Control Cellulite with Exercise

Stand naked in front of a full-length mirror and take a good look at your body. Do you see the tell-tell signs of cellulite? This unsightly, dimpled, fat that looks like cottage cheese and appears on the legs and buttocks is caused by several factors and is common in many women, especially as they age. If you are one of the many women who is bothered by this condition, you are not alone, some of the most beautiful celebrities and super-models are plagued with the same. But the good news is, you can control cellulite.

Learn to control your metabolic rate in adipose tissue (fat) in the thighs and butt to reduce and control cellulite. A healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise helps prevent cellulite buildup and improves the way your body processes and stores fat.

Genetics play a major role as to who will get cellulite, for instance cellulite is more common in white women than in Asian women. Hormonal changes, such as elevated levels of estrogen, can also trigger cellulite growth. In addition, pregnancy, stress, weight gain and lack of exercise all contribute to cellulite buildup.

Exercise is one of the best ways to help control cellulite. For one thing, exercise and I am talking about regular strenuous exercise, helps to control hormonal changes that can disrupt your body’s normal functions. Exercise helps to balance the hormones and reduces stress reactors in the body. While we can’t always reduce stress in our lives, we can learn to control the way it affects our bodies. Exercise is one of the best ways to make that happen.

Interval training is one of the best ways to balance hormones, reduce stress and as a result control cellulite in your body. Interval training, combining high-intensity aerobic exercises with weight bearing exercises will help you burn calories at a faster rate, even when your body is at rest. This means your body will use up its fat stores reducing and preventing the growth of cellulite.

While aerobic exercise is key to burning calories, strength or weight training exercises help to strengthen the muscles. The more muscular your body is, the quicker and better effective it will be for reducing fat. Since muscle requires more energy to grow and we get energy from the calories that we eat, it just goes without saying, that muscle burns more calories than fat. Even at rest, muscles continue to burn calories, using up fat that is stored in your body. A more muscular body helps to change the way existing cellulite looks, too. Muscles push against the fat in the body allowing for a smoother appearance.

Cellulite occurs most frequently on the front, back and sides of thighs and on the buttocks. Exercises, such as squats, lunges, bench step-ups, power walking, running and elliptical training are all great for reducing cellulite. Intensity is a key factor. The goal is not only to burn calories during exercise; but also to rev up your metabolism and strengthen your muscles so that your body is constantly burning fat at a faster rate.