I have a naturally curvy hourglass figure that would probably be considered voluptuous. I have thick and muscular legs, a big round butt with big natural boobs. A lot of girls say they would love to have my body but I’m not really happy with it and I would like to become more fit and toned. I definitely need to tighten up my legs and my stomach in order to burn off some extra fat since those are probably my worst body parts. What is the best exercise and strength training regimen to tighten up my stomach and waist while toning my legs and thighs? I read that I should avoid training my obliques too much because it will make my waist thicker. Is this true?
Are you sure your name is not Vida Guerra? It sounds like you have an incredibly voluptuous body which most women would do anything to achieve and tons of men would go crazy for. Isn’t it funny how we always want something different from what we have? There are lots of people in the world that go through life always being dissatisfied because they simply want more of everything. They are never happy with how much money they are making and always scratch and claw to make even more while thinking if they just make 50-60% more cash, it would solve all of their financial issues and life problems.
What they don’t realize is that if they ever reach that next level of income, it usually does not satisfy them and they just want more and more. Many times, these people are hyper consumers that are spending lavishly at the mall each weekend buying flashy clothing and accessories to try to impress other people. There is something called the “hedonic treadmill” which is a supposed tendency of a person who makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness. So instead of saving and investing the extra income and building wealth, the person is spending at an even higher rate and many times creating more debt because now their tastes are extremely extravagant and pricey. However, the end result of buying all this fancy “stuff” does not truly make them any more happy.
The reason why I wanted to discuss this example is because sometimes we need to sit back, take a deep breath and be happy with what we have and what we have achieved. In your case, it sounds like you are extremely blessed with incredible genetics along with an amazingly beautiful physique and you should feel very fortunate to have been dealt this good fortune. Now, it’s just a matter of really sharpening up and dialing in your overall fitness program to build upon a great foundation.
I recommend focusing the core of your training style on higher repetitions of around 15-20 reps per set when you workout. Since you have a very voluptuous and athletic physique, it will be much easier for you to pack on solid muscle when you train with weights, so you should be aware of the overall amount of weight you use for your exercises. Higher reps will help you train more for endurance versus strength and muscle growth which will help you start to really tone and tighten up your body. However, weight training alone will not burn the fat over the muscle, so it critical to watch your diet and implement a cardio training routine to burn off all those extra calories and body fat. You should really try to get in at least 45-60 minutes of cardio every day in order to target fat burning to the maximum.
For cardio, the best exercises for toning up your legs and thighs will be jogging and walking on an incline. If you like doing cardio in the gym then set the treadmill at an 8-10% incline and walk or jog for 45-60 minutes to get a great leg and butt toning cardio workout. If you prefer heading outside for your cardio, try doing jogging and walking intervals where you jog for 5-10 minutes and then walk for a few minutes so you can rest and relax before starting your next set. The elliptical machine is also a great cardio workout for tightening up your legs and thighs.
For specific weight training exercises for your legs and thighs, I recommending sticking with the basic multi-joint movements but just remember to keep your reps on the higher end at around 15-20 per set to get the best results.
These exercises are perfect to include in your workout to tone and tighten up your legs, thighs, hips and butt:
For losing fat around your stomach and tightening up your waistline, this totally comes down to your diet. The old saying, “Abs are built in the kitchen” could not be any truer when it comes to burning off the extra layer of fat on the abdominal region. With the type of body you have, it sounds like you really don’t have a tremendous amount of fat on your stomach like many women have, so your training and diet will need to be tweaked a little bit to see great results.
Your question about training your obliques really depends on the exercises you are using. The biggest mistake you want to avoid is doing weighted side bends when you grab a dumbbell and bend over to your side. First off, these are very ineffective for training your obliques and love handles even without weights and it’s an exercise that you do not want to include in your overall stomach workout. If you make the mistake of grabbing a heavy weight like a dumbbell, this adds direct resistance to your sides (obliques) and actually builds up muscle in that area which gives you a “blocky” appearance to your waist. You do NOT want to add weighted resistance to this exercise or really any oblique exercise. Focus on high body weight resistance only and shoot for high reps (18-20) on all the workouts for your abs and obliques.
A great exercise that works amazing for your sides and obliques is doing twists using a stick like a long broom handle or some type of pole. Place it behind your head and rest your arms over the ends of the pole while slowly twisting to the right and left while keeping your feet and lower body stationary. You should feel resistance in your lower body as it creates a torque effect. When you keep your lower body quiet, you will feel the tension on the side of your body while targeting your obliques really well. Shoot for 30-50 reps on this exercise for a great toning movement and also a perfect stretching exercise to use before you start your hardcore abdominal workout!
