Cellulite-busting workout relies on weightlifting

From Linda Ciampa
CNN Medical Correspondent

(CNN) -- Frustrated with fat and sick of cellulite? A new weightlifting program aims to bust those bulges by targeting problem areas and allowing women to get rid of cellulite buildup.

The anti-cellulite workout relies on a three-times-a-week routine of pumping iron. The workout's creator, Wayne Wescott, said weightlifting slows a natural process that leads to the lumpy masses.

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CNN's Linda Ciampa finds out more about the anti-cellulite workout Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

"Women lose about five pounds of muscle every decade," said Wescott, of the South Shore YMCA in Boston, Massachusetts. "And if that underlying foundation isn't firm and strong, the fat takes kind of an irregular, clumpy appearance like mashed potatoes and cottage cheese, and it gives that funny look."

The anti-cellulite workout reduces cellulite on the lower body by developing the muscles in the hip and thigh area, according to editors at Shape Magazine, which recently featured the workout on its cover.

The key to the workout's success, said Shape's Barbara Harris, is to use more weight with fewer number of repetitions.

Four other exercises make up the basic 20-minute-a-session workout, according to Wescott. He cited a small study that found -- even in the absence of dieting -- an 8-week course of the anti-cellulite workout had a fat-busting effect.

"Seventy percent (of study participants) felt it made a major difference in their appearance," Wescott said. "The other 30 percent felt it made some difference."

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Shape Magazine
South Shore YMCA

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