pear shaped help please!

[ela80]

hello cathe!first of all let me tell you how much i love you and your workouts!I would really use your help now..what rotations would you recommend for pear shaped woman like me?i'm 5'5 and 136 lb and kind of skinny fat,body fat 29.6%. i really want to get down at least at 24%.
i'm looking forword to your answer!
i'd like to hear other oponions as well..

[mini-natty]

Hi there,

Not Cathe (obviously) but I am your typical pear-shape (narrow shoulders, A-B cup chest, small defined waist, bigger hips/thighs/butt). I can tell you from experience what has worked for me to tone down the hips/thighs/butt while reducing body fat:

-Work your UB to shape/define/tone your arms, chest & shoulder's. The bigger your UB, the smaller your LB will look, making your body appear more perportioned. I found heavy weights work best to really get muscle definition. Also, I find changing up my routine helps, so while I lift heavy the majority of the time, I also sometimes do lighter weight/higher reps. It confuses the muscle since your body will adapt and become lazy if you do the same old, same old. I used to shy away from working my UB long time ago, thinking I had to work my legs & butt more to help my shape. That was a huge mistake! So don't be afraid to increase your UB muscle mass (muscle helps burn more calories at rest too!!).

-Diet is very important. Probably the most important part of the equation. If you don't eat healthy while exercising, your results will go unnoticed. The bummer about pear-shaped gals losing weight, is that it never comes off from the thighs & butt first!!! Makes no sense right, that's where all the fat is!!!

-Cardio is crucial to losing weight. I like to change it up, since I need variety and I tend to get bored (not to mention your body get's lazy and you stop seeing results). I love everything from kickboxing, step, Hiit, Tabata, circuit training, hi/low, walking, biking. Also, I am not afraid to push myself and get out of my comfort zone. I know my body and it's limitations. I love challenges and I love to sweat, so I make sure to include that.

-I am a huge, and I mean HUGE fan of Cathe's LIS!!! Nothing has ever toned down my hip/thighs/butt like that program!!! I lost 2 pant sizes doing the Nov LIS rotation and Dec hi/low rotation!! LIS was a god sent for pear-shaped women. I was amazed at how well it attacked the LB region.

-Weight training for legs is also important. I find mixing heavy weight/low reps (Gym Style Legs) with low weight/no weight high reps (Turbo Barre) a great combination to effectively tone the LB. But to each his own, you have to find out what works for you (trial & error).

I hope this helps. Not expert advice, but speaking from experience.

Good luck! I hope Cathe responds as well!!

Natasha

[missyt]

Well, Natahsa said it best. I too had amaxing results from LIS/cardio/weights/ and nutrition. Cathe's DVD are the best. I think whatever you choose will work. But, I highly recomment LIS.

[aveggiegirl]

I agree with everything that Natasha said.

Eat healthy,go Heavy on the upper and do LIS...it really will make a difference.

Unfortunately, I know from experience too.