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Learn more about effectively working your buttocks and abdominal muscles
This is an excerpt from Delavier's Sculpting Anatomy for Women by Frederic Delavier & Jean-Pierre Clemenceau.
Delavier's Sculpting Anatomy for Women.
HOW TO WORK YOUR BUTTOCKS AND ABDOMINAL MUSCLES
Working the buttocks and abdominal muscles will help you sculpt a beautiful silhouette and shed unsightly fat. Before you begin your training program, here is what you need to know to obtain the results you desire.
SCULPT YOUR BUTT
Aesthetically, the buttocks certainly have a unique role. Well-rounded buttocks attract attention. Through targeted work, your goal is to shape them and improve their contour.
ANATOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The buttocks are made up of several muscles. Each has a specific function and influences your curves.
> The gluteus maximus is the largest and most powerful muscle in the human body. It makes up most of the buttocks. When it is toned, it gives a rounded aspect to the buttocks.
> The gluteus medius is an abductor situated laterally. When it is muscular, it firms the upper buttocks and creates an appealing curve, making the small of the back beautiful. It allows the extension of the hip during lateral raise exercises.
> The gluteus minimus is also an abductor situated deeply below the gluteus medius. This is the muscle that, when it is not firm, forms fat reserves commonly called saddlebags.
ROLE OF THE BUTTOCKS MUSCLES
The butt is made up of a large amount of fat and muscles, together called the buttocks. The buttocks support the muscles of the thighs, called the hamstrings, when you need to increase your running speed. Thus, when you walk slowly, they work very little, but as soon as you speed up, they begin to work.
TIPS FOR A MORE EFFECTIVE WORKOUT
> If you desire toned buttocks, then you need to perform regular physical activity and eat a balanced diet. In fact, to increase the effectiveness of localized muscle development, exercise must be combined with an ideal diet. It is also recommended that you do firming exercises, preferably before meals.
> To increase the effectiveness of the exercises, squeeze your buttocks as tightly as you can throughout the exercises. At first, you might have trouble doing this. But after several sessions, this reflex will become automatic if you are really concentrating.
> If you do not have a lot of fat to lose, know that these exercises can be done preventively. In fact, fat typically accumulates above muscles that are not used often in daily life. The butt and the abdominal muscles rarely work; this is why fat often accumulates in these areas.
Read more from Delavier's Sculpting Anatomy for Women by Frédéric Delavier and Jean-Pierre Clemenceau.
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