2882: The Better Booty Toolkit by Rachel Trotta on Physical Fitness & Wellness

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[00:00:40] This is Optimal Finance Daily, The Better Booty Toolkit by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com.

[00:00:48] And I'm your host and personal finance enthusiast, Diana Merriam. Welcome back to our Sunday bonus

[00:00:55] episode, where I share an article with you from a different podcast in our network that can add

[00:01:00] some extra value to your day. Today's episode is coming from Optimal Health Daily. You can find

[00:01:06] that show wherever you're listening to this. So with that, here's Dr. Neil with the post and

[00:01:12] commentary as we optimize your life. The Better Booty Toolkit by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com.

[00:01:25] A Personal Trainer's Guide to Stronger, Fitter Legs. I developed cellulite at a young age,

[00:01:31] and when I put on too much weight too quickly in college, it got even worse. When I lost more than

[00:01:36] 50 pounds, I was happy with how I looked and even happier with how I felt, but the cellulite didn't

[00:01:42] magically go away. I really wasn't happy with the appearance of my legs in shorts. However,

[00:01:48] the worst part was the amount of time and money I wasted worrying about it and trying

[00:01:53] ineffective treatments that didn't address the real solution. I truly believed that there was

[00:01:58] some magical cure that would solve this problem area. I tried caffeine creams, homemade scrubs,

[00:02:05] spot fixing exercises, and a variety of dry brushing and massage techniques. But you know how it is.

[00:02:11] All of these remedies promise quote, an improvement in the appearance, not a complete

[00:02:16] elimination. And if there were ever results that weren't just in my imagination, they were short

[00:02:23] lived. Now, I'm a personal trainer and a fitness nutrition specialist, and I have a much better

[00:02:28] idea of how to address the legs and thighs effectively, both physically and mentally,

[00:02:33] for myself and my clients. Here's the real secret that I use. Most folks have cellulite or otherwise

[00:02:41] consider their legs or their butt the problem area, and losing scale weight isn't always the

[00:02:47] solution. I would even take it a step further in saying that eradicating cellulite isn't even the

[00:02:53] real goal. When folks say they want to get rid of their cellulite, I understand that their real

[00:02:58] goal is to feel confident about the appearance of their legs. As a personal trainer and fitness

[00:03:04] nutrition specialist, I want you to trust me. Don't buy any more voodoo devices, pricey magic

[00:03:10] creams or suffocating wraps. Just do these three simple strategies consistently to see long-term

[00:03:17] improvement in the appearance of your butt and thighs and to wear all of your favorite clothes

[00:03:22] with confidence. Strategy 1. Tone up. The first thing I recommend is to build muscle in the butt

[00:03:30] and thighs by doing strength training exercises three to four times a week. This is essential

[00:03:35] for both health and aesthetics. These six exercises are my favorite moves for building

[00:03:41] and lifting the muscles of the backside. Bridges on one or two legs, squats, Bulgarian split squats,

[00:03:50] deadlifts, lunges and kettlebell swings. Think of them as a prescription. They must be administered

[00:03:57] consistently week after week in order to get the results you want. Start at the appropriate level

[00:04:03] of difficulty but don't be afraid to use heavier weights. I reassure folks all the time, you will

[00:04:09] not get bulky from basic weightlifting. Strength training is how you're going to achieve the

[00:04:14] definition you want to see. Strategy 2. Burn baby burn. Secondly, you need to increase your

[00:04:22] overall level of activity in order to rev up your fat burning metabolism. This will, over time,

[00:04:28] tackle any extra fat that your body is carrying that you don't need for health. Keep in mind,

[00:04:33] you will never zap all fat. We all need a certain amount of fat on our bodies to function well.

[00:04:39] There is no 0% body fat. Having the right amount of fat will keep your hormones healthier,

[00:04:47] help you think more clearly and perform better in life. While your level of activity can and should

[00:04:53] include some kind of conditioning cardio exercise like running, biking or incline walking several

[00:05:00] times a week, you will see the best results if you also crank up your step count every single day.

