When it comes right down to it, cellulite is simply fat. The cottage-cheese or orange peel look is due to the connective tissue that separates your fat into compartments. Women's tissues have a honeycomb appearance, which allows fat to bulge out, whereas men tend to have criss-cross or horizontal patterns on their compartments, says the American Council on Exercise, or ACE. Cellulite becomes more noticeable with age because your skin thins. Regular exercise will reduce your chances of developing cellulite. If you've already got some orange peel on your thighs, where this condition is most common, exercise will help reduce the appearance. There's not a quick fix, however, so be prepared to work for your leaner and smoother thighs.
Cardio
Step 1
Perform daily cardio exercise such as treadmill walking or jogging or cycling. Work out for at least 20 minutes at 70 to 80 percent of your maximal heart rate.
Step 2
Find your maximal heart rate by taking 220 and subtracting your age. Multiply that result by 0.7 and 0.8 to find 70 to 80 percent of your max.
Step 3
If you don't want to do math or take your pulse as you exercise, use the "talk test." If you can easily maintain a conversation as you work out pick up your pace a little. If you are able to sing and maintain the same effort you are not working hard enough. If you are gasping for breath, you need to reduce your pace a bit, says the American Heart Association.
Strength Train
Step 1
Add strength-training exercises to your regimen two to three days a week. The average American woman does not emphasize this area of fitness enough, and the result is a body composition that has too much fat and not enough lean muscle mass. Too much fat, in turn, is largely responsible for the cellulite condition that most middle-aged women suffer, says Wayne L. Westcott, fitness director at South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts and author of "No More Cellulite."
Step 2
Focus on thigh-toners such as lunges, squats, plies and leg raises on days you perform leg exercises. Plyometric exercises work especially well, such as the plyometric squat, in which you squat until your knees are bent to 90 degrees, jump up and land softly back in the squat position.
Step 3
Don't sweat it if you must work out at home and use body weight or bands for resistance in lieu of machines and dumbbells. In general, any tool from body weight to dumbbells to elastic bands to machines is fine to provide resistance for strength training, according to ACE.
Diet
Step 1
Follow a food pyramid-based diet that consists of 1,600 to 2,220 calories, says Westcott. To start, focus on reducing portion sizes to cut 400 calories a day from your diet.
Step 2
Emphasize vegetables, fruits and fiber. Choose more orange and dark leafy veggies, make half of the grains you consume whole grains and eat 2 cups fruit daily, recommends the American Dietetic Association. Also eat low-fat dairy and lean protein that is baked, grilled or broiled. Limit sugar and salt, and choose unsaturated fats over saturated and trans fats.
Step 3
Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Being well-hydrated will help you avoid water retention and gain more shapely thighs, Maryland dermatologist Lynn McKinley-Grant says in an "Ebony" magazine article.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Exercise and Cellulite
- "Women's Strength Training -- The Cellulite Connection"; Wayne L. Westcott, YMCA Fitness Director; 2011
- "Eat Right"; American Dietetic Association; 2009
- MayoClinic.com: Cellulite Symptoms
- Medline Plus: Cellulite
- American Heart Association: Target Heart Rates
Member Comments