HANDLE WITH CARE: Overdoing your butt-reducing regimen can cause spinal injury

How often have you thought about toning your thighs? Or flattening your tum? Quite often. But have you had equal ambitions about shaping your butt? You should.

Not so long ago, in a TV interview, Jean Claude Van-Damme, the star of many Hollywood martial art flicks like Bloodsport, Double Impact and The Quest, advised his fans to clench their butts several hundred times a day, assuring them “you might not be able to walk after that but you are going to have a butt like Van Damme”. His advice was greeted with some disbelief (and not a few giggles), “but clenching your butt does pay,” says yoga enthusiast Piyali Sen. “All you have to do is to place the flats of your palms right above your butt, then clench the buttocks and bend backwards as far as you can. You should be able to see the opposite wall. Count till five while holding your body in the arched position. Repeat this 10 times and you will see the difference.”

Some simple ones...

There are many options — yoga, aerobics as well as cardio-vascular exercises to get you there. But what if you are not a gym-goer? Where do you begin? Says Preetom Mukherjee Roy, fitness instructor, Solace Gym at Sunny Park, Calcutta, “If you are not a gym buff, start going for long walks, increasing the intensity as you go along. The fat will go gradually.” Especially from off your posterior.

There are floor exercises to reduce your butt too. Simple but effective, these exercises can be done at home. (Remember, however, that overdoing them can be counter-productive.)

• Butt buster floor exercise: Kneel on all fours with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Now push one leg up behind you keeping it bent so that your knee is level with your hips. Make sure the sole of your foot is facing the ceiling. Squeeze your butt tightly, then return your knee back to starting position. Repeat until you have completed your set and then try it with the other leg.

• Step ups: You can do this by using a 20-inch step, bench or chair. When stepping up make sure your knee is in line with your hip. Your leg should be bent at a right angle and your knee should be in line with your ankle. Step up with your right leg onto the bench, bringing your left leg up behind you, making sure that both legs are straight and your body is sturdy. Now lower your right leg down again, followed by your left leg. Repeat for the reps your workout requires.

• Hip rolling: Lie on your back, bend both the knees and keep your feet flat. Cross your arms over your chest. Turn your head and trunk to the right as you turn both knees to the left. Allow your knees to relax and go down without forcing. Bring knees back up, head to centre and then reverse positions.

• Hip rocks: Lie on your back and pull your knees up to your chest with your hands behind the thighs. Rest in this position for 10 seconds, then gently roll your knees from one side to the other, rocking your hips back and forth. Keep your upper back and shoulders flat on the ground.

• Half squats: Stand holding onto a sturdy table with both hands. With feet shoulder’s width apart, slowly bend your knees and squat, lowering your hips into a half squat. Hold for 10 seconds, then slowly return to a standing position. Repeat 10 times.

The little ifs and butts

Take a look at this before you take the plunge

• Before you begin the butt-reducing regimen, check with an orthopae- dist to see how strong your back is. A weak spine/ back can cause injury.

• According to experts, the extra fat around the butt is composed of mostly unneeded calories — primarily carbohydrates — and overeating and a sedentary lifestyle, definitely, are the main causes. The only way to come out of this fatty mess is physical activity and selective eating. So stop bingeing.

• Stationary bikes and treadmills are also recommended by fitness experts for exercising your butt. However, it is important to keep the resistance level from low to medium. Those who are not used to working out on a regular basis should start with 10-15 minutes of workout on a bike or treadmill. As they become more adept they can add two-three minutes each week until they reach a total of 20-30 minutes. Begin with a low resistance level and end with a medium level.

A few famous fannies

• In the Fifties, fabulous actress Ava Gardner pulled in a swarm of priapic young males to screenings of The Night of the Iguana because of the momentary glimpse it afforded of her gluties.

• Proving the male species can be equally deadly, Hugh Grant displayed his dimpled lovelies to his fans (who are legion) in the charming and funny film Love Actually.

• Closer home, and therefore more scandalously, Rahul Bose, too, proved an eyeful in the movie version of Upamanyu Chatterjee’s hugely enjoyable book English August.

• Irish eyes weren’t the only thing smiling out at us from the screen when Pierce Brosnan obliged people with a view of his delectable tushie in The Thomas Crown Affair.

• A word of warning. Sixties star Asha Parekh exemplified perfectly what an ass ought not to be. See if you can dig up a DVD of Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai — it’ll teach you to respect your rear end.