Workout for Pears

K

kelley111

Cathlete
I finally read my Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine from, I think, October and there is a section on pears. I don't know why I never read it before. Anyway, it recommended that a pear shape person do 4 days of cardio at a minimum of 45 minutes and a max of 60 minutes. It said it takes over 30 minutes before we start burning the fat in our legs. It also recommended that 3 of these be interval workouts to fatigue the legs with the 4th workout being a steady rate cardio. It also recommended 3 days of upper body work with heavy weight followed by lower body work with moderate weight/higher reps. And abdominal work be done on the cardio days, but I'm not sure why. The article also said it would great if we could 2 cardio sessions on some days, not all, for an extra boost for the legs. This would be a less intense workout such as walking, etc.

I'm going to give this a try. It shows us working out 7 days per week which I think will be okay. I'll use a low intensity workout for my 4th cardio day at a longer intensity. And I doubt that I'll be adding in the extra cardio in one day. I do have some Leslie Sansone walk tapes which might be great if I do decide to add in extra. I'll definitely be listening to my body and if I feel I'm doing much, I'll slow down. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.
 
Thanks, Kelley. I think I'll try this. I'm also a pear and we'll be wearing shorts soon in Florida so I need to get busier.

I did not know it took 30 minutes before fat is burned from the legs. I always went with the 20 minute rule, but that's what I remember reading from a long time ago.

How many lbs would be considered moderate for leg work, do you think? Maybe 35-40 lbs.

Adding a few more minutes cardio and one more interval workout should do it for me as this is sort of the schedule I'm on anyway.
 
Hi Kelley, thanks for the info. This is a LOT of working out for me. Lots of cardio and an extra day of upper body work with heavy weights. It normally takes my upper body more than 48 hours to recover, which is why I do only two non-consecutive UB strength work per week. Adding on to my upper body is a different problem entirely for me, in addition to whittling away at my saddlebags and inner thighs. Do please let us know how it works. I just might use it.:)

Pinky
 
Kelley,

I might do this. I'm also a pear and have been fighting a losing battle with my lower half. Would you mind posting your workout here when you start this? I would ever be so grateful. I'm trying to think up how exactly to do schedule this workout and what tapes/dvds to use. That is definitely a lot of working out. But if it will get rid of my thighs...! :)

Sanchia
 
I haven't worked out a rotation yet. The article in the magazine has the following exercises for the lower body. These are just examples. You can do whatever exercises you want.

Stationary Lunges 30-60 seconds on each leg followed by Step-ups with knee lift for 30-60 seconds. Do 2-3 supersets resting briefly between supersets.

Lying single leg bridges with stability ball for 30 seconds per leg followed by wall squats with stability ball for 30-60 seconds. Do 3 supersets.

Band Drags (this is described with a band that has a loop around your calves which sounds like standing leg lifts to the side) for 30 seconds followed by half squats with a medicine ball between thighs for 30 seconds. Do 2 supersets.

I'm thinking we could use the Push/Pull and Supersets DVD and program our own leg workout. Legs and Glutes also sounds like it could work.

As far as cardio, I can pretty much use any of Cathe's workouts. I did Step, Jump, and Pump and was dying on the Jump section which is plenty of an interval workout for me. I know I need to throw in IMAX 2 once per week, however, to get a true interval workout.

The article doesn't mention what size weights to use, but it actually says lighter, not moderate. (Sorry for the wrong information above.)I would think this would be different for everyone. It says to lighten your weight to 50% of your maximum lift. Or, use a weight where you can do something like 20-30 repetitions in 30 seconds. At the end of the 30 seconds, you should think, "Whew, glad I'm done with that." Go close to failure but not completely to failure.
 
I remember reading this article and thinking that it makes sense to train the body according to type.

My understanding of it is that if working the lower body mulitple times per week, you will do high reps, moderate to low weight. So, Legs and Glutes and leaner Legs would be ideal for this.

But this does not mean you necessarily need to go light with the upper body. After all, many pears lack balance. The upper body could be underdeveloped and/or a real skinny minnie. What is needed is to restore balance between upper and lower body, to get two triangles. So, by developing the upper body more, it can reduce the pear look of "bottom heaviness."

Makes sense? So, no need to go abandoning your heavy upper body weight routines ladies!

Clare
 
Kelley,

I was playing around with rotations usign tapes for this pear workout. Tell me what you think about this:

BodyMax
Imax 1 + abwork
Leaner Legs + Chest & Back (Gilad's 20min. tape)
MIC
Imax 2 + abwork
Legs & Glutes + Arms & Shoulders (Gilad's 20min. tape)
Rest

Any input you could give me would be greatly appreaciated.

Sanchia
 
Kelley, Did the article mention the type of workout for a ruler body type?

Susan C.M.
 
Hi Sanchia, That looks good to me. I'm thinking of doing something similar and also using a cardio & weights workout for one of the days as I like having 1 day for rest. I'm going to sit down this weekend and try to figure out a rotation.

Today I did Step Blast. I normally only do about 35 minutes of this workout, but I remembered what it said about the 45 minutes to work the legs. So I marched in place everytime I got tired and then got back in there. I was really proud of myself. I marched a lot during the blast section, but I did more than normal.
 
Thanks Kelley,

I'm gonna give this a go - I'm getting married in April in Mexico and am having a hard time getting my hips back x( ! This looks like it could really do the trick. I'm thinking about trying Nutrisystem as well for the food aspect.... Anyone ever try it? For the legs/upper body section, is it recommended to throw in some floor work as well? Any thoughts from anyone?

Thanks!
Tracey:)
 
Hi Tracey, One of the exercises I described above is done on the floor with the stability ball. It sounds like the same exercises Cathe uses in Pyramid Lower Body with one foot on the ball and the other in the air to work the hamstrings. I will definitely be doing floor work as I feel it works the best.
 
Thanks Kelley! I think I'll incorporate my Firm lower body sculpt and hips, glutes, abs(?title). I find floor work very effective as well - or give it the credit when I do reduce.
Tracey
 
And then there is always the exception.

I'm a pear and once I heavied up on my lower body workouts, I slimmed down. Go figure! :D
 
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