More women than ever are having cosmetic surgery on their breasts, some have implants, some have breast size reductions. But there are a group of women who are almost at their wits end - the ones whose breasts sag, have gone south, have married their knees, whatever you want to call it. These women are sick of feeling unattractive, so what can they do if they either don't want to, or can't afford to go under the surgeons knife?
Lets have a look at why breasts sag in the first place. The main reason is that the pectoral muscles (just under the breasts) have not been kept in good shape, sometimes it is due to breastfeeding but if these muscles are not kept toned, they tend to shrink, which in turn causes the nipples to aim for the floor!
So, I have compiled the three most effective exercises to firm your boobs up again! While I'm on the subject of exercise, just a reminder about the importance of breathing properly, if you breathe properly when exercising you will get your muscles working to maximum capacity.
These are the two rules:
Breathe out as the ?effort' part of the movement is performed and breathe in as you return to the start position.
The Exercises:
The Half Press Up
Set- Get down on your hands and knees in a press-up position. Place your hands just over shoulder width apart and make sure that your knees are further back than your hips.
Movement- Bend your elbows slowly into a right angle and then push back to the starting position.
Advanced tip- As you progress with this exercise, try moving your hands slightly further apart. The movement will be harder to complete but it will have more of an effect.
The Oblique Sit-up
Set- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent, your legs apart and your feet flat on the floor. Put your hands on the back of your head.
Movement- Bring your torso up and bring your right elbow over to touch your left knee. Then twist the body and make your left elbow touch your right knee. Then return to the starting position. On the next repitition reverse these instructions.
Advanced tip- No real science on this one, just do more repititions!
Flat Fly
Set- Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Take a weight in each hand and place your arms stretched out either side of you.
Movement- With your arms slightly bent, bring them up so they meet directly above your head. Then slowly bring the arms back down to the starting position, stretching your chest high and wide as you do.
Advanced tip- Again as you progress and get stronger, when you bringing your arms back to the start position, do not let the weights, your hands or arms touch the floor.
Complete these exercises at this rate:
Days 1, 3 and 5- All three exercises, 5 reps each
Days 2, 4 and 6- Rest days
Days 7, 9, 11 and 13- All three exercises but now at 8 reps each
Days 8, 10, 12 and 14- rest days
Days 15-21- Choose any five days to do all three exercises at 8 reps each
Days 22-28- As above but increase to 12 reps each
Days 29-42- All three exercises everyday at 12 reps each
Once you have completed this program, make sure you keep the exercising at a constant level, after all of that, the last thing you want to happen is for them to head south again!
6. Restricting calories and doing more cardio is the best way to lose weight.
It is true that you will lose weight following this advice. However, it will bite you in the butt in the end. No pun intended. Here's why. Restricting calories will definitely make you lose weight. However, this is not optimal. When you restrict calories, your body will react by slowing your metabolism down. When this happens, and you resume eating normally, your metabolism is even slower than it was before. So, when you resume eating what you normally ate before you started restricting calories, you will gain even more weight because your metabolism has slowed down that much more. So what about doing more cardio? Again, doing more cardio will cause you to lose weight. However, here comes another big bite in the butt. If you perform too much cardio, you will lose precious muscle mass. Losing muscle mass will cause your metabolism to slow down even more! Put those two together and you have a recipe for disaster. Not to mention, when you are doing this to yourself, you are completely robbing yourself of essential nutrients for your health. Here's what will happen: Nails become brittle. Hair breaks. Skin tone is lost. Injuries are more common. Illnesses are more frequent. Mood and mental health are depressed. Sounds like a blast huh? BUSTED!
7. I should skip meals to lose more weight.
Yeah sure. You should skip more red lights and stop signs to get to where you are going faster also. What a joke. How many people do you know that eat only once a day or skip a meal to lose more weight. Like the previous myth, the same things will happen. In addition, your metabolism is going to slow way down. Think about this. Our ancestors were hunters and gatherers. They ate all day long. Other than the fact they were moving frequently, they kept a rather high metabolism. Our metabolism is not that much different from our ancestors. Here are the keys to this little puzzle: Eat smaller, more frequent meals. This, in turn, keeps your blood sugar stable all day long, and keeps your energy stable. Also, it tells your body that you are not in a state of famine and will not slow your metabolism down. Oh it feels so good. BUSTED!
8. Eating after a certain time will make you gain weight.
Most of the tendency here is not to eat past a certain time usually after 7PM. However, this is also another common fallacy I see all the time. Most people are backwards in the way they should be eating. You need an abundant supply of energy in the morning and the eating should taper off toward the evening when you are winding down and the energy requirements are not as high. You know as well as I do, the majority has this one completely backwards. Additionally; it really doesn't matter what time you eat. They key here is what kind of energy balance are you in? Negative? Positive? Equilibrium? If you eat and continue to stay in the negative energy balance, you'll still lose weight, possibly not as much depending on the calorie content of what is eaten. Lastly, having a healthy nutritious meal or snack late in the evening is going to help your body recover faster. When you are asleep, your body is repairing itself from the day's stresses. Adding a new supply of nutrients to your body before sleep will help you recover much faster.
9. I haven't lost any weight! The weight scale say so!
Do me a favor. Throw that piece of crap out the window, or hide it in the closet until you can stop compulsively judging yourself by a weight scale. Why? There are a couple of reasons. Weight Fluctuation: Your body's weight can fluctuate as much as five pounds in one day. Water intake: Water intake has a profound effect on your weight. Time of day: Think you will weigh different first thing in the morning than you will last thing at night? Try a more objective method: Try body fat testing instead. It is possible to change your body composition and not your weight. 5.Try measurements instead: waist, arms, legs, hips, etc.
Yep, my job is done here! Another myth BUSTED!
As you can see, there is a lot of BS floating around out there. So please, critically think about what you are hearing. Two, do not take anything you hear about fitness at face value unless it is from a qualified fitness professional. And by a qualified fitness professional, I mean somebody that has been in the industry for years, or a degreed professional, not someone who went out and received a weekend certification. Until next time, train hard, train smart, don't stop believing, and don't take your eyes off the prize!
Both Marcia Bowman & Seth Albright are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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