If you think that cellulite around your hip and thighs are only the fat dimpling of the skin, you are wrong because it can develop a serious health condition. However, you should remember that cellulitis differs from cellulite because cellulitis is a bacterial infection. Now the dimpled skin appearance in the thighs and hip can be treated with medical procedures but the importance of exercises in getting rid of the condition is noticeable.
What is Exactly Cellulite?
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Widely seen among women, cellulite is the dimpled skin that takes place at the time of fat being deposited push through the linked tissues underneath the skin.
- Healthcare professionals have a wide range of medical treatments to follow for treating the condition but the result does not last for long period.
- Because of the texture, the cellulite looks like orange peel.
- Apart from orange-peel skin, people are familiar with other terms like cottage cheese skin, mattress phenomenon and hail damage.
- Edematous fibrosclerotic panniculopathy or EFP is the term that the medical professionals generally use.
- If one puts an effective limit on smoking and follows the proper nutritious diet, the signs of cellulite can go away.
- 80% to 90% women notice the orange-peel skin on their body.
The reason that the cottage-cheese skin is prevalent among women is that of the distribution of fat, connective tissue and muscle in their body.
Cellulite Grades
There are three grades of cellulite that indicates the severity of the condition.
- Grade one refers to the orange peel skin appearance and a certain degree of sagging is noticed.
- Unlike grade one where one to four depth depressions, grade two has five to nine depth depressions that can be associated with cottage cheese appearance. Here, the skin looks draped on an average basis.
- Grade three refers to the utmost severe stage where it is known to be mattress appearance. At this stage, the skin is completely draped.
Risk Factors for Cellulite
As women are prone to develop cellulite, pregnancy is one of the risk factors for developing cottage skin appearance. Men and women both can become a victim of this particular health condition due to genetic issues.
Hormonal Factor
Insulin, estrogen, thyroid, prolactin and noradrenaline hormones can initiate the problem. Few of the research studies indicate that the blood circulation to the connective tissue beneath the skin accelerates with the decrease of estrogen in a body of a woman. Fat cells inflate with the low level of estrogen in the body.
Poor Diet
Lifestyle and dietary factors cannot be overlooked because if one consumes too much of fat, the orange-peel skin appearance becomes visible. Presence of salt and carbohydrates can deteriorate the condition.
If someone puts on undergarments with tight elastic, the underwear can possess a threat to the blood flow of buttocks resulting in the orange-peel skin.
Not only do the people dealing with obesity face such problems but also young people aged after 25 with slim figure can develop the problem. Cottage-cheese skin appearance is not always the result of toxins but if one follows a proper diet, the risks can be minimized. Moreover, the smoking habit can deteriorate the condition further.
Exercises for Getting Rid of Cellulite
There is an ambiguity among the trainers and trainees that no exercise can help one with shrinking cellulite. However, there are instructors exuding optimism in their field of work that with the right moves, orange-peel skin appearance can go away.
- The right moves can be proven to be effective for your body if you follow a healthy diet.
- You need to pay heed to regularize your blood flow by choosing the right workouts.
- The effective anti-cellulite workout session includes firming the muscle beneath the skin, getting rid of excess body fat, improving blood flow and maintaining a low-carb diet.
Plié Squat
Plié squat is one of the simplest exercises with various advantages that focus on glutes, inner thighs and quadriceps. This type of workout can add strength to the lower part of the body and in this way; you can get slim legs without an ounce of cellulite.
- At first, you need to stand with around three feet apart while making your toes pointed out.
- In the next step, you need to lower down till your thighs are parallel to the surface. Then go back to standing position and continue the same fifteen times.
- Now while repeating the same move, you need to raise your right heel.
- Again do the same move with your left heel.
In the meantime, you should focus on being flexible and keeping up the balance at the time of lowering your body down. This type of squat is known to be good for strength training and muscle building.
Deep knee bends are the alternative for the plié squat but often the trainers do not advise it to perform as it can put too much strain on knees. The basic difference between the plié squat and deep knee bends is that it does not put pressure on knees as the person bends around 90 degrees. At this time, while performing plié squat, your knees cannot go past your toes.
Clockwork Lunge
The key benefits of clockwork lunge include keeping up the balance and bettering coordination of the body parts. There is no doubt that your lower body becomes more functional than ever with the lunge due to the stress on natural movements. Helping people to get rid of the orange-peel skin appearance, lunge can improve hip flexor flexibility.
- The first step requires you to stand with your feet and hips apart.
- Then you need to take a step forward with the help of your right foot while lowering your body down.
- While lowering, you should need to make sure that your legs do not go not beyond 90 degrees and the left knee is hardly touching the surface beneath.
