You know what I really worry about when I am dieting for a competition?
My Butt!
This is my typical "hit the treadmill" attire when I am at home, and I can keep an eye on the butt in the full wall mirror in the guest room.
There are two things to worry about and they are complete opposites so that's why I always worry. I want a tight set of glutes, and a large set of glutes.
I am lucky, I have a nice butt, I mean genetically. It's round, full, rides pretty darn high and I don't have saddlebags. Of course, I have practically no hips to speak of and I suppose this all goes hand in hand, but I am happy with my "gift"
In Figure, you want a nice, tight, smooth, hard transition from the hamstring to the glute, no "cheeks" , no "smileys", no "saggy skin". Your glutes really don't end up looking like real glutes, but one long muscle.
So this means you need to lose pretty much all your fat, and.....butts are typically "fat". I do realize that glutes are the biggest muscle on the body, but they seems to be covered in a nice layer of fat.
My goal: Lose the 'smileys" and make one tight transition, while keeping the size and roundness of the glutes...see? Lose fat and keep size...
Fat and no fat. Not quite sure why I think it's possible, but I see other women do it so why can't I?
SC used to check my bodyfat all the time, usually once a month but when I was getting close to a competition, we went to once a week. My lower glute would range form a high of 20 cm all the way down to 6 cm! The typical bodyfat was at a reading of 8 cm when I competed.
I have no idea where it is now, I don't really need to check it constantly, as I always get way too lean anyway. I do think checking it on a regular basis is important for folks who are making big changes and need to see the results, see some improvement, but in my case, I just chug along on the same track I have been on many times before.
How are the glutes coming? We are not at 10 cm yet! ha ha
Still working on it!
I have smileys or saggy cheeks or whatever you want to call them. I am 37. Sometimes it seems as though it will never change. Because I train so hard all the time, do all the exercises that supposedly create what I want, yet, I still sag. Is there any hope for me???? And yes, you have a GREAT butt. I have hips. Even when I was a rail thin teenager, I had hips. Always wished I was one of those straight up and down girls. But my husband is always trying to convince me that the hourglass curves are more appealing. He would think I was the lucky one. Wish I could be more accepting of my shape.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, My trainer, who is certified as a BioSignature Practitioner, suggests that many women have this due to "environmental estrogens". I did a supplementation program of DIM and Calcium D-Glucarate last year which seemed to help this area for me. (these supplements are available on Charles Poliquin website.
ReplyDeleteYou gotta reduce the fat in the glute area and replace it with hard muscle. It means heavy, low squats!
Squats and the Glute Ham Raise have been my friend, I do them religiously and I walk at the highest level on my treadmill, not holding on, or I walk on the stairmill too.
Here are a couple interesting links
http://www.charlespoliquin.com/Blog/tabid/130/EntryId/86/The-Most-Common-Asked-Question.aspx
http://www.naturalnews.com/027729_estrogen_plastics.html
You look great. In all these years I never notice you had a butt until now. lol
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links. My butt area, back and arms are an area I really want to work on. I dropped most the weight but need to start getting serious about toning up again. Not only for my health but to help with my strength. I have notice this year I have had way too many muscle injuries. This is a great start.
Hi April! Thank you, but you know, over the last couple years, my butt has grown, I have been working on it quite a bit, so it may not have been like this when you were here, of course, I typically wear clothing at work, so you wouldn't have seen so much of it either!
ReplyDeleteHave fun, and you can do it, just take baby steps!
Thanks, Kristy! I had never even heard of DIM before! Sounds like I'm a perfect candidate to try it. And I will take your advice on the low heavy squats. I am kind of a cupcake when it comes to heavy squats, I never seem to be able to go very low. I might have to start out with something lighter, maybe 60-70lbs? Then I'd be able to go lower. Is there a rep range or number of sets that work better when training glutes? Thanks SOOOO much for always being so helpful and answering questions and replying to comments. You are very kind :)
ReplyDeleteHi Charlotte- Let me know how it works! The dosages in Charles Poliquins site are probably higher than others and I would go with his. Actually- Form is more important than weight, so do them correctly and low, then slowly add the weight. Roy actually just backed mine down because I was not performing them correctly (I think I am in need of some rest...) Squats are for the quads, but they hit the glutes too, and if you have powerful glutes they really hit them. I would do a range of 8 to 10. try 4 sets.
ReplyDeleteDon't try weight heavier than you are comfortable with, slowly add it. Make sure you really feel the muscle working!