Does Step Always = Big Rear?

lynda

lynda

Cathlete
Hi! A question for the experienced. Returned to exercise in January after 8 months off for illness. My New Year's resolution was to get myself back in shape. Have been doing step twice a week, walking 4 miles 3x a week, weight training 3x a week, and doing a combo workout 1x a week. Have been eating pretty cleanly, though a bit more than when I wasn't exercising. I've noticed my pants getting tighter and my butt getting bigger. Is there any way to keep stepping and not increase my backside. I love step for cardio, and don't want to eliminate it completely, but I looked better when I wasn't exercising at all. Please help!

-lynda
 
Believe it or not, the walking that you're doing might be part of the culprit. Flat-terrain walking primarily recruits the two large glute muscles that lie to the outside of the hip area, and a lot of walking can develop those muscles and lend to a larger butt area. Interestingly, hill walking primarily recruits the gluteus maximus.

Also, when you say "weight training 3X per week", that doesn't give much of an indication of what you are doing. If you are doing a lot of weighted step ups (also known in Cathe's productions as "leg presses") you will hyperdevelop the glute muscles as well.

I suggest replacing at least one of your walking sessions with a hi/lo or kickboxing session, and making sure one of your step workouts is an interval workout, which usually incorporate floor intervals as well as step intervals. And post here what your weight training schedule is, and you'll get some more good input.

HTH -

A-JOck
 
A-Jock:

Thanks for replying. Interesting. I never would have guessed that the walking was the culprit. One of the two step workouts is usually an interval workout. The weight training has been varying from week to week, as I've been trying to use as many of my Cathe workouts in my rotation as possible. (This is my "Use What You've Got" Rotation.) I always keep the weights I use for lower body on the low side, especially with Step-Ups.

My 8-week rotation looks like this:

WEEK 1
M - 4 mile walk/Muscle Endurance
Tu - Rhythmic Step/Abs
W - 4 mile walk/PUB
Th - Imax Extreme/Abs
F - 4 mile walk/PLB
Sa - Kick, Punch & Crunch
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 2
M - 4 mile walk/Gym Style Back, Shoulders, Biceps
Tu - Step Jam or Step Heat/Abs
W - 4 mile walk/ Sym Style Chest, Triceps
Th - Step Blast/Abs
F - 4 mile walk/Gym Style Legs
Sa - Boot Camp
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 3
M - 4 mile walk/Push/Pull
Tu - Step Works/Abs
W - 4 mile walk/Super Sets Premix #1
Th - Maximum Intensity Cardio/Abs
F - Super Sets Lower Body Premix #16 or 17
Sa - Circuit Max
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 4
M - 4 mile walk/Timesaver Chest & Triceps/PUB Shoulders
Tu - Timesaver Back & Core/PUB Biceps
W - 4 mile walk/Timesaver Shoulders/PUB Triceps
Th - Timesaver Biceps & Core/PUB Back
F - 4 mile walk/Timesaver Legs & Abs
Sa - High Step Challenge
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 5
M - 4 mile walk/Slow & Heavy Chest & Back
Tu - Low Max/Abs
W - 4 mile walk/Slow & Heavy Triceps & Biceps
Th - Imax 2/Abs
F - 4 mile walk/Slow & Heavy Legs & Shoulders
Sa - Cardio & Weights

WEEK 6
M - 4 mile walk/Muscle Max
Tu - Power Max/Abs
W - 4 mile walk/Power Hour
Th - Interval Max/Abs
F - 4 mile walk/Legs & Glutes
Sa - Step, Jump & Pump
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 7
M - 4 mile walk/Pure Strength Chest, Shoulder & Abs
Tu - Step Max or Mega Step Blast
W - 4 mile walk/Pure Strength Back, Biceps & Abs
Th - Imax 3
F - 4 mile walk/Pure Strength Strong Legs & Abs
Sa - Kick Max
Su - Yoga or Rest

WEEK 8
M - 4 mile walk/CTX Step & Intervals w/ Chest/PUB Triceps
Tu - CTX Power Circuit w/ Back & Abs/PUB Biceps
W - 4 mile walk/CTX All Step w/ Shoulders & Abs/PUB Chest
Th - CTX 10-10-10 w/ Triceps/PUB Back
F - 4 mile walk/CTX Kickbox w/ Biceps & Abs/PUB Shoulders
Sa - Leaner Legs
Su - Yoga or Rest

To be honest, Sunday is more often than not a Rest day, but if I've got a lot of time on my hands and feel like doing something, I'll throw in a beginner yoga tape.

Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. I love to work out, and don't want to be unhappy with the results I'm getting.

Thanks,
-lynda
 
Hmmmmmmm . . . actually, Lynda, that's a pretty good 8-week schedule you've developed.

A couple of thoughts (just one little Baldie's suggestions):

1. Make sure, if possible, one of your walks is a hill-walking route. Also, develop your walking protocol using music that is increasingly up-tempo, so that it really makes you breathe hard. Twice per week (ideally) at work I jump into my Stupid-Walking-Goblin outfit, throw on my Walkman (in case anyone remembers what that is in this Era Of The iPod) and walk using tapes of my aerobics music that go from 140 to about 150 bpm within about 25 minutes. It would be the walking portion needs to be upkicked in the speed department.

