes together and pointed, knees straight. Tighten buttocks as you lift your legs; release as you lower them. Hold for 10 seconds; repeat 10 times, working up to 20.

·         Lie on your stomach. Lift your right leg high off the floor and describe a circle with your right foot, toes pointed. Repeat with alternate legs 10 times, working up to 20.

·         Lie on your stomach. Lift both legs very slightly off the floor, knees straight, toes pointed, and hold for 10 seconds. Relax and repeat 10 times.   

·         Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms outstretched at shoulder level with palms to the floor. Tensing your buttock muscles, lift your buttocks as high off the floor as you can. At the same time, raise your heels off the floor, and then lower them. Repeat three times, working up to eight. 

·         Lie on your back, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms outstretched with palms on the floor and hold. Then raise your left leg towards the ceiling, hold, and bend the knee. Return buttocks to the floor; repeat for right leg. Do this four times, increasing to 10.

Your bottom will also benefit from all other forms of exercise such as brisk walking, running, bicycling and swimming.

Improving Skin Texture

As well as toning the muscles, you may try to improve the skin texture of your buttocks, since the skin in that area can often be rough or pimply.

The bath is a good place to do this. To improve circulation, massage the skin while you are kneeling with your buttocks still under water, then gently pinch she skin and roll them firmly. This will have an invigorating effect on tired skin and flaccid muscle. 

You can also invest in a friction strap or friction mitt to tone the buttock skin in the bath. Finish the treatment by rubbing in a gentle body lotion to keep the skin from getting dry and to give it a smooth texture.