Here’s One Obsession You Can Put Behind You
I was at a party the other day and happened to notice a quote taped to the refrigerator: “What you focus on will grow.” A girlfriend who happened to pass by at that moment quipped, “Uh-oh, we better not focus on our rear ends.”
The human behind is often the butt of jokes. That’s natural, since many true things are said in jest. Women tend to feel that the eyes of the world are trained on their derrieres. As a kind of self-defense, there’s always one more joke to be made.
And one more pair of jeans to be tried on. I doubt that automobile manufacturers experiment more with, say, aerodynamics than jeans makers do with how the cut of denim can either make the most or the least out of a woman’s tush. They do so because they know that women will pay a premium for pants that do for the heinie what the Wonderbra purports to do for the bosom.
Thus, the three-way mirror is an absolute necessity in a woman’s dressing room; without it, the woman couldn’t judge how the dress, skirt or pants impacts her rear view. Men, on the other hand, apparently never look behind them before buying. The ones I’ve talked to about this subject say that, even if there is a three-way mirror--and they’re not sure if there is--they probably wouldn’t know how to use it.
The female obsession with the perfect posterior leads an increasing number of women to submit to surgical procedures. What used to be just liposuction has evolved into full-scale butt implants. That’s right--fake glutes. Breast jobs weren’t enough. Now, they can get you coming and going.
Given all that, I wish I could convince you that the size and shape of your butt are not going to affect whether you land the best job, find a life partner or get into college. The truth is, it isn’t. That said, you’ll probably still feel the eyes of the world on your rear. So it’s time to put butts in perspective. Here’s the bottom line.
What we commonly call the rear end (or any of a dozen other euphemisms) is actually a complex muscle system that includes the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. The maximus is the muscle you use when you lift your leg behind you or rotate your thigh outward. The medius and minimus, located on the sides of your hips, lift your leg out to the side. To tone the rear, you have to strengthen them all, though it’s the maximus, which is the strongest of these muscles, that makes for what we call a “nice butt.”
To isolate the maximus, stand erect with your heels together, then extend your leg out slowly behind you as far as it goes without arching your back. The muscle you feel contracting and lifting your leg is the maximus. It’s no accident that this move looks like a ballet dancer’s. Any ballet dancer or gymnast or sprinter needs powerful glutes in order to spring up and out from a squatting position. Think of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Now he has a great set of glutes.
The problem for the rest of us is that we don’t in our daily activities have much reason to tax, stimulate or strain our glutes. Unless our job requires several plies an hour, we mostly sit on our seats--and the closest we come to working our glutes is when we lift ourselves out of our chairs. For that brief, transitional moment when we go from sitting to not quite standing, our glutes get a mini-workout.
To give them a more thorough going-over without actually getting to the gym, try this simple exercise. Slowly lift yourself out of the chair without using your arms, then slowly lower yourself down. (As you get better, don’t sit down completely before rising again.) After 12 repetitions, sit down and place your hands on the outside of your thighs just above your knees, then try to resist isometrically as you push your legs outward.
When you’re standing in line somewhere--let’s say at the bank or in the grocery store--you can help your gluteus to make the maximus of your time by simply squeezing and releasing your glutes. Don’t confuse this contraction with squeezing your cheeks together. It should feel as if you’re lifting yourself from a seated position.
Remember, too, that you can work your glutes until they’re strong enough to send you hurtling from a crouch into the ionosphere, but if your rear end is covered with fat, it won’t make a difference. The hard truth is that fat cannot be burned in a targeted area with isolated toning exercises. A flabby booty, like a flabby stomach, requires an overall weight reduction plan of proper eating along with aerobic exercise, such as walking. Get rid of the fat, and tone the muscle.
And finally, once and for all, put the matter behind you.
Copyright 1998 by Kathy Smith
* Kathy Smith’s fitness column appears weekly in Health. Reader questions are welcomed and can be sent to Kathy Smith, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. If your question is selected, you will receive a free copy of her book “Getting Better All the Time.” Please include your name, address and a daytime phone number with your question.
