Day 18 and Work it out Wednesday

   Alright!  Today is my first day of posting some work it out Wednesday tips.  I am really excited about it too as someday (hopefully soon) I will be certifying to teach some sort of exercise classes.  Like I said yesterday, the topic of today is all about butts...  Yes, I know, strange that that is the first thing I decide to focus on to kick of Workout Wednesday.  Well, If you know me well enough (like family), you would know I was called "nega bootie" as a child... I seriously had a lack of butt, stretch pants were loose on me, completely flat!  This nickname and lack of butt has kind of followed me around a little ever since.  One of my main goals with working out is to simply have a butt to fill out my jeans and yoga pants.  I know some may argue that its lucky to not have a butt, I beg to differ, I would much rather have a bootie any day.  Here are some of my basic bootie tips
  #1 tip-  The Stair Climber
                      If you have a gym membership, I am sure you have seen those machines that hardly nobody uses... yes, that is what I'm talking about.  I kid you not, those are probably the best machines to give you a kick in the rear and leave you sweating buckets by the end of your workout.  Bonus of using the stair climber/stepper, when you do it a few times a week you will definitely see a difference in the butt lifting category.  Currently I am doing the stair climber at the gym about 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes.  I start out at a level 10 to warm up for the first 10 minutes, then move up a level every 5-10 minutes.  Today I ended with 5 minutes at level 16, yeah, buckets of sweat. 

    #2 tip- Wall Sits
                     What I love about wall sits is they use almost every single muscle in your legs and you can do them at home, in between doing dishes or folding laundry.  How to do them:  Stand with your back against a wall and slowly lower down to a position like you are sitting in a chair, prevent your knees from going over your toes, you would want your knees to be at a 90* angle if you were to look at them from the side.  Then just sit there and hold... and hold... and hold... as long as you can stand the burn.  The more you do it the longer you will be able to hold it.  If you keep your knees at hip width that will work your quads really well, but if you move your feet out a little wider it will work your butt more.  Have fun with this one!

     #3 tip- Lunges
                     Lunges are awesome too, because like wall sits you can do them anywhere.  Just be sure to use good form (equal weight distribution, keep knees directly above ankles).  Sometimes I will just bust out some lunges around the house if I am feeling so inclined.  At the gym I like to add some weights to them.  I like to build muscle in my legs so I try to lift heavier weights... If you are looking to tone, not gain, lift a decent amount, but one that you could do lots of reps with.

      #4 tip- goddess pose

                       This is a yoga pose and its similar to wall sits but without the wall.  This works the butt and legs so well, so if you like doing yoga add this to your routine and hold for some deep breaths.

  Well, that's all that I have for today, as I need to be getting some shut eye.  I will be revisiting Work it out Wednesday next week with a different topic... but don't worry, I will be revisiting the butt workouts, they are kind of my specialty :)
Live Stronger!!!
Love Renee