Alternative Approaches to Absolute Beauty

How to get a bigger butt and wider hips with weight training

2011-05-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of the Canadian body-builder and model, Jaime Koeppe. Through body building, she has drastically changed the shape of her body to get a much curvier appearance. Personally, I think the lower body is perfect, but as I want a slightly more feminine look I would focus less on the arms.
To get a very nice, soft, curvy, feminine body, you can use the techniques she has used to build your lower body, while just slightly toning and firming your arms and back (as opposed to building it as she has). The weight loss and core training that is involved with lower-body building will actually burn fat and pull your upper body tighter on its own!

Below are two workout plans that everyone can start with to begin. There are just a few rules you have to stick to when weight training: Stick to your routine, switch up your exercises, and always be increasing your weight. Reps for bodybuilding are 8-15, but before doing your set you should set a smaller range (for example, 10-12).
Basically, in order to give a rounder, curvier appearance to the hips, the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, hip abductor, hip adductor, hamstrings, and quadriceps need to be worked (however, I notice that working the quads too much gives an odd appearance to the knees, and it is also not as necessary as the hamstrings. Women with naturally curvy thighs carry the curves on the back of their legs as opposed to the front. Muscle should not be hanging over the knee's as in some fitness magazines- eek! So, I tend to avoid leg extensions, as quads get worked in leg press, squats and most other leg exercises anyway!)
The increased thickness in the hip abductors and thighs will round out the lower body and therefore increase the appearance of the hips.

Body build the lower body twice a week to begin with, taking a long break in between days to allow for recovery. (Remember that recovery is just as important as the actual workout so don't skip it! Otherwise the muscle will never have time to grow and repair!) When I say a certain amount of reps in a set ( ex. 10-12) chose a weight which you can do ONLY 12 reps the first time, maybe 12 or 11 the second time, and only 10 the last time. INCREASE your weight every week, as much as you can to remain in the rep range. Keep track of your weight.
I have gotten my hip measurement from 34.5"-37" in about six months doing this. It requires a lot of discipline and it will take time (I'm hoping to get to 38" within a month or two) but you'll end up enjoying it and having a bombshell, curvy body! Rotate the workout's each time you do them, and every two or three weeks, find a few exercises of your own and throw them in (for some muscle confusion- the idea behind P90X).

BEFORE ANY LOWER BODY WORKOUT: Warm up lower body muscles to increase their use during workout. This is very important. Warm up on the mats with donkey-kicks, jump squats, or leg lifts (use a resistance band for an added effect.)
Do a range of different exercises, squeezing the glutes, until you feel a slight burn.

AFTER ANY LOWER BODY WORKOUT: 20 minutes of either the stair machine, cycling, uphill on the elliptical, or side-running on the treadmill (however, the latter looks a little awkward- but whatever!)

For those with a gym membership (access to many machines):

Workout 1:
Leg press: 3 sets of 10-12
Inner outer thigh machine, inner thigh setting: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Outer thigh setting ^: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Sitting leg curl: 4 sets of 8 reps

Workout 2:
Barbell squats: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Barbell lunges: 3 sets of 8-10 reps each leg
Barbell hip thrusts (picture below): 3 sets of 8-10 reps

Suggestions for the other days of the week workouts:
If your goal is, like mine, simply to build a bigger lower body while creating a leaner, longer and more toned upper body, then simple toning exercises and some cardio are sufficient. This workout follows the idea for a triangle shaped person, as posted in the hourglass figure post. You don't need to be triangle shaped to do it however! If you have more specific workout goals, see the Hourglass figure workout and find your type!

Toning exercise plan:
Research toning exercises online for all parts of the body. (Examples- side lunges, jump squats, resistance band workouts, swiss ball workouts, jumping jacks, leg-ups, oblique twists, planks, push-ups, pull-ups, dips, bicycle crunches, sliders etc.)

Choose about 20 body-weight exercises that can be done in sets of 10-15, and draw or print them onto notecards. Every morning that is not a body-building day, choose seven notecards (this will ensure you switch up your routine and keep your body wondering...plus it's more fun!) and do each exercise in a row, quickly to some music, for three sets each.
Example workout:

Swiss ball jack-knife
Frog jumps
Resistance band squats
Swiss ball push-ups
Leg-ups
Resistance band curls
Oblique twists

x3!

