Most fitness routines were not designed for the naturally stocky woman. Many cardio routines will make this kind of physique lose weight in all of the wrong places. Worse yet, many weight-lifting routines can lead to unbalanced appearances such as thunder thighs and manly physiques. With the right training, the naturally stocky woman can still look fitter and more attractive than her naturally thinner counter-parts.
Most stocky woman are small in stature and not the big gals who you expect to find working on the water front. The trick to training a naturally stocky woman is to give the illusion of an hourglass shape. The strategy that has often worked, is the following:
1. Strengthen the rear shoulders and upper back. By strengthening the rear part of the shoulders and upper back, you can straighten your posture and accent wider shoulders. Your chest will tend to stand out, giving your bust a perkier appearance. Use the Pilates Breast Stroke and Swan exercise, the yoga Cobra and weight lifting hyperextensions.
2. Train the upper chest and minimize work on the lower chest. Some trainers believe that training lots of chest exercises will give a greater mass of muscle underneath the breasts and give the trainee a larger bust. For some younger women this might work out. Often heavy training in this area can reduce the fat layer in the breast area, giving an appearance of smaller breasts. Also, working the middle and lower breast area can aid gravity in pulling the breast downward.
3. Strengthen the legs. Aerobic exercise like cycling, running, skating and the like can built awesomely, shapely legs. The reverse lunge is a good leg builder. Unlike heavy squats (which can give you thunder thighs), the reverse lunge develops lean, muscular legs AND balance.
4. Include side movements in your abdominal routine. A simple method is side bends. An advanced method is the Pilates side kick series. These movements can give you a narrower, trimmer waist. Note: too many sit ups and crunches can give you a hunched posture or a big knot of abdominal muscles.
5. Avoid over-exercising. Heavy training can leave you tired and frustrated. Unless you are a competitive athlete, you only need an hour of training 3-4 times a week. I have seen too many aerobic dance and weight trainees who just look emaciated and flabby from too much training and poor nutrition. You need rest and nutrition for your muscles to recover and burn fat.
Doug Setter holds a Bachelor's of Food and Nutrition. He has served as a paratrooper and U.N. Peacekeeper, has completed 5 full marathons and climbed Mt. Rainier. He held a welterweight kick-boxing title at age 40. He consults clients in alcohol reduction, stomach-flattening, kick-boxing and nutrition. He is the author of Stomach Flattening, Reduce Your Alcohol Craving and One Less Victim. 2ndwindbodyscience.com 2ndwindbodyscience.com
No comments:
Post a Comment