Tuesday, 23 February 2016

THE SAGGY BOTTOM PROBLEM

Before I tell you what the saggy bottom problem is, I’ll explain what it isn’t.

It isn’t anything to do with a SOGGY bottom which has plagued the lives of bakers for years (watch an episode of The British Bake Off if you want proof of this).
 
No, the problem of the SAGGY bottom has affected long distance runners for years and years, primarily female long distance runners who have lost weight and have an irrational fear of resistance training.
 
You probably know such a person, we’ve all got a friend or family member like it, or if not you’ve definitely seen one trudging the streets.  They are the person who very admirably begins running as a cheap and effective way to get fit. They get hooked on the running bug and they keep running ever longer distances, ever more frequently, in turn this causes them to burn calories like Lewis Hamilton burns rubber!
 
Before they know it they have shed bucket loads of weight and feel great. They keep running and running and losing more and more weight, by now they could never in a million years be described as being overweight but yet in their quest for aesthetic beauty they bemoan the fact that they have either ‘lost’ their bum completely or complain that it has become saggy (even though it could never be described as being big).

INCIDENTALLY THIS PROBLEM ALSO AFFECTS THOSE WHO DECIDE TO LOSE WEIGHT JUST BY CUTTING THIER CALORIES AND NOT DOING ANY EXERCISE. THEY END UP LOOSING A LOT OF MUSCLE MASS, WHICH CAN MAKE THEIR BODIES APPEAR 'SAGGY'. 

SO WHATS THE ANSWER TO THIS SAGGY BOTTOM PROBLEM?
The simple answer is weight training, and if as a women reading this you’re recoiling in disgust at the misguided thought that pumping some iron will leave you looking like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wearing a wig, bear this in mind - women produce much less testosterone than men, therefore they cannot and will not build muscle at anywhere near the same rate.

 
The few female bodybuilders you do see with very masculine physiques have, sshhhh don’t say it too loudly almost certainly been on the juice. Incidentally so have most of the really big men you see but once again keep that to yourselves I wouldn’t want that secret getting out!
SO WHAT SORT OR WEIGHT TRAINING SHOULD YOU DO?

Personally I would recommend a whole body approach to weight training but if you specifically wanted to improve the appearance of your bum you can’t look much further than the work of Brett Contreras AKA The Glute Guy and his hip thrust exercises. Allied to this I would recommend you do a whole host other lower body closed chain leg exercises too such as squats, dead Lifts, lunges and Bulgarian split squats as this will help shape the whole of the muscles of the leg, it will also boost performance too!

 
A DOUBLE WHAMMY, IT WILL HELP ME LOOK GOOD AND BOOST PERFORMANCE!
That’s right not only does lifting heavy weights improve the appearance of your legs it will also make you run faster too by allowing you to impart more power into the ground, (remember Newton’s 3rd law? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Well the more power you can impart into the ground with each step, the longer each of you’re strides will be, which all else being equal means improved speed.


ALONG WITH THE WEIGHTS I’D ASLO RECOMMEND SOME SPRINTING TOO!

Recent studies have shown that the gluteus maximus (the major muscle of the bum) is much more active when sprinting as opposed to when running, so if you want to give your butt a bit of workout do some sprinting along with the weights it will add some variety to your training too!

For more detailed, bespoke advice on weight training or sprint training please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Good luck with your training.
Matt

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