This is Part Two in our mini series on how to lose your fat butt. In the first post we looked at the crucial dietary aspects of losing weight and now we are going to take a look at some weight training and anaerobic exercises that will help you tone, shape and lose your fat butt!
Weight training and anaerobic exercises for the butt
If you cast your memories back to the first post I said there were three things that you need to do if you want to lose your fat butt. They were:
- clean up your diet
- start working with weights
- start doing some cardio
This post is about the second one, working with weights, and it is a really important part of your progress.
Weight training burns calories. In fact, I would say that it burns more calories than cardio. Why? Well two reasons actually. Firstly, weight training is hard work and it gets your metabolic rate up really high. This means that you burn calories during the workout but also long after the workout has finished. It is almost as if weight training allows you to keep exercises even when you are at home! Secondly, weight training builds muscle and muscle burns fat. Take a look at any woman with a toned body and you will see that she is quite firm. This is a mixture of weight loss and muscle gain – the muscle she has put on has burned off the fat. The two don’t co-exist well.
So it is important to work with weights if you want to lose your butt. And don’t worry, you WON’T end up looking like a bodybuilder. Women simply do not have the testosterone to look like this. Any muscle you do put on will be minimal and it will burn off the fat around it so in actual fact you will look smaller, not bigger!
Here are the weight training and anaerobic exercises that you need to do:
1. Jumping squats
4 sets of as many reps as you can do.
As you probably know by now we are big fans of jumping squats here at FWF and we advocate them for almost everything! If you want to lose weight; jumping squats. If you want to burn calories; jumping squats. If you want to tone your butt; definitely jumping squats!
Jumping squats work your entire lower body and they are amazing for building muscle and burning fat. This exercise will really get your heart racing. Check out this post for detailed instructions on how to do the jumping squat.
2. Weighted squats
4 sets of 15 reps
Weighted squats are the squats you do in a squat rack with a barbell on your shoulders. They are quite difficult to do so I recommend reading as much about them as possible before you go to the gym and pop your knee out.
Weighted squats should be done slowly and with the muscles your are working foremost in your mind. Do not lose concentration. You should also go no lower than parallel if you want to make sure your knees stay healthy. Lower yourself down to a count of five seconds and then push yourself up as quickly as you can. I have found this gets the best results. And remember, pick a weight that allows you to ONLY pump out 15 reps. No more, no less.
3. Walking dumbbell lunges
4 sets of as many reps as you can do
Dumbbell lunges are a great way to finish off your workout and by now, trust me, you will be feeling like quitting. Take two medium heavy dumbbells and find a place where you can walk without getting interrupted. If you workout at a gym quite often the staff will let you take the dumbbells out to the car park where you have more room to move.
The exercise is just like a standing lunge except you walk forward instead of going back to your original position. It is a fantastically rough way to burn calories and your butt muscles will feel like they are on fire! Try and perform four sets of as many as you can do. The heavier the dumbbells you choose the harder it will be. Don’t cheat on your reps either! Make sure you go all the way down to the ground with that back knee.
Tips for making the most of your weight training
I want to give you a few other tips about these exercises in order for you to get the most out of your weight training sessions. I often see women at the gym doing their reps in a really bad way that will surely cause them some problems later down the track. I want to make sure no FWF readers are in that group!
1. Go slowly
The best weight trainers in the world do their reps in a slow and controlled manner. They know that by going slowly you increase the pressure put on the muscle and avoid any injuries that you might get from banging them out quickly. Make sure you do all you reps at least to a count of four.
2. Warm up
Before any weight training session you should always spend a few minutes warming up. However, I am not talking about a little jog on the treadmill. I am talking about a warm up that warms up the area you are going to work out. What is the point of running on a treadmill if you are going to be doing upper body weight training? Make sure your warm up matches your weight training session.
3. Read, read, read
Weight training is an art form. Each exercise needs to be done in a specific manner if you want to maximize its utility and avoid injury. I always tell women to read as much as they can before doing the exercise and always get a trainer to help you until your technique is perfected. Without good technique there will be no progress.