Wouldn’t it be great if you could get rid of that excess fat on your stomach or tighten up those hips and thighs? How many times have you tried diet and exercise to target your trouble spots only to see slow or no progress? How many people do you know that have been down that same path, probably multiple times?
Having worked with hundreds of individuals, mainly women, the two things that I found with almost every client was that they ALL had specific areas of their body that they really wanted to change.
For some it was the back of their arms and for others it was their rear end. And the second thing is nearly all of those people also felt it was impossible to achieve their goals . Oh, I forgot to mention, there was a third similarity among all those individuals… SHOCK! Shock when I told them not only could they flatten their stomachs , lose their love handles, thin out their thighs, and get rid of the flab on the back of their arms, but they would do it with just 15 minutes of exercise just three times a week! You are probably finding that you are just like the people I’m talking about.
People are constantly looking for the quick fix to get rid of their problem/trouble spots and often never find out there is a “secret” method that does work, and not only does this secret method work, but it’s EXTREMELY effective!
So by now you’re probably wondering what this secret is, right? The “secret” method for eliminating those trouble spots is a technique I like to call “BLASTING”. Before I tell you what it is and how it works, it’s important that you understand a few basic principles of how the human body responds to exercise.
The reason most diet and fitness programs fail to deliver the desired result is simple; they aren’t progressive! Part of the blame can be put on the so-called “experts”. Have you ever heard or read anywhere that exercise needs to be progressive? If so, you are one of the few. And even still, the rare few out there often fail to emphasize the importance of it and often don’t explain it in a way that is simple and easy to understand.
So let me give you my explanation and show you why it’s the most important factor when it comes to exercise, especially when you’re really trying to make big changes in those trouble spots.
Progressive exercise means forcing your body to work a little bit harder each time. That doesn’t mean you have to build up to doing 60 minutes of aerobics like many people do, nor does it mean you should try to keep piling on the weight on the strength training exercises.
You just need to challenge the body with a stress that is strong enough to force the body to make improvements. You can do this in so many ways but here are just a few:
For strength training
- Increase resistance
- Perform more reps
- Move the weight slower
- Add an additional set
- Use static holds
- Change the exercises
For cardiovascular exercise:
- Go faster
- Increase workout time
- Incorporate intervals
- Use an incline (if possible)
- Cross-train (change activity)
How To Tighten & Tone Your Hips & Thighs
Let’s say that you are really trying to tighten and tone your hips and thighs. Rather than waste your time on the inner/outer thigh machine week after week, you should incorporate some of the techniques I described above and use with caution my BLASTING technique which I’ll cover now. Just as it sounds you are trying to really shock the muscles into making large improvements in a short period of time.
Normally you would strength train a muscle group once or twice a week at a moderate to hard intensity level. When you are trying to BLAST an area you train it more often, perform more sets and reps, and with higher intensity.
Here’s a sample strength training program that uses multiple techniques combined over a 5 week period for a BLASTING effect on the hips and thighs:
Workout A
- Leg curl
- Leg extension
- Glute machine / raise
Workout B
- Leg press (wide stance)
- Hamstring bridge
- Wall sit
Workout C
- Stationary lunge
- Leg curl (no rest to next exercise)
- Squat
| Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| 1 | Upper Body | A Lower Body | Upper Body | ||
| 2 | B Lower 2 sets 15-20 reps | C Lower 1 set – slow 8-12 reps | B Lower 3 sets 6-10 reps | ||
| 3 | Upper | A Lower – moderate workout | Upper | ||
| 4 | C Lower – 2 sets 6-10 reps slow | Upper | A Lower – 3 sets 10-15 reps | ||
| 5 | B Lower – 4 sets 10-12 reps | Upper | C Lower – 2 sets 12-15 reps |
This is just a quick example I just came up with off the top of my head and it may not be right for you but I just want you to get the point. You need to force change. The human body doesn’t like it… it disrupts things. I should also say that techniques like this should NOT be uses often as you can quickly and easily over train and that does not help you meet your goals.
If you apply just some of the techniques I talked about you will be sure to see some noticeable if not dramatic changes. Just remember, work hard and smart!
Jesse Cannone, from the Healthy Back Institute is a certified personal fitness trainer, post-rehab specialist, nutritionist, and a national fitness presenter.
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