After that, 30 minutes of an activity you enjoy at a high intensity will be enough. (Dance**, boxing, kickboxing**, swimming, yoga, team sports, interval running, hula-hooping**, cycling**)

If you have any questions or need advice on a workout routine, leave a comment!

Why not to believe model's measurements

2011-04-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

(click the picture to view measurements)

I've been looking up the measurements of models for a long time, comparing what makes their bodies look the way they do compared to me or to other people. However, I've always had a doubt as to whether the listed measurements, heights and weights were accurate. But really, why would they lie? All the women are obviously beautiful and confident with their bodies, so what would be the reason they would need to list them all as the same or lie about it?

If you look at the picture above and compare the models I chose, specifically compare Miranda Kerr with Karolina Kurkova. Their hips are the same size. Their waists are only half an inch different.

REALLY? Adriana Lima's hips are BIGGER than Karolina Kurkova's?

Just Sayin'.

How to get an hourglass figure

2011-04-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Do not believe what anyone says, that you cannot get the body shape that you desire. With exercise, diet and a few other factors you can look exactly how you want to.

Step 1: Access your goal
The first step in adjusting your body to the shape you desire is to access your body shape as it is now.
To do this, take measurements of your hips (put the measuring tape around the widest part of your lower body), waist (the thinnest part of your torso), and chest (around the nipples and upper back without a bra on). Next, calculate your Waist to hip ratio HERE. The typical ideal WHR is .69 in the United States, and anything about .8 is unhealthy. Candice Swanepoel (above) has a WHR of .66, even more extreme than the ideal. Her measurements are 34-23-35. (measurements are listed CHEST-WAIST-HIPS)
Using the measurements you took, calculate your body shape below.

Hourglass:
The waist is 10 or more inches smaller than the hips and bust. The hips and bust are about the same size. Example measurements: 36-24-36, 33-23-33, 38-29-39, 37-26-36

Ruler:
Measurements of the waist, hips and chest are basically the same or very close. Very little curves. Often times thin. Example measurements: 30-27-30, 28-26-28, 35-30-35, 29-29-29.

Pear:
Hip measurements are significantly larger than bust measurements, and the waist tends to be thin as well. Example measurements: 32-25-37, 35-27-40, 30-24-35

Apple: Waist tends to carry the most weight, leading to measurements which proportions are similar to ruler but are generally larger as these people are often heavy. Waist is sometimes larger than bust or hips. Thighs and hips are often thin. Example measurements: 35-32-34, 40-37-37, 32-33-34

Inverted Triangle:
These women tend to have thin hips and large busts and shoulders. Example measurements: 35-25-30, 40-24-29, 39-27-32

Based on which type you are, your goal should be to balance your body shape to give it a more curvy, hourglass figure. Below are the ways for each body shape to balance their bodies, using diet, exercise and bodybuilding, hormones, and some other approaches.

Step 2: Figure out your exercise plan

Hourglass & Ruler: If you are an hourglass already then you can use the opportunity to create an even sexier and dramatic look for yourself. If you are a ruler, these exercises will help to build some mass on your upper and lower body while reducing the size of your middle.

Increase the size of your bust and/or hips and decrease the size of your waist to be the super-curvy hourglass

Exercise routine to increase chest and hips/butt-

Day 1: Lower body building. First, warm up the glute muscles with resistance bands targeting the butt. Do 3 sets of 12 reps (almost maximum weight) on 5 machines targeting the glutes and thighs: such as the leg press, glute machine, hip adductor and abductor, leg extension and leg curl machines. Either do uphill sprint sets for 30 minutes, or do cycling for 1 hour.

Day 2: Upper body toning. 4 sets of 15 reps of the following exercises: dumbell incline flys, push-ups with feet on bench, flat dumbell flys. 4 sets of 10 reps of the following exercises: dumbell up back row series, cheer presses, high rope pulls. 30 minutes of hula-hooping, dance, or boxing.