[00:05:06] Track your daily steps and try to beat your own personal best. If you're new to exercise,

[00:05:12] you could start with 5,000 steps a day and gradually work your way up to 10,000. If you're

[00:05:17] already quite active, you may want to aim even higher like for 10,000 to 20,000 steps a day.

[00:05:24] Take more frequent breaks at work to stand up and walk around and try to incorporate more walking

[00:05:29] into your day by taking the stairs or even walking or biking to and from work if it's possible.

[00:05:36] Steps are important because they get your overall metabolism cooking,

[00:05:40] which translates into calorie burn, which translates into fat loss. And don't forget,

[00:05:46] low-intensity cardio like walking is good for your mental health too.

[00:05:51] And strategy three, eat and drink smart. It's the biggest mistake that I see folks make when

[00:05:57] they tackle aesthetic goals. They go all out at the gym but don't embrace the synergy that

[00:06:03] moderate exercise and moderate nutrition can offer when applied in tandem.

[00:06:08] The most important things you can do include staying hydrated as much as possible,

[00:06:14] eating fresh fruit every day, no, fruit doesn't make you fat, eating a green, colorful,

[00:06:20] non-starchy vegetable or two with every meal, eating lean protein at every meal,

[00:06:26] minimizing snacking, drinking less alcohol or abstaining from it altogether,

[00:06:31] and cutting refined sugar as much as you can. Plus, your doctor would be thrilled with your

[00:06:36] blood work. If I had a fourth strategy, it would be this. Most importantly, in your efforts to

[00:06:42] build your sexiest legs ever, keep your focus on the positive and remember that there is no such

[00:06:48] thing as perfect. This is something I tell my clients all the time. When we focus exclusively

[00:06:54] on our perceived flaws, we lose sight of the real progress that we can make. Instead of

[00:06:59] micromanaging every imperfection, do the work that gets your legs into the best shape of your life.

[00:07:06] My clients have tremendous success with their problem areas when they focus on one day at a time

[00:07:12] and build sustainable practices for long-term results. Doing something for six months sounds

[00:07:18] like a really long time at the beginning of the process but trust me, that amount of time will

[00:07:23] pass anyway. It will go by in the blink of an eye. Six months from now, you'll have either used that

[00:07:30] time actually building your better booty or you'll have spent that time chasing after short-term fixes

[00:07:36] or miracle cures. Which path do you want to take? So keep your attitude sunny, focus on what you can

[00:07:44] do and give your habits a makeover as soon as possible. You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:53] The Better Booty Toolkit by Rachel Trotta of racheltrotta.com.

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[00:08:59] Dr. Neil here for my commentary. I really like that today's author Rachel provided actual

[00:09:05] exercises she's found helpful for toning up those legs. So often the advice we might hear

[00:09:11] is something like, work your legs more and incorporate more variety. But Rachel provided

[00:09:16] actual exercises, each of them hitting a different group of leg muscles. Now I'm going to share a

[00:09:21] true story with you. Someone I know was getting frustrated because they wanted a, how shall I say,

[00:09:28] a more rounded backside. Here's what they said to me. I don't get it. I've been doing squats

[00:09:33] like crazy but I'm still not seeing any difference in my backside. It's not any rounder. They weren't

[00:09:39] asking for my advice, they just needed to vent so I kept my mouth shut. But in my head I was thinking,

[00:09:46] well I know what the problem is. You're only performing one movement and in fact that movement

[00:09:52] only uses the glutes and hamstrings as supporting muscles. The quadriceps which are located in the

[00:09:59] front of the body are having to do the most work. The backside isn't having to do much work at all.

[00:10:05] Squats are fine but as Rachel said, if you want those toned legs and a rounder backside,

[00:10:12] incorporate exercises that actually involve the hamstrings and glutes as the prime movers

[00:10:17] like deadlifts and kettlebell swings. And of course, variety is key. Alright, that'll do it for today.

[00:10:24] I hope you have a great rest of your day and I'll see you back here for tomorrow's show where your

[00:10:28] optimal life awaits!