- Go back to the initial position now.
- While bending the right knee, you need to use your right foot to take a step forward. In the meantime, the left leg needs to be in a straight position.
- Again go back to your first position.
- Then take a step backwards using your right foot lowering your body till the left leg is turned around 90 degrees. At this time, the right foot should be in a position that it may look like it is almost touching the surface.
- Come back to your position then.
- Step to the front and repeat with the left foot and return to the starting position. You can do 15 sets of this particular exercise with ease.
This leg workout can reduce cellulite from your outer thighs and hips in a significant way.
Adduction Curtsy Lunge and Squat
With the curtsy lunge and squat, your inner and outer thighs get a toned form. Quadriceps comprises four muscles that are positioned in the front area of the thigh. With this type of lunge, the muscles are activated to be lengthened to some extent. And when you go with squat, the muscles are shortened.
For the glutes, the curtsy lunge and squat can function toward in an individual way by targeting at the abductor muscles.
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For doing this exercise, you need to put a stability ball in front of you.
- Then touch the top portion of the ball with your left foot. By moving the right leg, you should swipe the stability ball to the right direction.
- Taking the curtsy position, you need to make a cross with your right foot and left foot.
- Before raising the left leg to meet the top of the stability ball, you need to stand up straight. Then you have to swipe the ball in your left side and make a landing with feet.
- Lowering down your body, you need to bend knees and then rise.
Keep doing this with your right foot and the entire sequence can be repeated up to 15 times.
Pistol Squat
The pistol squat exercise has gained much popularity being a lower body workout among those who like to take challenges while sweating out. Pistol squat has proven to improve the leg strength while keeping up the balance of the lower portion and enhancing flexibility. There might be some degree of difficulty added in the exercise but anyone can attempt this following right instruction in his/her first try.
- You need to raise your foot off the floor while taking the standing position. Keep your chest up and look directly forward to maintain the standing position. In the meantime, you should keep your hips and knees bent retaining your back to be straight. The entire sequence will be your initial position.
- Do a squat by making your knee and hips flexible and at this moment, you need to keep your other leg forward. Again maintaining balance, you need to descend gradually as per your own flexibility.
- Stay in the bottom posture for a brief moment and go back to the starting position by stretching through knee and hips. Keep working on your heel to make them active in the process.
Switch sides and keep repeating the exercise until you finish the required goal. One can perform the exercise without taking help of any heavy equipment. This type of squat is one pure leg exercise and the leg development is noticeable within days; thereafter, it is good for reducing cellulite from thighs as well.
Resistance Band Butt Blaster
If you do not have a flair for doing lunges or squats, then the resistance band butt blaster can be your thing. This particular exercise can improve the strength of your glutes while reducing the appearance of cellulite on a large scale. Following are the steps that you need to keep in mind for doing resistance band butt blaster,
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- At first, you need to kneel down in floor wrapping the band under your right foot.
- Then place your hands under your shoulder while holding on to the handles against the surface.
- The next step requires you to lift your right knee from the surface gradually while pushing your right foot back in order to stretch leg straight against the resistance band.
- Then squeeze the glute.
- At the last stage, you need to let go of your knee and take the bending position. Keep doing the workout until you reach your coveted goal. And do not forget to switch sides, in the meantime.
Toning the certain physical parts and strengthening muscles, the band pressure can do wonders. In addition to the context, the band is portable so that you can do not miss a chance of maintaining your workout schedule.
Moreover, when you are going through your pregnancy, you notice cottage-skin appearance and at this time, performing squat or lunge can be pretty difficult. Even after surgeries, you may face problems in doing squat and lunge. For all these times, resistance band butt blaster is indeed effective.
Know more about Workouts
There are other exercises that you can try at home, namely,
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Single leg hamstring bridge
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Elevated lunge
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Side lunge
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Squat with calf raise
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brazilian lunge
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Goblet squat
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Single-arm kettlebell swing
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Reverse dumbbell box lunge with forward reach
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Dumbbell split jump
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Swiss ball hip lift and hamstring curl
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Resistance band alternating glute squeeze
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hip bridge
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Alternating abduction squats
- Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Boot strappers
Now you should not try any of the exercises without getting to know the technique properly to avoid limb injury. Take help from the instructor until you are well-acquainted with the steps and then start performing them. Do not strain your legs from doing all the workouts because the adverse results are hard to swallow.
It is better to choose a planned workout session than the medical procedures because the training programs are cheaper than the medical treatments. The medical procedures only focus on getting rid of the cellulite but there is no chance of improving other functions of the body. Through the easy exercises that you can follow at home, you can concentrate on having a nutritious diet and maintaining blood flow and blood circulation at a normal rate.