Collarbone, Abs, and Glutes, Oh My!
Today’s media has portrayed the ‘perfect’ body for both men and women for quite some time. Media has dictated what we will inherently strive to look like. If you are looking to have this "perfect" body as well, you are definitely not alone. However, some, if not most, of these appearances are virtually impossible to achieve, never mind maintain. It takes many hours and dedication to even come close.
I've spoken to many female clients over the years, and many of them want this "perfect bod." However, many of them are unwilling to do what it takes to get there (because they have a life, family, and career), while others don't understand that it simply isn’t a realistic goal - at least not at this point in time. Those that do understand this obviously still want to improve their bodies. Some of the common requests that I’ve gotten are to have a more pronounced collarbone, better abs (or a 6 pack), and a lifted, perfectly round butt. All of these requests, which are a lot, are better requests than “Make me LOOK like her –" pointing at the woman on the cover of a magazine, and I’m happy to aid in their transformation journey.
*I understand there are more requests that women have about their bodies, however these are three staples that I hear. By focusing on and accomplishing these three tasks, you are likely to remedy some of the other ‘problem areas’ you may be facing.
Let’s start from the top down, “I want a more pronounced collarbone.” What is really being said is “I want to lose fat around my collarbone.” So what’s the trick? Well, to be honest, there isn’t. There is no such thing as spot reducing. Yes I said it: you can’t choose to lose weight in specific areas, it’s a myth. Basically, if you want to lose weight around your neck and check, only doing chest and neck exercises wont do it for you. You also cannot choose to lose weight in your chest and neck, but not your legs. Your body will lose weight wherever it chooses, in whatever order of areas. A lot of women (and men) know from experience where their bodies like to store fat and lose fat from first. Focus on fat burning workouts, such as circuit training, HIIT, and cardiovascular exercises to accomplish this ‘more pronounced collarbone.’ I will also add that you can sculpt and tone this area of your body by doing chest and shoulder exercises while losing weight for an enhanced look. Some strength exercises you may want to focus on are:
Bench press or dumbbell chest press
Inclined press or dumbbell inclined chest press
Front (shoulder) raise
Pushup
Overhead press
Now onto the dreaded abdominals, the problem area for 99% of the population (not an exact stat). If you haven’t caught on, the same is true for the abdominals. You cannot simply do 1000 crunches and have ripped abs. Yes, this will help sculpt your abs, but first you must lose the abdominal fat that covers your abs before you can actually see them. Some abdominal exercises you may want to do to sculpt your abs are:
Hanging knee or leg raises
Bicycles
Russian twists
Flutter kicks
Reverse crunch
Last, but certainly not least, the buttocks. The butt is a sensitive area for most and almost everybody wants a better butt. This problem area follows in suit with the above. You must lose the fat around your hips and butt in order to have a sculpted butt. But how do you get a sculpted butt? Here are a few exercises to focus on:
Squats
Bulgarian split squats (my personal all time favorite)
Bridge
Deadlift
Rear leg raise
The exercises listed above are some key foundational exercises to any workout program (mine included), not just ones to get a better collarbone, abs, or butt. As a matter of fact, throw in some back exercises and you have a pretty solid workout program for the week! Achieving a great, sculpted body requires a lot of hard work and dedication from not only strength training and cardio, which we learned today, but also from proper diet and nutrition (which will be discussed in future posts). By implementing all of these aspects (it doesn’t have to all be at one time), you should have success in your weight loss, body-sculpting journey. If you have been implementing these aspects and are still struggling with weight loss, here is an article that describes …These 3 Reasons… why you may have hit a plataue in weight loss and how to overcome it.