Not the butt, but not the lower back

PunKture · 09-27-2006, 11:21 AM

Can anyone help me with this? How do I tone the top of the butt?

It's hard to explan where I'm talking about. Its like top of the butt but not the lower back (on the sides) As far as I can tell there isn't actually a muscle there that I can work to reduce them. I guess they would be considered love handles maybe?

At the top of this womans shorts on both sides.

Can anyone suggest a good workout for that area?
My apologies for not being able to explain very well.

Help? Thank you.

Revok · 09-27-2006, 11:30 AM

Yes, that's called a love handle. No, you cannot tone it, because toning doesn't exist outside the pages of cosmo. Eat less and do more cardio.

Art Vandelay · 09-27-2006, 11:37 AM

Natural female fat dispersion. Increasing activity, decreasing calories, and manipulating macro's may have an effect. If you don't compete in athletics I would drop 100 calories (provided you are currently eating properly for your size), increase activity in some fashion, and possibly increase protein consumption and decrease carbohydrates to specific times.

PunKture · 09-27-2006, 12:10 PM

So just like any other diet exercise regimen?

Would it be beneficial to work the butt and lower back more to speed up the process?

Art Vandelay · 09-27-2006, 12:27 PM

Spot reduction is largely bullshit.
Doing crunches won't expose a muscled torso. Having a low bodyfat % will.
What burns more calories, helping to lower bf%, and stresses the body to change to be more efficient? Hard, whole body movements.

Would it be beneficial to target those areas? Yes, because they are important areas. This doesn't mean doing some stupid twisty shit on a foam mat, but challenging compound lifts.

If your goal is to burn fat, and I'm guessing you are not overly concerned with strength progression, I would do paired lifts or circuit styled training with short (under 1m) rest intervals and with a focus to work with intsensity rather than going through the motions. Done right, and with a decent diet, a normal person could accomplish a lot in 30 minutes a day. I would use some principles of HIIT training as well as fartleks.

I believe Charles Staley has a good article on a fat-loss oriented exercise program. There are also many on T-nation.