Whether you refer to cellulite as cottage cheese, orange peel or dimples, it's really nothing more than fat. When excess body fat gathers in your hips, thighs, butt, stomach and arms you might find that it creates small hills and valleys. While there are numerous surgical and topical treatments advertised to help reduce cellulite, the best way to tackle this condition is with weight loss and increased physical activity.
Causes of Cellulite
It's easy to think that cellulite is a special type of tissue that forms underneath the skin. In reality, cellulite is nothing more than body fat. The way your body fat is grouped together causes the bumpy skin that you recognize as cellulite. Beneath the skin are connective tissues that pull the skin down and work against the fat cells that press upward against the skin. This opposition of elements causes skin dimpling. According to the American Council on Exercise, men have tightly-grouped connective tissue and women have looser, honeycomb-shaped connective tissues.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular, or cardio exercise is a common form of exercise used for weight loss. During cardio exercise, most of your body is engaged, large muscle groups work to perform a task while you're actively burning calories. The harder you work, the more calories you'll burn. According to the American Council on Exercise, higher-intensity exercise burns more calories and results in more body-fat loss. Make it a daily goal to perform cardio activity for at least 30 minutes. Gradually build on your intensity and alternate the type of exercise you perform to reduce your cellulite.
Strength Training
Strength training is also known as weightlifting or resistance training. With the use of your weight, free weights, resistance bands and exercise machines you can increase your muscular endurance, tone your muscles and build new muscle tissue. As you build more muscle tissue, you increase your metabolism and your body begins to burn calories at a faster rate. Train all of your major muscles at least twice a week for 30 to 60 minutes. Choose exercises that target your legs, arms, stomach, back, chest and shoulders.You only need to perform each exercise for one set until you reach muscle fatigue and cannot complete any more repetitions in the correct form, the American Council on Exercise reports.
Interval Training
Interval training can be performed with strength-training or cardio exercises. The goal is to perform an exercise as fast and hard as you can for 30 to 90 seconds, take a 30 to 60 second rest period and repeat. This is done for a total of 15 to 25 minutes. You can combine various exercises to get a full body workout or to combine your cardio and strength training into one session. Performing exercises in short, explosive bursts like this help to boost your metabolism, burn more fat and save time in your day.
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