Are you one of those women who has to hide an area of dimpled, cottage cheesy flesh? If you said yes, then you're pretty normal. About 90 percent of all women have some amount of cellulite on their thighs or buttocks. Several factors contribute to the degree of your plight including heredity, lack of the appropriate type of exercise and a diet high in fat. However, no single factor can be blamed 100 percent. Unfortunately, it's simply a fact of female life. It seems that nature encourages our bodies to deposit fat into these areas to protect the unborn child. 

The cottage cheesy appearance is caused when the fibrous tissue just below the skin forms pockets. These pockets fill up with fat deposits which bulge and produce the bumpy appearance that we refer to as cellulite. The more excess fat a woman has, the more severe the problem. Sad but true though, even women of ideal body weight can still have cellulite. 

So what's the best defense? There are several different so called fixes out there including creams and even surgery. But by far, the most practical, safest and long lasting way to reduce cellulite is by combining a low-fat diet with an appropriate exercise program that tones the underlying muscle. Therefore, an aerobic only exercise program aimed at burning fat is not enough. 

Strength training is an important element in reducing the unsightly appearance of cellulite since it increases muscle tone and decreases total body fat. But the way you strength train is even more important. A program that targets fat loss in the lower body, specifically hips, thighs, abdomen and buttocks is ideal for most women. 

Circuit training is a great way to train with these goals in mind. The very nature of circuit training fatigues the muscle groups helping to promote a reduction in actual size of the area, while decreasing the percentage of body fat . The routines that I recommend for women with these goals in mind involve a 20 repetition concept which also keeps the heart rate up.  I also encourage that when training for shape, not size, that the exercises are performed with no rest between sets, only for a drink of water.  

This type of training will create more fat-burning muscle while still giving you a longer, leaner and shapely, not bulky body.  For your own personal program incorporating these training principles, try  WorkoutsForWomen.com home exercise programs.

Article provided by Joni Hyde, creator of www.WorkoutsForWomen.com