Think your bum is too big, kind of saggy or sort of squishy? One track on high rotation is the notorious tummy ‘n’ butt duo. We tell you how to double-team the troublesome twosome!
The solution is simple: tone up those middle muscles and burn off the fat covering them. Getting your workout style right is essential, and a little look into the theory behind this will help.
At the rear are the glutes – the body’s largest muscle. They are the engine for everyday motion like jumping, lifting or stepping. In front, the abs, obliques and the transversus abdominus muscle (or corset) are highly versatile and spin and bend the torso. These areas also form the core strength for the body.
Core muscles not only move body parts but also stabilise or hold other sections steady to support the main act – without them you’d just flop around.
When you exercise, consciously switch-on the muscles to trigger your core. For glutes, pushing through the heel and ‘clenching’ will help, and for abs brace or wrap gently as if about to receive a light stomach punch.
Tummy ‘n’ butt workout
With all this in mind, what should a tight tummy ‘n’ butt workout involve? For glutes, the classics are squatting, lunging, deadlifts or step-ups. Many types of crunches and planks will form a solid abs workout. If new to exercise, qualified instruction can assist you doing these properly and adequately help you start the shape-up process.
For the well-versed in workouts, focus on progression. Make the basic actions multi-directional rather than simply backwards and forwards. This ‘3D’ motion should include lateral, diagonal, rotating, twisting and spinning elements. The body’s muscle system, particularly the core, is designed for this.
The 3D skills should also grow into what professionals call ‘integrated movements’. For example, by adding weighted chopping, rowing or pushing-style actions to leg exercises, the abs are blended into the mix, triggering the stabilising function of the muscles, increasing the energy output and getting more done in less time. Dumbbells, medicine balls or cables are ideal props, as are wobble boards and bosu balls, which will create extra instability to make you work harder.
Another results rev-up is to engage in a wide range of core-related disciplines. Running (mainly high intensity forms such as sprinting and stairs), yoga and pilates, kickboxing and even dance all contribute to core development from different perspectives.
With 3D core workouts, and a variety of allied activities, both backside and belly muscles get some healthy volume, and the bass on energy burning is turned up to the max. Eventually the fatty winter layers should melt away to reveal a successful summer body.