Day 3: 1 hour of jogging/sprinting/walking, dancing or yoga. 3 sets of 5 reps of slider core exercises or swiss ball exercises.

Day 4: BREAK

and then begin again.

Pear shaped: To create an hourglass shape, exercises must be done to increase the size of the upper body and maintain the size of the hips and waist. This will give your body more balance.

Day 1: Upper body toning. 4 sets of 15 reps of the following exercises: dumbell incline flys, push-ups with feet on bench, flat dumbell flys. 4 sets of 10 reps of the following exercises: dumbell up back row series, cheer presses, high rope pulls. 30 minutes of interval jogging/sprinting/walking.

Day 2: 1 hour of jogging/sprinting/walking, dancing or yoga. 3 sets of 5 reps of slider core exercises or swiss ball exercises.

Day 3: 1 hour of kickboxing

Apple: To begin, apples should get to the ideal weight for their body type, using interval training and a diet which is low in estrogen reducing foods. Estrogen imbalance is what puts weight onto the stomach. Once an apple body shape lowers their weight, they may often find that they belong to a different category of body shape. Find a form of exercise that you truly enjoy and would want to stick to. Try yoga, martial arts, dance (modern, ballet, latin or local zumba classes are fun), gymnastics, jogging and weight training.

Try these two interval exercises for maximum weight loss:

1. Interval songs: Play a song that is around 5 minutes long or set your timer for 5 minutes. Rotate doing the following 5 exercises, 10 repetitions. Do this at a high intensity. This will burn fat from the entire body while toning.

10 reps mountain climbers

10 reps jumping jacks

10 reps side lunges

10 reps leg-ups

2. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Begin with walking for 2 minutes, jogging for 2 minutes and then sprinting for 1 minutes. Repeat this until the 15 minutes is up.

Inverted Triangle: Increase the size of your hips and butt by body-building your lower body to match your upper body. Tone and tighten the upper body to give it a smaller appearance.

Day 2: Upper body toning. Do 3 sets of 5 maximum weight pull-ups or assisted pull-ups. 5 reps will not build muscle but tighten muscle. Do 3 sets of 5 dips or assisted dips. Do 10 sets of 5 burpee's.

Day 3: 1 hour hula hooping, latin dance, or cycling.

Visit this website for further tips on widening your hips.

*Keep in mind that any ab exercises involving sitting up movements or lifting of the legs build the front of the abs and end up increasing the size of the waist and bulking up the stomach. To achieve a tight and tiny looking tummy, do exercises which focus on twisting movements and working of the core as opposed to the abs.

Step 3:Diet: Eat foods which increase estrogen.

Visit this website for a list of foods which increase estrogen. Avoid those which reduce it.

Drink tea or take supplements which are normally marked for nursing women or women trying to increase their breast size. Make sure what you are taking only contains all natural herbs. These will help you to get a curvy body naturally and to put fat in the right places.

Also, make sure anything you eat is organic, clean and healthy. Make sure you feel more energy after eating it and treat your body as if it were sacred. Don't ever over eat.

Make sure you get plenty of protein from healthy sources such as chickpea's, beans, yogurt, cottage cheese or lean meat. Protein will help to build muscle and keep fat off.

Step 4: Massage

Massage of the breasts daily is proven to increase the firmness, size and reduce the risk of cancer. Massage the breasts with olive oil, almond oil, or cocoa butter (if you have stretch marks).

Skin brushing helps to detoxify the body and using skin brushing you can actually move your fat around. Brush fat from your thighs, butt and stomach to where you'd rather have the fat. For parts of the body which you aren't trying to change, always brush towards the heart.

For any further questions, leave a comment.

How to get bigger lips without makeup or surgery

2011-04-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

In order to get fuller lips naturally, you need to work with the four parts that your lips are made out of. This includes fat, muscle, blood and water.

Fat Growth

To increase fat growth in the lips, apply emu or fish oil mixed with castor oil nightly. This is effective because emu oil and fish oil contain high amounts of Omega-3's which are proven to stimulate fat growth in certain area's when applied. Castor oil is an oil which penetrates each layer of skin much more effectively than many other oils. This helps bring the Omega 3's where you want them.

Also, as oestrogen is the hormone which is responsible for giving women full lips, small noses, big eyes, large breasts and basically anything feminine- having your hormones tested to see if they are in balance is a good idea. Or, as long as you don't suffer from any estrogen dominance symptoms, you may start taking all-natural estrogen enhancing herbal supplements. These are mostly sold under names referring to breast growth, but they are effective in many other ways. Look for pills or tea's containing the following herbs:

Wild Yam Root, Saw Palmetto, Fenugreek, Dong Quai Root, Fennel Seed

Visit this site for symptoms of estrogen dominance before taking.

Muscle

Facial exercises. Use these to build the muscle around your mouth and fill in your lips. You can watch the video below for some mouth exercises. You might laugh the whole time like I did, but they really are effective.

Blood

Increasing blood flow to the lips is the method used in most lip-plumping products, which contain ingredients which irritate the lips so that a small allergic reaction occurs and blood is rushed to the mouth. This is a very temporary reaction, but if done daily (or twice daily) the mouth gets used to this effect and holds more blood in the lips naturally. The way I like to do this, however, does not involve an allergic reaction. I find that using lip-plumpers did not have nearly as much of an effect long-term as using a lip pumper. You may have seen them before- these strange devices you can buy online for literally pumping you lips to draw blood into them. However, I just use a baby bottle or washed deodorant cap (as they are mouth-shaped) and simply suction my lips for a few minutes in the shower in the morning and night, as the warm water helps with the blood flow. I find the dramatic effect (the totally bee-stung look) from this lasts for a few hours, and a slightly plumper look is permanent after a few weeks of doing so.

However, be careful to be gentle with your lips to avoid bruising, and if you are getting lines around your mouth from whatever you are using to suction, find something more comfortable to use.

Another method to increase blood flow is massage. Massage thickens the skin wherever it is done, and increases circulation. Massage your lips in the morning and night by applying some oil to the fingertips and gently pulling them outward, then making a "kiss face" and pushing against your hand. Also, use a soft toothbrush to exfoliate the lips and help circulation.

Using these three methods for the past two months, I see a dramatic difference in my lips and am asked about them all the time by close friends and relatives.

Water

Drink lots of water to keep your lips hydrated.

Victoria's Secret models and Saturn Moon signs

2011-04-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

Recently, I started looking for astrological trends in models, actors and other celebrities to determine which careers are most suitable for a person depending on their Sun sign, moon sign and rising sign.
I found two major patterns in careers- eight out of ten of the top dancers in history listed had Moon in Leo.
The other one,
models with moon in either Aquarius or Capricorn- both signs ruled by Saturn.
I'm not too sure why this would be. I assume it is because Saturn is disciplined, determined and restricted, with a craving for power. The moon represents someone's deepest, intuitive self and is often associated with career choice. Therefore, Saturn moon's are popular among celebrities because of the drive a person needs to become famous. Also, because of the mysterious and deep quality that these people give off.
Last reason may be because Saturn rules the bones and Saturn-influenced people are often angular, thin and bony, as models often are.

Victoria's Secret has recently got many new Angel's. Some of the most popular names in the modeling world today- Abbey Lee Kershaw, Emanuela De Paulo, Candice Swanepoel, Erin Heatherton, Chanel Iman, Lily Aldridge, Rosie-Huntington Whiteley, and most recent, Magdalena Frackowiak- all of these girls have saturn ruling their moon. Seems like much more than a coincidence.
And, not so recent, but Doutzen Kroes and Karolina Kurkova are Saturn-ruled as well.

If you have a Saturn moon, consider yourself lucky!

However, I noticed a few other trends with the Angels. Other than Capricorn and Aquarius, the signs Gemini, Sagittarius, Scorpio and Cancer were also very popular in various places on the natal chart. See for yourself if you like- search the names on astrotheme.com
If you're interested in checking out if you've got some of these signs, put in your birth info HERE for a nice chart.

Following are some photo's of the current Saturn Angels which I've listed and more.