by Megan on Wed, 03/13/2013 - 11:00pm | 0 comments
So I’m scrolling through my Twitter feed (my version of catching up on all the latest scoops) and a certain tweet catches my attention. It claimed to have the perfect tips on sculpting a butt like Beyonce's.
After reading through them and noticing the level of sub par information, I started thinking about what really works. At the end of the day, when trying to make a change in your body you only have time to do so many things.
Beyonce Butt-Sculpting Do’s
- Do plenty of buns-based exercises that employ your glute muscles such as: hip thrusts, hip bridges, squats, deadlifts, high step-ups, and lunges. Remember there are three kinds of lunges, frontal (side to side), saggital (front to back), and transverse (at an angle/involves twisting the torso) so incorporate all of them.
- Concentrate on putting your glute muscles to work. After long enough time sitting behind a desk, it's difficult to actually engage them. When I wasn't seeing the sort of changes to my backside that I wanted, I visited Ben Bruno (exercise wizard) who showed me that most of the time I thought I was using my glutes, I was actually tapping into my lower back instead. This is a muscle imbalance that leads to the all too common lower back pain.
- Sprint! Have you seen what sprinter-butts look like? They're amazing! High and lifted, and definitely bikini-ready. It's important to sprint, because long duration cardio won't have the same effect.
- Work hard! Progressive fitness means steadily increasing metabolic demand and output with each workout. If you want to see a better butt, you have to entertain more challenging workouts. Your body will adapt accordingly.
- Eat high quality foods to help your body burn off excess fat. Eating salmon, brown rice, and asparagus is preferable to a Taco Bell binge when you're after a Beyonce tooshy.
- Jump Rope! Jumping rope incinerates calories, melts away legions of fat cells, and tones the body exceedingly well.
- Total Body Workouts. The point is to use tons of smaller muscles ( for example those involved with internal stabilization & balance) in conjuction with the major groups. Use as much of the body at once during the exercise as possible for the best caloric expenditure. Think of it as exercise multi-tasking.
- Make sure that you're using your butt, not quads (if applicable). When doing a squat, or exercise where you run the risk of using your quads instead of your butt, lift up your big toe so that your body is forced to keep your weight on your heels which will bring your butt into the action. When climbing stairs do the same thing and concentrate body weight in your heels.
What Doesn't Work (Not Crucial)
- I believe in positive thought, don't get me wrong. However, the article that the tweet led to was profusely telling readers to "visualize a better butt." Sorry, that's simply not going to cut it. If visualizing were all it took we'd all be sporting stunning physiques. I'm not knocking visualization techniques, just saying that most of us need to work hard to get a fabulous fanny.
- Mini-workouts. Schedule time to do a tough and focused hiney workouts, but not too short. Respect your body and self enough to dedicate a proper amount of time to reaching your goals. Telling yourself that you worked out because you did a few calf raises in line while waiting for your coffee is lying to yourself. Mini-workouts are about working out smarter and harder, getting the same results in a fraction of the time by upping the intensity level. For most though, stretching the time out and getting more involved is ideal.
- Trust me, stretching has its place in building a beautiful caboose, especially when done alongeside a great exercise routine. However, stretching alone will not sculp your rear-end.
- Using light weights and aiming for much higher rep counts may not be enough to challenge you in your quest for a better butt.. Keep in mind though that you have to challenge yourself for results and most women have surprisingly strong keesters. Be ready to challenge yourself, and brave enough to up the weight some. I can lift 250lbs when I do weighted hip thrusts, and I'm petite!
Building a better butt takes time, hard work, and dedication, but the results are well worth it. Do the right things, and you'll have a Beyonce butt in no time!
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