Many women have asked me for some tips and exercises to help them with their "problem areas" (aka - the butts, guts and thighs). Below are two workouts that you can do at home when you are watching TV, first thing in the morning to get moving or after a regular workout routine. These body weight exercises target the butts, guts and thighs area effectively and can help tone up these areas.
In addition to toning exercises, diet can play a critical role in helping you lose weight in your stomach, butt and thigh regions. Eliminating or highly limiting your refined sugars and refined grains (breads, crackers, rices, etc...) and having a balanced, nutrient dense diet with more healthy proteins and fats and fresh fruits and vegetables will be one of the biggest success factors in your weight loss or toning journey.
No matter what though, from one woman to another, being insecure about our butts, guts and thighs is hard to avoid in a world where the over-sexualization of these body parts are so prevalent. In addition to that, seeing photoshopped magazine covers every time we check out of the grocery store doesn't help with our confidence either. No matter what your body type is, there comes a point where we have become healthy and we have to learn to love ourselves for who we are - even if we do not or will not ever look like the women in the magazines, movies or websites. I am a size 8-10. I workout, eat healthy and am in what I would consider to be really good shape compared to most women. But I will never be a size 4-6. Never have been. And that is okay, it is who I am, the way God created me and I had to learn to love my big bones for all they are worth. I know the temptation to nit pick about cellulite, love handles and saggy skin or breasts is there (trust me, I nursed for 5 years straight, I understand!), but as long as you are eating healthy, exercising and doing your best to take great care of your body, this is your body and you can either live your whole life hating it because it doesn't look like someone else's, or you can learn to take care of it, love it and cherish what you have been gifted with since it's the only one you get.
Workout A
Complete each exercise for one minute each, complete whole circuit 2-3 times
Glute Bridge March
Glute Bridge Hold
Glute Bridge Hold One Leg Up/Switch after 30 seconds
Plank
Left Side Plank
Right Side Plank
Workout B
Complete whole circuit 2-3 times
20 x Donkey Kicks (20 reps both legs = 40 total)
20 x Donkey Pulse (20 reps both legs = 40 total)
20 x Donkey Side Leg Raise (20 reps both legs = 40 total)
20 x Standing (or laying) Lateral Leg Raise (20 reps both legs = 40 total)
20 x Pulse Up
20 x Plie Squats
Glute Bridge Hold - Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and arms relaxed at your side. Raise your hips so your lower back is off the floor and
hold position while keeping a straight line from your knees to chin.
Glute Bridge March - Get into a Glute Bridge position and bring your right leg with a bent knee to your chest and begin marching, alternating legs, without dropping your hips.
Donkey Kicks - Get down on your elbows and knees and kick your right leg back and up while keeping a nice straight line from your foot to the back of your neck. Finish by pulling your knee to your chest with a small crunch in your core. Do all repetitions on one side, then repeat on the other side. Completing both sides equals one repetition.
Donkey Pulse - Get into a Donkey Kick position, kick your right let back and up while keeping a nice straight line from your foot to the back of your neck. Hold your leg out and begin to pulse leg up and down 4-6 inches. Completing both sides equals one repetition. Complete all the reps on one leg before moving to the other.
Donkey Side Leg Raise - Get into a Donkey Kick position and lift your bent leg out to your side (trying to maintain a 90 degree angle with your knee). Completing both sides equals one repetition. Complete all the reps on one leg before moving to the other.
Pulse Ups - Lay flat on your back and lift your straight legs up into the air. Holding your legs up the whole time, using your core, lift your butt off the ground a couple of inches, return down and repeat.
Plie Squats - A wide-stance squat with your legs more than shoulder width apart, feet facing slightly outward, and squat deep (like a ballerina plie).