2. In your leg resistance training, omit step-ups so that you're only doing them once every two weeks. Even if your routine for that day includes them, just hit the "next" button on your remote OR substitute squats, plie squats or lunges. Step-ups / leg presses are the single most effective mass-builder for the gluteal muscles (especially the glute-max) and it's easy to hit a point of diminishing returns with these, where you're doing more than you need to for functional strength in that area.

IMHO, it's easy to overdo leg and glute training overall. Because we walk on our legs and use our glutes constantly when walking in the hip-extension phase, and because these are large muscles capable of great strength and mass development, they are constantly being worked and actually do not need quite as much attention paid to them in terms of time spent in a strength training set. My suggestion is to play around with your DVDs and discern how LITTLE leg work you can get away with and still reap benefits.

Also, it could very well be that during your illness and your hiatus away from exercise your muscles, including the glutes, simple shrank (shrunk?) and the "puff" your experiencing now is simply a temporary one in response to a renewed fitness program. Often there will be a blossoming of the muscles and then they kind of pack themselves down as you get more time in to your training program.

HTH -

A-Jock
 
Thank you, A-Jock, for taking the time to look over my rotation and for the great suggestions. I'm going to take your advice and re-evaluate my progress in a month or so. I'm also going to pay closer attention to what I eat, as any weight I put on tends to settle in my "nether region."

-lynda
 
Butt is it Firm ??? LOL I have the same problem ,Only at least its Firm LOL Maybe its just lifted !!!!! baby got back .... isnt really a bad thing
 
OHH Great, so now walking makes for a bigger butt!!! I swear somedays I wonder why I even workout. I don't want a big butt nor a bulky body. Maybe starvation and laying on the couch is the answer.

Terri
 
Oh, it's firm--and lifted. Any firmer or higher, and I could rest my drink on it. You've got to keep your sense of humor!

-lynda
 
This more than anything stood out to me that you wrote:
"Have been eating 'pretty cleanly,' though a bit more than when I wasn't exercising." If I were you, before you change your workout in any way please analyze your eating in great detail. Be honest with yourself about whether you may be eating too much - enough to make you gain weight.

I have an advantage because I've tried walking, stepping, weights, and anything else you can name, while at the same time wondering why my britches were getting tighter. I was eating too much, plain and simple. No amount of walking hills or no hills, stepping or not stepping ever resulted in tighter pants. Eating too much of the wrong stuff caused the tight pants. In other words, been there done that. Working with weights should result in looser pants, not tighter. Take it from someone who is "bottom heavy" and has tried literally everything out there exercise-wise to reshape my lower half.

Have you weighed yourself and if so, have you gained weight?

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
Honeybunch:

I actually thought it was logical that I was eating more now that I'm getting back to exercise. While recovering from the surgery and illness, I was pretty much sedentary. Now that I'm working out six days a week, I assumed my increase in hunger was a direct result of needing more calories to sustain a higher activity level. I haven't weighed myself--I never do anymore. I was becoming too much a slave to the scale, and I found that the whole mood of my day was being dictated by that number, so I quit cold turkey. I will take a good hard look at my diet, though, and maybe journal my eating for a few weeks and review that.

Thanks,
-lynda
 
Too many people think that if they exercise, they have to eat more, or can get away with eating more. You can eat to satisfy your increased hunger, but you have to be careful about what you eat. So, don't necessarily eat less, but make better choices. Exercise could burn an extra 250-400 calories a day, depending on what you do, and you must know that it sure doesn't take a lot to gobble up 400 calories!

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
I have always had a problem with a bigger rear although it's been lifted and firm. I always thought that was by genetic disposition. HOWEVER, I decided to start experimenting with workouts and found that for ME, doing Cathe's lower body weight workouts with NO weight and adding yoga helped alot. My butt is still firm and lifted but it doesn't protrude out so much! I also noticed my thighs are slimmer. I don't know if this will work for you, but it really did for me. I have always have strong, muscular legs, so I didn't need to add weights ontop of my own body weight. Hope this helps!
 
I, too, have found that non-weighted exercises and those using only a stability ball or medicine ball work wonders. I've had more success with those than exercises using heavy weights. Ballet type exercises and Pilates are good, too.

Everyone has different results with any given method - you have to try everything to find out what works for you.

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
Honeybunch1

Can you give me some ideas as to how you incorporate a medicine ball into your leg workouts? Thanks so much!

Linda
 
You can do an internet search on "medicine ball exercises" and come up with a lot of good options. I just put together a bunch of them and make up my own workout. I'll do 6 or 7 at a time, and switch the order all the time. You can supplement that with lots of walking lunges, done with or without a med ball. I use a 10 pound ball most of the time.

I do some form of lower body work 5 days a week, and through in extra walking lunges over the weekend when I remember to do them!



"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Mark Twain ;-)
 
Hi Lynda,

I just wanted say that your rotation is awesome I printed it out and going to use most of the workouts. I really like the way you put it together nice work :) :)

Teddygirl~
 
I am so happy to be reading this thread. I've had this problem for the longest and wondered...should I be doing step? Should I be using the high step? I so thank the person (sorry I forgot the name) who said that no amount of weight training would make you gain....be honest about what you're eating. I always wondered how much of my big butt has to do with training or EATING.
 
For those of you who say you've had success doing Cathe's lower body workouts with no weight, do you use only specific workouts, or can any lower body workout be done this way? I have tried to cut back on the weight I use with lower body; however, I always feel like I'm not working hard enough and have to fight the desire to grab heavier weights. I can't imagine doing the workout with no weight. Does it actually work?

lynda
 
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