Tracy Anderson vs The Butt

[mizvespa]

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[tigerbaby]

Originally Posted by mizvespa

Okay guys, I've been doing lots of research because I saw great results last year when I did the TA Method for 2 short months (before traveling out of the country on an extended mission trip and falling out of the workout habit).

My concern is this: I don't want her workout to flatten my d*mn butt! If you look at Tracy's butt, as well as those of her clients (such as Gwyneth Paltrow and the chick from Army Wives), they completely lack on booty roundness! I mean, some of them even look downright flat.

Please, please tell me TA ladies if you feel her rotations have flattened your butt. I LOVE what her workouts do for my arms, stomach and legs. I find it difficult to round and perk the butt without bulking the thighs, and my thighs bulk VERY easily. I haven't tried glutecentric yet... only the mat dvd and webisodes. I'm not seeking a watermelon butt, but would like SOME roundness, ya know? Ehhh...

Great question! I can only speak for my results but I'm on level 6 of Hip and my butt is deflated some. I'm the exact same as you in that I find it difficult to round the butt without bulking the thighs. Right now the one thing that's working for me in perking my butt back up while slimming my thighs is yoga.

Hopefully those that have been doing glutecentric will chime in with better backside results.

[hotncmom]

I don't do TA but I have the same desire to have smaller thighs while keeping my butt, so I have to combine workout styles - Ballet Body foldover and BBL for the butt plus floorwork for the legs gives good results. Yeah, I notice when I just do floorwork my butt shrinks so I have to add in stuff that builds the butt back up.

[hotncmom]

Right now the one thing that's working for me in perking my butt back up while slimming my thighs is yoga.

And you're doing Ultimate Yogi which I'm about to start so this is good to hear! Maybe I won't have to add in extra floorwork after all. I was thinking UY wouldn't work my inner/outer thighs enough.

[tigerbaby]

hotncmom, it's so interesting to me because whenever I do yoga my thighs slim down. Last year I did 6 months of yoga and within the first 2 months I lost an inch off my thighs. I hold majority of my body fat in my thighs and it's such a struggle to find anything that helps burn and release it. For some reason, yoga seems to be the key for me in doing that. I think static holds plus the combined cardio and stretching of yoga helps. BB just bulked my thighs up beyond belief, although the foldover work was fantastic for my backside.

[hotncmom]

Yeah, when I do Ballet Body lower body stuff, I mainly do the foldover work. My calves are very muscular so I tend to avoid a lot of the lower body stuff because of the releve work.

Can't wait to see if UY is the magic bullet Of course, I have to stop eating so badly too.

[chrisqan]

Good question. I've always had a flat butt and I still have a pretty flat butt with TA. However I know when I do Tonique, my butt rounds out from all the squats and lunges but my thighs also get a little bigger, but "bulky" though. I don't really bulk easily.
I read an article recently on Fitness magazine.
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/worko...rcises/?page=3
"In general, the gluteus maximus is a combination of fast-twitch muscle fibers -- that is, rapid-firing fibers, which are tapped for bursts of speed or power -- and slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are the workhorses during aerobic activities. Some studies suggest that the glutei medius and minimus consist primarily of slow-twitch muscles. This means the glutes can benefit from both strength training with high load and low reps, like heavy-weight squats (to work the fast-twitch muscles), and with low load and high reps and endurance exercises, like running and stair climbing (to work slow-twitch muscles)."

Basically, the gluteus maximus is what gives you the roundness and shape. TA's floorwork is mostly endurance- low load and high reps which work the glutei medius and minimus and helps to minimize and lift your butt but can't add to it. I think if you want to round out your butt, you'll have to add in more strength training, it will probably add size to your thighs, but you'll have to find a balance/compromise that works for you.

[SharonH]

Hmmm.....maybe I should keep my Tracey Anderson meta workout.....but butt is huge compared to the rest of me. I could definitely use some deflation.

[chrisqan]

Also, the article discusses why some people have more "square"ish butts:

"Because everyone's gluteal muscles attach at the same points on their skeleton -- the maximus runs diagonally from the top of the pelvis to the femur and iliotibial band on the outside of the upper thigh -- if you have a tall pelvis, "you may have a longer, squarer shape to your posterior," says Kimberly Topp, PhD, chair of the department of physical therapy at the University of California, San Francisco. "With a wide pelvis, you may have a more horizontal orientation of the muscle." If your back is a bit more curved, your buns may appear more lifted. You can work on your glutes and change their size and shape (more on that later), but some people start off with the nicely rounded gluteal muscles that inspire pop songs, while many of us do not.

So just how much of our butt shape is predetermined by genetic roulette? Up to 70 percent of the body's overall shape, and therefore your rear's, is genetic, Dr. Marango says."

[ddj]

Originally Posted by SharonH

Hmmm.....maybe I should keep my Tracey Anderson meta workoust.....but butt is huge compared to the rest of me. I could definitely use some deflation.

Me, too!