Lifting Spirits and Buttocks to New Heights

Written by Shoshana Pritzker Monday, 17 May 2010 20:05

By Scott Cole

Writing about the mind/body connection in fitness and overall wellness is one of my favorite things to do— along with martial arts, making love, stellar conversation and occasional margaritas on the rocks with salt (not necessarily in that order).  
That said, it has always intrigued me that media images of overly thin “healthy women” are often confusing to both men and women. Men often say, “I am not attracted to a thin, muscle-less woman,” and the women often say, “I could never look like that and I don’t really want to.”  Little girls often grow up fearing rather than loving their bodies, and this is indeed a tragedy. There exists a strange psychological dichotomy of body image in American society.  Men often want to puff up like superheroes, larger than life, giving the appearance of strength, while the women want to disappear. Neither of these models are healthy, or in line with true wellness.

My conscious spiritual assessment of the body has always been:
If you are constantly worrying about your body, and not feeling good in your body, then you are, indeed, your own worst enemy.
Along with the seriousness of the above statements is also a silver lining— there is always a silver lining. The silver lining is a sense of humor, because with humor comes a relaxed sense of being, and this is why I coined the term: “Lifting Spirits and Buttocks to New Heights,”— to take the edge off of this often hectic, stress-filled, result-oriented, illusory, body-perfect world. (Whew, thanks for letting me vent).

What Resists Persists
People never seem to understand that what resists persists. Fear resists and persists, causing all kinds of problems. In other words, if your biggest fear is money, you will have no money; if you are constantly in fear of fat, you will store fat. That’s because most likely you are avoiding fat and skipping meals, so your body will shift into starvation non-trust mode. The body is an energy processor. Therefore, if we are constantly feeding the body negative thoughts and erratic, haphazard unbalanced meals, as well as looking in the mirror with disdain wishing we looked different, you can bet your non-fat, high- protein snacky doodles that the body is not going to respond in a way that feels healthy or is pleasing at any level. 
If we can all let go of the internal judgments, accept ourselves as we are, and know that we are all beautiful works in progress, that will take the pressure off the results and open the door for the enjoyment factor to come into our lives forever— in our bodies, our relationships, our activities, and yes, even in our workouts.
So, by putting a little mind, a little spirit and some cool emotion into your workout, you can ensure a joyful journey to your ultimate body experience. The great Italian artist, architect and poet, Michelangelo, when asked how he created such magnificence in his sculpture of David, merely said, “The form was there, I just removed all the excess.”  
Each person’s experience is unique. So whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, increase your athletic performance, relieve stress, just feel better on a daily basis, or any and all of the above, it really is all about removing excess “stuff” to get to your inner truth. And that is all about self-preservation and health. 
So take responsibility to be your own body’s Michelangelo, empowering yourself with healthy internal dialogue, frequent metabolism-boosting real meals, and a great exercise program to remove your “excess” and reveal your own streamlined, baggage-free, sculpted, happy, healthy body.

I offer you the following exercises in my own Michelangelo-esque kind of way to help you “Lift Your Spirits and Buttocks to New Heights,” knowing that my responsibility stops here, and that it is ultimately your choice to make the best out of your life. Empower, don’t lose hope, laugh it up, and enjoy the journey!

Lift Your Spirits and Buttocks to New Heights

Buttocks Lifting Exercises: If you are outdoors, try warming up with a brisk walk. If you’re indoors, just step-touch or march in place to get your legs moving and your blood flowing. When you feel energized, relaxed and ready, try these three exercises. Sculpt away!

Standing Squat
“Squat with Scott,” as I love to say when I teach. With your feet slightly wider than shoulder-distance apart, sit back as if into a chair, bending your knees so your buttocks does not sit lower than your knees. Your knees will stay in alignment, not going out further than your toes. Your arms are going to extend out in front of you in a counterbalance move as if holding a couple of ski poles. Rise up slowly, utilizing your quads and glutes as you press your hips forward, back into the standing position, maintaining muscle resistance in your legs. Perform three slow sets of 15 repetitions, holding for two seconds at the bottom of each repetition of the third set.

Dancer Squat
Turn your toes out to a 45-degree angle, a little wider than shoulder distance for this “dancer squat,” or ballet-style “plie,” utilizing the adductors (inner thighs) as well as the quads and glutes. I love to do these very slowly, because momentum is often a muscular diversion, keeping you from getting into the nitty gritty cool feel of the exercise. As you ease down into the plie position, keeping your spine tall, fluid and erect, drop your hips but don’t go below knee level. You will really feel these if you hold the down position for a second before rising back up to the starting position. Try pacing with a slow count of eight for each repetition, all the way down, and an equal count all the way up. Try clasping your fingers in front of you, palm to palm, arms rounded, not stiff. Let your arms rise up to shoulder level only as a counterbalance to your dropping hips, and perhaps now-quivering thighs. Let your arms lower as you stand up to the starting position, never locking your knees. Be sure to keep the resistance in your thighs for the entire time. Perform three sets of 10 repetitions.

Chair Glutes
Well, here you go— gluteus to the maximus! Stand facing a chair. Bend over from the hips, placing your hands comfortably on the chair seat, bracing your upper body. Bring one knee in slowly toward your chest, hold for a second, then lengthen your leg out slowly to full extension behind you, parallel to the floor. Make sure not to compromise through the lower back. Hold your leg behind you fully extended for a second, until you mentally and physically feel the contraction of the glute. Keep your base leg knee slightly bent. Breathe in and out with a slow, controlled muscular fluidity as you slowly perform the repetitions. Do the same on the other leg. If your neck or lower back hurt from these, you are either going too fast, or you’re not in the proper position. Perform three sets of 15 repetitions on each leg. For balance, do one set of 15 on one leg, then switch legs.

Fitness/wellness expert Scott Cole has inspired spirits, lifted buttocks and toned abs in over 30 countries. He has worked with celebrities including Baywatch’s Gena Lee Nolin and actor Christian Bale. You may have seen Scott on CNN, LIVE with Regis and Kelly, SOAP TALK, The Early Show, or in The Wall Street Journal for his Discover Tai Chi video series. Visit www.scottcole.com