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On
Bouncing Quarters Off Your Buns
by
Pam Brooks
Okay,
so now that I have your attention, I’ll admit that the last
time I could actually bounce quarters off my buns due to their
complete muscle tone was probably back in Jr. High. And that was
probably more because I was skeletally skinny rather than buff!
I
chose buns for this month’s fitness article because they
are often the most troublesome area for women to tone up. The
gluteal muscles are some of the largest muscles of the body. To
tone them, they require more attention than other muscle groups.
The
key to making a difference in your gluteals is in three parts:
The first is consistency. Try these exercises regularly for at
least a month. The second is quality of the movement: Be sure
to align your body according to the directions so you won’t
waste your time doing something that won’t be effective.
The third part is the one we often ignore when trying to make
changes in our bodies: Watch the amount of food you are eating.
Otherwise, you can do these lunges all day and all night and nobody
will notice the wonderful muscle tone you have developed underneath
the body fat that masks them.
I’ll
admit, these exercises aren’t the most fun. When we first
started doing these lunges at the gym, my friend called me the
next day and asked me how she was supposed to get out of bed!
She had definitely overdone it on the first workout. We kept at
it though, and noticed a big improvement in a fairly short time.
So stick with it if you want to improve your gluteal muscle tone.
The alternative is to give in to gravity and that is just too
grim.
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#1
Slow Motion Lunge:
Take
a step forward with the right leg. Arms stretch out to
sides with shoulders pressed down. Slowly bend the right
knee. Align the knee in a straight line over your
foot, never in front of the foot. Press your weight
down through the heel of your right foot. Tuck abdominal
muscles. Hold for 15 seconds. Slowly return to the start
position and repeat on the left side. The key to this
exercise is to slow everything down and keep movements
as smooth as possible.
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#2
Walking Lunges A. and B:
Very
slowly step forward with the right leg. Stretch the left
leg out behind you. Align the right knee in a straight
line over the foot. Press your weight down through
the heel of the right foot. Step forward with the left
foot and repeat the exercise on the left side. Keep moving
forward in a slow motion walk. Tuck abdominals, keep back
straight and shoulders pressed down.
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#3
Stepping Lunges:
This
exercise requires the same body alignment as the first
two exercises. Instead of walking forward, stay in the
same place and switch legs. Perform the lunge movement
to a count of ten and then switch to the other leg. As
you improve, hold hand weights at your side to increase
the difficulty.
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#4
Heel-toe taps:
Lie
on your left side with your weight directly on your hip
bone. Bend the left knee. Slowly extend your right leg
out in front. Slowly tap the heel on the floor and then
the toe. Alternate heel/toe taps to the count of 20. Increase
repetitions as you improve.
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–
Pam Brooks
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