If those adorable dimples you once got so much attention for have been replaced by the kind you want to hide, you’re not alone. 99% percent of women have it. Cellulite doesn’t discriminate between large or small size women. Stubborn cellulite is part genetic (blame mom), part hormones, and part anatomy. Make no mistake, there’s nothing mysterious about cellulite. It’s fat. If you want to lose cellulite, here’s how to understand it and take action!
The Why
Cellulite tends to show up more in your prime in part because of both thinning skin and thickening connective tissue that occur with age. Tight connective tissue that lacks hydration has more haphazard patterns that increase the cottage cheese appearance.
I’ve spent decades unlocking the code for peri and post-menopausal women who want to look younger, feel younger, and losing cellulite has been a popular focus. Even fit women have cellulite, but they tend to have less and that’s likely due to increased hydration and circulation from physical activity.
The Goals
Your first goal is to improve circulation. Next, it’s increasing lean muscle while decreasing body fat. It’s more than just exercising. Follow the exercise program below specifically designed to help you lose cellulite. Targeting areas where you store cellulite is key. It’s not spot reducing, yet it does help you spot tone those muscles. A unique combination of strengthening and elongating muscles will reduce the appearance of cellulite. You should see noticeable results within eight weeks.
The Steps for Losing Cellulite
To lose cellulite, include each of the following four components each time you workout. Don’t rely entirely on exercise, however. Reduce your extracurricular carbohydrate intake, shooting for a per meal count of 25-30 grams (increase that number if you’re active more than an hour a day). Make sure you have adequate protein and healthy fat at each meal and drink plenty of water. Make up the rest of your meals with plenty of non-starchy fruits and vegetables. Last, like any effective fat loss program requires, meet your sleep needs.
1. Cardio
Perform cardio six times a week. Make sure 1-2 of those sessions is high-intensity interval training for boosting fat metabolism and balancing hormones, both of which will help you lose cellulite. If you’re not doing strength training exercises following cardio be sure to do at least a 5-10 minute warm-up.
2. Strength
Your strength training exercises should target major muscle groups. Pay particular attention to the areas where your cellulite appears. Most women want to lose cellulite on their hips, thighs, and butt. The upper arms and belly are other common cellulite spots.
Include these exercises:
- Squats
- Lunges to the rear and side
- Bridge to Hamstring Curl using a ball
- Sidestepping with an exercise band
- Triceps extension with both long and short lever
Begin with one set using a resistance you can do 15 times to fatigue. Increase to two sets after two weeks. Perform that routine two more weeks and then add a third set. Maintain three sets and increase the weight so you’re able to do no more than 10-12 repetitions. It’s important you reach fatigue in order to gain muscle that will help sculpt, tone, and reduce fat.
Dr. Wayne Westcott’s Cellulite Solution Exercise Plan provides some additional examples of exercises that proved effective when subjects did them three times a week for eight weeks.
If you have limited ability to do some of the strength training exercises, try substituting high resistance biking or steep incline walking.
3. Roll
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could have a massage several times a week? It might also help you lose cellulite. If that’s not going to fit the budget or the schedule you need to find a foam roller, a tool called The Stick, or your long lost rolling pin. This method of rolling out the muscles is called self-myofascial release (SMR).
For the most benefit you want to roll areas where you have cellulite and do it such that it’s not just a pleasant experience. Rolling over the trouble spots up to 20 times will help hydrate and iron out that connective tissue.
4. Stretch
Finish your workouts with a stretch for each of the muscles you’ve just worked and rolled. They’re primed for stretching post massage or SMR.
Pilates is a perfect match if you want to start more gently to lose cellulite. With every exercise, you’re simultaneously working one muscle group and stretching another. Pilates helps to lengthen and strengthen that connective tissue and tone the muscles.
This author prefers resistance training to Pilates for long-term results. Lifting a weight you fatigue between 10-15 repetitions will help to both reduce body fat and build lean muscle tissue. If you have time to use both Pilates and resistance training, it’s the perfect combination. Lift weights two or three days a week and perform Pilates on the days you don’t lift.
What’s measured matters. Take before photos and measure before you begin. You’ll be more focused on the process and keep up the consistency you need to get results.
Considering picking up a new practice? Let’s take a closer look at the health benefits of starting a restorative yoga practice.
