According to The American Council on Exercise, cellulite is nothing more than fat. Fat accumulates and protrudes through connective tissue, giving it a dimpled or lumpy look. To tackle this problem at home it is necessary that you take healthy steps to get rid of excess body fat.
Healthy Diet
A healthy diet promotes weight loss, which will get rid of cellulite. The majority of your diet should come from nutrient-dense foods that provide more vitamins and minerals per serving with fewer calories per serving. Fruits, vegetables, whole-grain bread items, low-fat dairy and lean protein are all nutrient-dense foods.
Calories are the basic component of food and provide energy for the body during physical activity. One way to jump start your diet is to reduce your daily calorie intake by 250 to 500 calories per day. For every 3,500 calories you lose you can lose one pound of weight.
The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services says that a healthy diet is low in added sugar, saturated fat, trans fat and sodium. Look for food that has less than 5 percent of the daily value of saturated fat, trans fat and sodium. Added sugar is found in the ingredient list and is more commonly known as high fructose corn syrup or glucose.
Strength Training
Use free weights at home to engage in strength training, build lean muscle tissue and increase your body’s fat-burning potential. During strength training it is important to engage all of the major muscle groups of the body, the arms, legs, chest, back, shoulders and abs. According to University of Florida researchers Michael L. Pollock and Kevin R. Vincent in their article “Resistance Training for Health,” you should perform eight to 10 exercises until muscle fatigue occurs, for at least two to three days a week. Muscle fatigue occurs when you can no longer perform one full repetition of an exercise in the correct form. Choose a weight that you can complete eight to 12 repetitions with before reaching muscle fatigue.
Exercises for the upper body include bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, chest press, pull-ups, overhead presses and abdominal crunches. The push-up allows you to engage all of your upper body muscles at the same time. To perform a push-up place your hands and feet on the ground, keep your body in a straight line, tighten your stomach, bend your arms to lower your body towards the ground and press back upwards.
Exercises such as lunges, squats, the leg press, leg curls, calf raises and dead lifts strengthen the lower body. Dumbbell step-ups strengthen the entire lower body. To execute this movement stand in front of a bench with a weight in each hand, using one leg at a time step onto the bench and back down onto the ground.
Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise engages most of your body to burn calories and excess body fat. Aerobic activity can be used everyday to get rid of cellulite. At home you can use a treadmill, a jump rope, participate in step aerobics, use an aerobics DVD, run or walk in your neighborhood or go for a bike ride. There are two basics form of aerobic activity: steady sessions and interval training. During steady aerobic sessions you work at a moderate pace for 30 to 45 minutes to burn more fat. During interval training you alternate periods of a fast or intense pace with a slow or resting pace for 15 to 20 minutes to burn more calories and elevate your metabolism. Interval training periods can be 30 seconds to 5 minutes at a time.
