Q. I am over 50 what can I do to make my midsection smaller and my buns tighter?
A. That’s the number one question in my entire fitness career ó almost 26 years ó and not just by women!
As I have told my classes, I have never really “endorsed” a certain exercise making a specific part of the body smaller.
That was before Zumba! I have been teaching some sort of group exercise class for almost 26 years and since Dec. 1, I have not only seen myself but seen so many others make huge changes, especially in their midsections.
Now granted, you do have to follow the moves and work it!
(By the way; did you see the cartoon in the Salisbury Post on March 11 about Zumba? Hilarious!)
There is no wrong way of doing Zumba, but one thing is for sure, as it is for any other exercise, you have to put forth the effort to get the results.
Now down to the buns!
Classes like our Les Mills Bodypump and other classes like Power Flex and Sculpt will give you a great toning workout for ó but not limited to ó your lower half in a class setting. If you’d rather work out in the weight room, these are my favorites for the buns and thighs:
nSquats. Make sure when you do a squat your knees don’t pass your toes. (Your knees will thank you.)
n Lunges. The farther you step, the more butt you use. Same with the knees ó don’t pass your toes.
n Lunge squats. Works great on a Smith machine and you can do them nice and deep.
n Leg press. Nice and deep and again, and watch those knees. Place your feet in different positions to emphasize different areas of your leg muscles. Example: feet and knees together, feet shoulder width apart, feet wide with toes out.
These are my favorites for the mid-section, if you don’t want to do Zumba.
n Crunches. Make sure when crunching up ó bring your belly button to your “inner spine.” Support your head with your hands but don’t pull on it and make sure shoulder blades come off the floor.
n Leg lifts. Make sure you push your lower back down toward the floor. You can give your lower back extra support by putting your hands under the lower part of your butt. If that’s still too strenuous, bend your knees.
n Obliques toward one knee. In bent leg position, put one foot (outer part) on top of the opposite knee. Your opposite elbow goes toward that knee. Example ó left elbow to right knee; when done, switch and go with right elbow toward left knee.
Working on strength, you can do 3-4 sets of 6 to 10 or 12 reps.
For strength endurance, do 2 sets of 15-20 reps.
For midsection exercises I like to do 4 to 5 sets of 20-25 reps.
And if all else fails, suck your gut and tuck your butt. And don’t forget to breathe!
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Ester Hoeben is associate executive director of the J.F. Hurley Family YMCA. Contact her with health and fitness questions at 704-636-0111 or ehoeben@rowanymca.com.