Cathe (or anyone!) help for a bubble butt

pianoann

Cathlete
Hello! First, I love your workouts, and have seriously gotten addicted! I especially love the lower body workouts.
I have been plagued with a bubble butt my whole life, even though I have a thin frame. I have seen the best results ever doing Cathe. My butt is definatley much firmer, but there is still more of a butt than I would like. I have heard rumors that doing a lot of leg presses would make the bubble butt situation worse. Is that true? I have been doing so many!
Any suggestions are appreciated! I have many Cathe workouts to rotate through!
Thank you! :D
 
I found that using too much weight too frequently for leg presses made my rear bigger, especially when I did the FIRM. I think I was building muscle there quicker than I was burning off fat. Now I use heavier weights less frequently, and sometimes use none at all but just increase the range of motion, or I will change the exercise up a bit by stepping off the side, etc. This has given me better results, along with intensity during cardio....especially plyometrics.

HTH, Julie
 
Happened to me also with the Firm. I've had a bubble butt all my life and the Firm just made it huge. It looked like I literally could set something on it back there for a while. I now only do leg presses once, maybe twice, per week on a 12-inch step instead of 14 inches. My hips were up to a size 38 when I was using the Firm. Yikes!!! I'm only 5' tall so that is just huge. I could only wear 1 pair of jeans, and they were extremely tight. With backing off on leg presses and adding Kick Max and Gym Style Legs to my weekly routine as well as Low Max, I'm now down 35-1/2-inches in the hips. All my jeans fit and I now can buy regular fit jeans instead of relaxed fit. Woo hoo!! This is the first time in at least 5 years that I've been able to wear regular fit jeans.
 
Send some my way! I'm always struggling to get a little more 'bubble" in the butt!

A lot of what is back there is genetically determined, IMO. You can lose or gain fat and or muscle to somewhat change the appearance of the butt, but I would think that it would be difficult to "reduce" a bubble butt. (Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez have bubble butts that are much admired by some. Maybe look to them as role models!)

What you can try is the opposite of what I'm doing to get my butt high and round(er):
I like step ups and Firm lower body work, so YOU should avoid or reduce them, OR just do step ups with no added weight, maybe more reps and low weight.

I avoid doing too much kickboxing vs. step-ups and butt-raising moves, because FOR ME, this tends to lean out my butt. So YOU can try doing more kickboxing. (May not work for all, and just be a quirk in my body, but I find that too much KB leaves me flatter than I like).

I found that Tony Horton's P90X Legs and Back was not enough of a butt-raising workout for me, and I lost a bit of what roundness I had when doing the P90X rotation. So YOU could try doing P90X (plyo and leg/back workouts) and see what happens.

And remember what Gin Miller says: If you're going to have a big butt, have a GREAT (ie: fabulous) big butt! (She and Tamilee Webb, especially Tamilee,, are examples of instructors who have big booties. Even when Tamilee is slimmer, she's got lotsa back!)
 
Hi Kelly,

I'm impressed with your results!! I was wondering if you could let me know what your exercise routine is for the week and what you eat during the day. I have your "before" measurements and I'm 5'0" too. I often think by butt would make a great coffeetable.

Thanks,
Debbie

P.S. Kathryn, thanks for the tips I'm going to try them:)
 
I'd love to send you mine lol! Great advice as usual Kathryn. I'm definitely pear shaped and have a bubble butt. Kickboxing helps me a lot.
 
Hi Debbie, I wasn't doing an actual rotation, but was making sure I did Low Max, Kick Max, and the Gym Style workouts at least once a week.

I just started an actual rotation this week and I've already lost another pound. I'm doing 4 days on 1 day off. I'm really focusing on my weight work and lifting as heavy as I possibly can. It looks something like this.

Sunday - Gym Style Legs
Monday - Gym Style Back, Shoulders, and Biceps plus 30 minutes of cardio
Tuesday - Low Max or Kick Max
Wednesday - Gym Style Chest and Triceps
Thursday - Off
Then start over again.

I'm also adding in core work and stretching when I can and walking on my treadmill for about 1 mile in the late afternoon. I work at a computer all day, and I think my body really needs that treadmill walk.

As far as my diet, it is not so good. I have to have chocolate every day, but this week I've really starting adding in more protein, eating wheat bread instead of white, brown rice, baking or grilling my meats, etc. The diet is the hard part for me, but my 18-year-old son just joined a gym and wants to eat healthy now, so that is really helping me stay on track.
 
