Friday, September 12, 2008

Butt-Busting Tips from a Blushing Bride-to-Be

Sue,

I have had a few requests to share how my tuchus is looking so fine these days. And while I cannot give away all of Colossus' secrets, I do have some tips I'd be thrilled to spill into DomestiGal Land.

Granted, you all must take my word for it when I say I'm lookin' hot. But I'd be the first to admit if my efforts with Colossus were not paying off. It would not be worth banning Nutella from my pantry, trust me.

So here is an example of one of my workouts (which takes about an hour):
Elevated lunges (4 sets/8 reps)
Chest presses (4 sets/8 reps)
[break]
Lunge jumps (4 sets/30 reps)
Tricep dips (4 sets/15 reps OR 8 reps with weight)
Crunches on the exercise ball (4 sets/15 reps)
Push-ups (4 sets/10 reps)
[break]
Tabata squat and press (8 sets/8 reps)

Here in more detail are some of the tuchus-oriented moves:

Elevated lunges - 4 sets of 8 reps per leg, with weights in each hand
I do these with one foot up on a step, like the side of a treadmill. The elevation increases the range of motion. Also, some exercise mags or books tell you that you have to keep your front leg at a 90-degree angle when you lunge down: FALSE. Feel free to bend the leg over your foot - the farther the range of motion the more muscles you will use. Also, remember, don't be afraid to use heavy weights. Women's legs are stronger than men's, so we can handle some major weight with this exercise without developing gladiator legs. The heavier the weights I use, the more toned - not big - my legs look the next day. It is truly a Dyson-caliber miracle!

Step-ups - 4 sets of 8 reps per leg, with weights in each hand; try to work up to 15 reps per leg
These will kick your hiney but in a good way! Substitute them for the lunges in the workout above. Take a weight in each hand. Stand next to a sturdy(!!!) bench. Put one foot up on the bench. Step up with that leg, and bring your other knee up to your chest, then back down to the floor. Repeat 8 times, then move to the other side of the bench and switch legs. These are a total cardio workout too. Bonus!

Lunge jumps - 4 sets of 30 reps (NO weights on this one! They are hard enough as-is!)
Stand with your hands on your hips. Jump into a lunge (one foot forward, one back, kneeling almost to the floor). From that position, as you stand up, jump again - switching legs into another lunge. Colossus makes me do this for at least a minute straight, which is hell. On my own I do 30 reps (Ssshhhh! Don't tell him!).

Squat-thrusts - 4 sets of 30 reps (No weights on this one either!)
The Lawyer and I call these "Froggy Jumps" - start in a downward-dog-like position (for you Domestic Yogis!), with palms on the floor, feet on the floor, and your butt up in the air. Jump forward, as high a jump as you can and as far forward as you can; then jump back to starting position. Repeat as fast as you can. Substitute these for the lunge jumps in the workout above.

Ok, on to Tabata!

This is the grand finale of every workout with Colossus (read: the most butt-kicking exercise of all, coming at the end of the workout when you're already totally exhausted)...

Tabata has many variations but the important thing is this: do intervals of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, for about 4 minutes. This is a great, fat-burning end to a workout and was the result of a landmark study in 1996 by this guy, Dr. Izumi Tabata:



And his peeps.

The way I do it is this: Start with weights in each hand. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, whatever is comfortable for squatting down. Curl the weights up to your shoulders. Squat down as far as you can go (stick that butt out!), and as you stand up, press the weights up until your arms are straight up and you are standing straight up. Bring the weights back to your shoulders and repeat.

PHEW!

Feelin' the burn yet, ladies?

If any of you have other workout tips (ahem, concave-stomached SUE!) feel free to share! Communal hotness abounds!

Your squatting fiend forever,

Domestic Goddess Jen

P.S. I also just happened upon this FABULOUS blog by the Fit Bottomed Girls (first of all could I love their name any more? No, I could not.). Gals, you will be hearing more about (and from!) these ladies in the near future... until then, squat yourselves silly!

3 comments:

Jenn said...

Lovin the workout. It sounds like it will put your legs on FIYA.

Thanks for the linky love. We love the DomestiGals! (And Erin and I both share your love of Nutella. I have no idea how you've resisted it.)

michellewoo said...

Your trainer's name is Colossus? That's hardcore.

Thanks for sharing. I'll be trying some of these moves. My bum can use some perk.

DomestiGals said...

Michelle, My trainer's nickname is Colossus - his real name is much more normal and Colossus describes him much more appropriately :-) Enjoy the moves! Let us know how they feel!

Jenn! TG I have found fellow Nutellalovahs. I knew the DomestiGals and Fit Bottomed Girls were MFEO!

Cheers, ladies! Jen