How to completely get rid of the saddlebags and firm the glutes?

VividVegan

I'm 5'7 female and 24 years old. In 2014 I started out at around 190 pounds and approximately 40% body fat (Dexa scan and scale confirmed), and I was a size 10-11. I've lost a lot of weight. Now I'm 122 pounds, approximately 18% body fat, and a size 0 (getting close to a 00). I do cardio HIIT 3 days a week, I lift weights 2 days a week and/or other resistance training like squats, lunges, etc, and I make sure to walk at least 10k steps per day. I also currently don't have a car so I take the bus and walk where I need to go including carrying heavy grocery bags or my backpack for college. 90% of my diet is nutritious foods to meet protein/fat/carbs while the other 10% I eat sweets and treats. I drink a gallon of water per day. My saddlebags have gotten smaller but they just won't disappear. Additionally, my glutes/bum still won't firm up. I have abs forming, my ribs slightly show, as well as my hip bone. Muffin top is gone. Chest is almost flat (sadface). Arms and calves are lean and part of my thighs are lean as well. But the saddlebag area just won't shape up. And although my bum is smaller, it's not firm and still covered in cellulite. Losing more weight is OUT of the question or I'll eventually look anorexic. And I don't know how much lower my body fat needs to be. I've already gotten lean everywhere else and am forming abs. What gives? My calories range from 1600 to 1800 by the way, depending on the day. And I eat low sodium. I actually enjoy it because a family friend who's Thai taught me how to cook with Thai spices and chili peppers from her garden. No salt needed. She also gives me her leftovers sometimes.

jasonsunlee

If you're focusing on your glutes I would highly recommend you incorporating deadlifts (try lifting your body weight first and see how tou do with 3 to 5 sets of 5). Also lunges with some weight on your traps are great ways to build your core while strengthening your glutes. More importantly these are both compou d exercises that exercise more than one muscle.

The fact that you incorporate HIIT 3x a week pretty much ensures you won't be gaining much weight if any. Sounds lije you need to work on building up your core! Great job woth the committed workouts!

amusedmonkey

Are you sure you don't have unrealistic expectations? The vast majority of women have cellulite, even some of those who are underweight. How and where you carry your 18% bodyfat is controlled by genetics.

Now a slightly firmer butt is possible. Have you considered GAINING some weight temporarily to help with gaining size? Like going on bulk/cut cycles? I've also read barbell hip thrusts (done right with full extension) is one of the best exercises for glutes.

Sued0nim

" I lift weights 2 days a week and/or other resistance training like squats, lunges, etc, and I make sure to walk at least 10k steps per day"

Can you describe your lifting programme?

Are these the only exercises you're doing weighted? How heavy? What's your progression like?

Sounds to me like you need to put on some muscle - so eating in surplus, (or possibly at maintenance) hitting protein minimums at 0.65g-0.8g per lb bodyweight (definitely minimum) and following a decent progressive programme

look at proper programmes incorporating a decent range of compound exercises (stronglifts 5x5, starting strength etc) - squats, deadlifts, glute bridges, lunges etc

check out Bret Contreras - Strong Curves

also I agree with @amusedmonkey it sounds to me like you're potentially body dysmorphic

HulkInfantry

Squat and deadlifts will be your booty friends. Once you start gaining muscle back there the cellulite will begin to go away.

As far as the saddle bags. Genetics have cursed some of us myself included with those troubled areas we can't burn the fat off around certain areas. The only way to get rid of this fat is to lower body fat. You cannot target fat burning in one area. To do this, apply some weight lifting and increase your cardio intensity. And that the easy part. The hard part is your diet. If you want to lose that last bits of fat you have to lose those last 10% of treats you are having. Make it more like 5% if still not working keep dropping the sweets until you drop the unwanted fat.

mephyt

You can't spot reduce. It sounds like you're just retaining fat in those (final?) areas because that's the luck of your particular genetic draw. IF you continue to maintain a deficit, you'll lose fat, which will eventually use up from those areas. What you can do, if you don't want to lose any more weight overall, is to try to shift the balance towards lean mass (which you can control) by adding in muscle in those areas. Do deadlifts, squats, etc (heavy compound lifts)... Get under a barbell and embrace the suck for a while. I personally love Stronglifts as it's a phenomenally simple and effective beginners program, and at 3x days a week (~30-45 minutes, at most per session), not that big of a time commitment.

sardelsa

I agree with @amusedmonkey and @rabbitjb running a bulk or eating at maintenance + lifting may help you. I am in a similar position as you (although not quite as lean yet) I have stubborn fat in the glute-ham tie-in area and cellulite (which became a lot less apparent after cutting following my bulk cycle). Run a proper program if not already... definitely check out Bret Contreras he has completely changed the way I lift and has transformed my glutes.
I think most of us get really critical of ourselves the closer we get to our goals, while it is important to accept certain things we can't change, I think there is nothing wrong with striving to better ourselves as much as we can. Good luck OP

cecsav1

Yep, in order to build muscle, you'll need to increase your calories. Heavy squats, heavy deads. Strong Curves is excellent. You can look at Contreras's website or Youtube if you don't want to buy the book. At least decrease your cardio if you don't want to cut it out altogether. And maybe change up your cardio routine ( ie swimming instead of running, rowing instead of cycling etc). Good job on your progress, and good luck!

Jonny15121983

Hey FeedMeFish,

A lot of similarities between our journeys and lifestyles so I thought I would share a favourite of mine with you. Personally I dropped from 12 stone to 9 stone 2 lbs. The weight left from a top down direction and even when I had abs, my *kitten* was still chunky lol Lots of great advice here regarding increasing the muscles mass to fill out from underneath which has a brilliant visual improvement.

