Cellulite Exercise
Cellulite and Exercise
Below is a good article on the truth about reducing cellulite and the most effective treatments - Dont get ripped off with expensive lotions and creams when all you need is the basics in life - fresh healthy food, regular exercise, lots of fluids and massage to the specific cellulite region.
Exercises such as squats, lunges, step ups, stair repeats will also assist when combined with the above tips.
If you have a specific question or problem with cellulite you can also email me direct on dean@getfit.com.au
Dean Piazza
Your Online Personal Trainer
Cellulite is a terrible part of ageing for many women. We are appalled when we discover the ugly dips and dents on our bottoms and thighs.
But young, slim women also develop the undesirable feature, which makes the skin look like an orange peel. Women who get cellulite are at the mercy of the connective tissue under their skin. A range of products promise help, but experts say a healthy diet and exercise are the best weapons.
"Every woman has a predisposition for developing cellulite," says dermatologist Christoph Liebich. It's one of nature's injustices: men generally don't get it. The reason for that lies in the structure of the female connective tissue. A woman's skin is more pliable and has more fat cells stored below it.
Aside from those differences, the collagen fibres of the female connective tissue are laid out parallel to each other and upright. In a man, they are woven in a network and slanted. Fat cells can squeeze into the collagen, creating the ugly dents on the surface. If the connective tissue gets weak while fat cells grow at the same time, cellulite is the result.
But the good news is that there are ways to fight it.
"Lots of exercise, a proper diet that includes a lot of fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates that metabolise quickly, little fat and sufficient fluids are the most effective measures against cellulite," says dermatologist Anne Hundgeburth, a member of Germany's professional association for dermatologists.
These steps will increase circulation in the connective tissue, reduce waste deposits and shrink fat cells.
"Doing exercise helps to tighten the muscles underlying the tissue," Liebich says. "When things aren't hanging down limp and untoned, the bottom and legs look a lot better."
This hasn't stopped the cosmetic industry trying to steer customers toward a battery of supposedly cellulite-busting creams and gels.
Some products claim to contain wonder ingredients, like caffeine and sea algae, to "support the microcirculation of the skin" and make it firm and elastic. Another contains birch bark. Others promise to improve circulation or stop fat cells multiplying. Some say they can even tighten up your skin while you're sleeping.
But experts are sceptical about their effectiveness.
"So far no test has found a cream to be effective," says Hanne Vedder of Germany's consumer centre in Stuttgart. "People who believe they are getting rid of their cellulite because they are using a cream are mistaken."
Doctors point to the fact that creams, gels and oils don't penetrate deeply enough into the skin to work where the cellulite is.
"If anything at all, an increase in circulation in the upper layer of skin is induced," says Hundgeburth. But the active ingredients in the creams, gels and oils don't reach the fat cells below the skin.
The massage effect of rubbing them into the skin tends to be more important that the products themselves, says Liebich.
"A proper massage stimulates circulation and lymphatic drainage," he adds, helping carry waste products away, lowering the amount of water stored in the tissue and promoting circulation.
It doesn't hurt to moisturise your skin and to use products with active ingredients such as fruit acids or vitamin A - also called retinol, says Vedder. But this can be done without an expensive cellulite cream.
The old recommendations remain the best: drink enough liquids, massage the area, ride a bike, take the stairs.
This won't completely prevent cellulite, there is at least a chance that it will delay the development of that bothersome orange peel skin.
DPA