Thanks for your input, everyone! I really love Cathe's kickboxing workouts, so doing that is no problem. When I'm doing workouts with leg presses I should do no weight or lower the weight? What about squats and lunges? Wouldn't they have a similar effect?
As far as the P90X series, what are people's thoughts on that? I thought about ordering that before, but love Cathe's workouts so much I felt it was difficult to branch out. Is is similar to Cathe? I will order if it will make but butt a smaller bubble...

p.s. Even with doing leg presses, my butt has decreased in size and has increased in firmness. I still am not satisfied, though!!!
 
> When I'm
>doing workouts with leg presses I should do no weight or lower
>the weight? What about squats and lunges? Wouldn't they have
>a similar effect?

Since all three exercises are very challenging even without weights, you could go with body weight only for them, at least for a while, and see what happens. I especially recommend no weight for the leg presses/tall box climbs.

On squats and lunges, try lowering your weight considerably, and go for perfect form, and maybe a bit more depth.

You could also get a very effective workout without adding weight by doing 1-legged squats. They are nice (in a "@)(#$ these are tough!" way!) because they work every muscle in the lower body, and call on stabilizing muscles (around the hip and knee and the inner and outer thigh) so may even make a more shapely, balanced leg).

Personally, I haven't found that squats and lunges have the "butt boosting" effect that step-ups/tall box climbs, whatever you want to call them.
 
I also have not found that lunges and squats have the "butt boosting" effect. :) I go as heavy as I can on squats and lunges. I also think Cathe's leg presses are more efficient than the Firm because they are faster paced. I use the band with Gym Style Legs leg presses just as Cathe and crew and I love it.
 
Hi Kathryn

Not sure if you'll see my question for you, but here I go:

I have a similar concern with you: I want a bubbly butt! But I also had big legs, doing kickboxing and P90X Legs and Back actually helped me.

So I would like to know what do you do to get a nice lifted and round butt? i.e. I do not have Firm, but I have many Cathe DVDs.

Thank you
 
I'm with you meow!
I have the exact problem. Although my legs are thinner from KPC and P90X, so is my butt!
I want my booty back! I would love to know which Cathe (or other) workout works best for you Kathryn?

Sandra
 
A round of Firm workouts using the Transfirmer helped get things back where I'd like them to be (not 100% there, but improved!). The transfirmer, and in particular doing lunges on the incline and step-ups on the high portion, really help. Also, I find that the TLT workouts are helpiing, because they have a lot of 1-legged work. One move that really hits the area is a 1-legged squat done with the foot of the non-working leg on a stability ball. You squat down, then move the ball in and out, then push back up (the ball movement is pretty much just to assure that you keep the weight on the working leg and don't use the leg on the ball too much). Then you transition into making the 'down and out" one motion and the 'up and in' another.
 
I could be wrong...but genetics could play a pretty big role in the "bubble butt" syndrome!
Some women are just created to carry extra fat around the hip/butt area and some women carry it aroud the belly and some women are just flat out blessed with being naturally skinny.
I personally have a bubble butt and always have no matter if I run, kickbox, squat, lunge....etc it is always there. I will say this...there is a difference in a firm bubble butt and a flabby bubble butt...if the buttox is firm and still there, then hey roll with it!
Nothing wrong with having curves! Embrace being a woman! :7
 
Pulling out an old Firm tape tonight! I did have a better butt back when I did those... I thought it
I keep holding off on those TLTs because I'd like to get through a whole month without buying an exercise DVD! I keep reading such great things I don't think I'll be able to hold out much longer!
 
Please advise!!!
I bought P90X because I saw it on a few other posts to "help with big hips and butt" but I was not impressed. I didn't feel the challenged like I do with Cathe's workouts. Do you really like P90X?? I am seriously considering sending it back. But I would like more feedback before I do so.
Again, PLEASE ADVISE.
 
A gentle reminder - the particular forum is not "Ask Kathyrn." We should be discussing videos from other instructors on the Open Discussion forum, as well as directing questions to other posters, not here on the "Ask Cathe" forum.
Just Do It! :)
 
I bought Power 90X, and I've already sent them back. My bubble butt is not so bubbly anymore since using Cathe's Gym Style Legs. It has also tremendously helped my saddle bag area. All my pants and shorts from last summer are actually too big now through the legs. My husband mentioned a couple of weeks ago how much better my butt/outer thighs are looking.
 

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