I genuinely thought that all fat butt was just going to be inevitable, in fact it has just taken longer to leave given how much more difficult it becomes to reduce BF the less you have. So first of all, give it time, you are kicking *kitten* on your journey and I've no doubt you will see the results you desire all over. Keep up the strength training as advised above.

So, as a fellow walker/no car person, I would like to suggest an additional and incredibly fun activity - Rollerblading! The continuous rotational movements and stabilization needed is not only amazing for toning up those glutes but is excellent for core strength and legs. I went rollerblading yesterday and today I can feel that 'soreness' especially through the Gluteus Maximus. The more the Glutes form, the more any BF or excess skin will be spread out improving visuals.

Not only that, it is such an incredibly fun and freeing feeling to rollerblade. Do please make sure that you wear adequate protection if you decide to give this a go and hopefully you have some parks with flat paths to really enjoy this activity.

BadAssAries

You might research Pilates, particularly the legwork involved in this particular exercise. It's also really great to stretch and lengthen the body & promote flexibility

DavPul

Have you conducted that you may have an unrealistic idea of what the human body normally looks like?

ninerbuff

Saddlebags are usually genetic. It's rare that I've seen anyone that significantly had them, reduce them enough so they aren't noticeable anymore.
As for a firm butt, if it ain't firm from doing squats, deadlifts, glute bridges, etc., then you may not have the genetics for it. And that's okay.
The worst thing people can do IMO, is compare their bodies to others they envy because likely, they will never be able to achieve the same since everyone (unless they are a twin) is different in some way.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

EvgeniZyntx

If that's you in the picture I'm failing to see saddlebags.

wilsoncl6

I wonder if you're lifting heavy enough on your lifting days. It looks like you could gain a little muscle, which you would have to increase your caloric intake to do. The more muscle you have, the more fat you'll burn, even at rest. You might want to switch your split to a 3/2 and focus more on lifting heavier weights to gain some muscle. As far as your rear, you're likely not lifting heavy enough to make a massive difference. My suggestion is to do a progressive load strength program. It won't get rid of the cellulite though. That is just genetics.

robininfl

I think this is dysmorphia. Your legs look slim in the picture, they look like girl legs. I do not see saddlebags. Having some shape at the top is pretty much inevitable, it's either gonna be fat or muscles - you could grow the quads and hamstrings some to change the shape, but I can tell you that when I did that, my adductor/abductor muscles also did add some mass and the shape is close to the same just more hard not fat.

Cellulite, I think you may be out of luck? I agree you wouldn't be healthier with less fat, you have the right amount now, but again, having a little little bit of that on a slim lean body is usually seen as pretty. There's actually a reddit thread devoted to that, LOL.

KiyaK

I'm sure others have already said it, but this sounds like a genetics issue. If you're genetically predisposed to cellulite & sadlebags, you may never completely be rid of them.

That said, if you want to firm up your butt, you should start a lifting routine that is written specifically for your butt. Strong Curves. It's the whole point of the program.

sarochka85

I hate all these stupid terms- saddle bags, bingo wings, muffin tops. Invented by misogynists to make women feel *kitten* about their natural fat distribution.

I am a healthy weight but I have cellulite and so-called "saddlebags." So what? They're at the back of my legs and I can't see them. And no one else cares.

ArmyofAdrian

You look great. But to your question, you might try weight training 3x a week and HIIT cardio 2x a week instead. Then incorporate Weighted Glute Bridges and either Deep High Bar Squats or Sumo Deadlifts. Start very light to get the form down, and SLOWLY but steadily increase the weight each time.

(Emphasis on slowly to avoid injury. The detriment to progress that would occur from an injury far outweighs any potential benefits of pushing yourself too hard too soon. I learned this the hard way.)

juliewatkin

I agree with many of the above posters. You may have an unrealistic expectation of body transformation. I've been lifting for 10 years and despite fairly low body fat, I hold onto my saddle bags and am built to have a wider, flatter backside rather than a high round bouncin' and behavin' one. I prefer to think of them as making my waist look proportionally smaller rather than my *kitten* looking wider

VividVegan

Thanks for all of your replies. And yes, they're there. I just wear tight fitness pants/shorts so they're barely noticeable. As for the cellulite in the bum, that's why my bathing suit pics are side pics. Not noticeable from the angle. I can feel them as well. The cellulite and saddlebags are pretty much the only soft/non-lean places left on me (not counting my chest lol). I'll increase my squats and try pilates like you suggested, and just accept them if need be. Not gonna lie though, I often wish I was as narrow (below) as a lot of the females on my college campus. I'm not kidding, they really are. I'm hesitant to ask them if they do certain workouts or eat a certain way.

ninerbuff

FeedMeFish wrote: »

Thanks for all of your replies. And yes, they're there. I just wear tight fitness pants/shorts so they're barely noticeable. As for the cellulite in the bum, that's why my bathing suit pics are side pics. Not noticeable from the angle. I can feel them as well. The cellulite and saddlebags are pretty much the only soft/non-lean places left on me (not counting my chest lol). I'll increase my squats and try pilates like you suggested, and just accept them if need be. Not gonna lie though, I often wish I was as narrow (below) as a lot of the females on my college campus. I'm not kidding, they really are. I'm hesitant to ask them if they do certain workouts or eat a certain way.

Workouts and eating a certain way (other than a deficit), isn't going to affect it anymore than what you've been doing now.
Realize that you can't target areas of fat unless you're willing to go under the knife.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition