Cellulite gets a whole lot of attention—but it’s completely natural. Technically, cellulite is just fat that happens to be packaged in lumps instead of layers. Various factors—genetics, hormones, and bad circulation, to name a few—figure into whether you’ll develop it.
The most important thing to know is that, no, you absolutely do not need to worry about the appearance of or getting rid of your cellulite. It’s incredibly common and, often, there’s not too much you can do about it; so why not love your body no matter what it looks like?
If you do want to reduce the appearance of cellulite, the fitness connection boils down to this: When you lose muscle or don’t have much of it, there’s no underlying foundation, so fat clumps up. You can’t spot-reduce fat, but you can build muscle strategically.
Because cellulite tends to accumulate on your butt and legs, you can hit your lower body hard with high reps of moderately heavy strength moves. These moves will build a crucial muscle foundation below the fat in that area and burn calories in general, helping to repackage what fat is left into smoother layers.
1. Lateral Goblet Lunge:
How to:
- Stand with feet together, holding one heavier dumbbell vertically by one end with both hands at chest height, elbows bent by sides, to start.
- Keeping left leg straight and both feet pointing forward, step right leg as far right as possible, bending the knee and lowering hips deeply [shown].
- Push off right foot to return to start.
- Do 20 reps.
- Switch sides; repeat.
2. Dumbbell Curtsy Lunge:
How to:
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding one lighter dumbbell in each hand with arms by sides to start.
- Keeping hips and shoulders square, step left leg behind and across the right leg, bending both knees 90 degrees [shown].
- Push off left foot to return to start.
- Do 20 reps.
- Switch sides; repeat.
3. Goblet Plié Squat:
How to:
- Stand with feet wide and toes turned out, holding one heavier dumbbell vertically by one end with both hands at chest height, elbows bent by sides, to start.
- Squat, pushing knees out to sides [shown].
- Do 20 reps.
- Return to start.
4. Weighted Bridge:
How to:
- Lie faceup on the floor with knees bent and feet flat, holding one heavier dumbbell horizontally on hips with both hands to start.
- Lift hips, squeezing knees inward, and hold for 3 seconds [shown].
- Do 20 reps.
- Lower hips to return to start.
5. Heavy Lying Abduction:
How to:
- Lie on the floor on the left side, torso lifted, left forearm on the floor perpendicular to the body, legs stacked with one lighter weight resting above the right knee, right hand resting loosely on weight to start.
- Lift right leg and hold for 3 seconds [shown].
- Lower leg to return to start.
- Do 20 reps.
- Switch sides; repeat.
6. Single-Leg Dead Lift:
How to:
- Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding one lighter weight in each hand with palms turned toward body and weights resting on thighs.
- Lift left leg a couple of inches off the floor to start the back leg exercise.
- Hinge forward from hips, lowering torso toward floor and extending weights down close to legs as you extend straight right leg behind you until body forms a T [shown].
- Slowly return to start.
- Do 15 reps.
- Switch sides; repeat.
