I'm gonna be REALLY candid with you today. I debated coming off as some kind of know-it-all today, but that's just plain stupid.
I don't have a great butt. I just don't. And that's okay. It keeps me humble. I have goals of a Beyonce backside, so I am always learning how to perfect the peach. There's actually a lot to learn about the bootay and how to get workouts to, well, WORK.
So in case you're in the pancake butt club, you are not alone. And there are plenty of valid reasons why you are not a butt model. Yet.
Here are the 9 reasons why your butt is saggy despite exercising:
1. Genetics. There's nothing you can do about what ya mama gave you, sorry. Work with what you got, but know that genes play a big role in all of this.
2. Exhaustion. When you're sleep-deprived, your body is lacking the hormonal reset it needs. You just cannot have optimal ANYTHING if you are chronically tired. Sleep is a powerful tool that can reduce fat!
3. Diet. If you are inhaling Cheetos by the fistful, or licking the brownie batter like an Olympic event, there is not enough exercise in the world to undo the damage. Food is information, so ask yourself if you are telling your body to burn fat or store fat.
4. Technique. You exercise plenty but you're doing things wrong. When doing leg moves, your quads and or hamstrings or back take over with the work. If you're like me, you got plenty o' leg, but the butt is suffering. This is a really common mishap.
5. Focus. In order to prevent your quads and hamstrings and back from taking over and doing all the work in a workout, you've GOT to think about your rump. The mind-butt connection is the most powerful shift in lifting and plumping the buns. What I often tell my clients (and myself) during a sweat session is, "Think about your butt. Do you feel your glutes activating during each rep? Don't let your back or legs do what the bum needs to do." Simply by THINKING about your glutes, you will USE them!
6. Compensation. Every Google search will tell you to do squats and deadlifts for a tight, toned butt. Those are great moves, sure. But let's not share the load....instead, do single leg moves that really target one butt cheek at a time. Think split squats, single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, and lunges. Isolating makes each move so much harder and we really can get more results!
7. Omission. If you're already physically active yet your backside doesn't show it, it's time to have 1 aggressive Butt Day workout each week. You want to fire up those muscles to fatigue. Perform moves that require the glutes to burn (like bridges, for example). Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! Ever single rep is intentional.
8. Weightless. While I love bodyweight moves, it is crucial to LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS if you want the saggy pants look to end. Strength training can come from weights or even resistance bands, but just doing Donkey Kicks for hours ain't gonna cut it.
9. Overkill. You do not need to workout daily. I'll say it again. You do not need to workout daily. More is not better. Muscle is built on rest days! So if you are over-exercising, not only are you potentially obsessed, but you are potentially increasing your risk for injury and exhaustion. That means the muscles will stop cooperating. If you are already have an injury, this will negatively impact your chance for seeing change; consider therapy and rest to get past that speed bump.
So which of these are your guilty of and how will you make adjustments starting right now?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!