Exercises to Get Rid of Cellulite on the Buttocks
Exercise can't rid you of cellulite, but it can diminish its appearance. Cardio and butt-specific moves help to smooth a dimpled behind.
Cellulite adorns your buttocks for a variety of reasons: genetics, poor circulation, inactivity, and hormones, to name a few. You can't spot reduce the bumpy stuff, but you can tighten the muscles underneath it with specific exercises. If you really want smooth buttocks that you can bare in booty shorts, hit the cardio workouts with a vengeance and eat right.
What's Cellulite?
Cellulite is fat, but it's superficial fat that rests just under your skin. Therefore, it's usually more visible than fat that exists deeper in your body. It appears dimpled because it pushes into spaces around the connective tissue that connects fat to the skin.
Most women have some cellulite because their connective tissue has more spaces for fat to squeeze through than men's. It can appear if you're overweight or if you're skinny. Your butt is a common place for the fat to appear, as is your abdomen, thighs, and flanks.
Read More: The Top 15 Moves to Tone Your Glutes
Causes of Cellulite
Cellulite isn't a health hazard, but it is an aesthetic challenge. Being overweight definitely makes you more prone to have an abundance of cellulite on your behind, but so can inactivity, a poor diet and dehydration.
When you embark on exercise to diminish the appearance of butt cellulite, hydrate adequately. Don't become fanatical about the exact amount of water you consume, but drink regularly throughout the day and consume plenty of hydrating foods, such as fresh vegetables and leafy greens.
That produce also helps you clean up your diet. A battle against cellulite requires eating more healthfully and taking in fewer calories and more nutrients. Opt for raw nuts or fruit for a snack rather than a granola bar or bag of chips, for example. At meals, focus on steamed or roasted veggies, lean protein and whole grains.
Get Moving
To help you lose the cellulite, exercise that burns calories is key. This makes cardio king. Walk briskly, run, cycle, hike hills or dance to help you create a caloric deficit, so you lose excess fat—this will lead to diminished appearance of cellulite. Moving regularly also boost circulation, which can help improve the appearance of cellulite, too.
Butt-Specific Moves
Strength moves for your glutes helps create a firm muscular foundation, so the dimpling of cellulite is less obvious. You can't make all your cellulite disappear, but you can create a firmer base so you have less jiggle and ripple.
Donkey Kicks (Quadruped Hip Extension): Get onto all fours. Bend your right knee and lift your right thigh, so it's parallel to the floor. Maintain a 90-degree bend at the knee joint. From this position, kick the right sole of your foot up slightly higher as you squeeze your butt. Keep your abs contracted and avoid hitching up through your whole right side, focusing on making the movement come from your glutes. Do up to 20 reps on each leg.
Standing Hip Extension: Stand and hold onto a chair or pole. Bend your right knee, so the shin is parallel to the floor. Press your right heel back as you squeeze your glutes. To make this move more challenging, use a cable machine or anchor a resistance band around a sturdy pillar or in a doorway and loop the other end around the bottom of your right foot. Kick backward against the resistance. Do 15 to 20 reps per leg.
Squats: Squats work your glutes, especially if you sit low into the position and push back up with your heels. Use added weight to make them more effective in building muscle. Hold dumbbells in each hand alongside your body as you squat down and up, or place a loaded barbell across the back of your shoulders. Aim for 10 to 15 reps.
Read More: 17 Exercises to Shape and Tone Your Booty
Other effective exercises to work the glutes, or butt muscles, include forward lunges and step-ups. Work your glutes two to three times per week on non consecutive days for the best results. You won't completely eradicate cellulite with these workouts, but you'll get a firmer, smoother-looking behind.