The bum's muscles: flabby bums

Like tummies and legs, bums make up one of the problem areas for women.

The reason for this is the elasticity (in anticipation of pregnancy) and specific structure of the fat cells.

These two factors encourage fat and water to accumulate, leading to the famous flabbiness and orange peel effect.

The bum's muscles

Aside from the fat reserves, the bum is home to three different muscles.

- Gluteus maximus: located at the rear of the pelvis, it's the largest and most superficial of the bum's muscles. It makes up the main area of what we call the "bum". When toned, it's this muscle that provides bums with their rounded look.

- Gluteus medius: located to the side of the pelvis, at the top, it's a thick and fan-shaped muscle. When toned, it emphasises the top of the bum, giving it its curved outline..

- Gluteus minimus: located deeper and a bit lower, under the gluteus medius. When toned, it prevents flabbiness on the sides, at the bend between the thigh and pelvis, the spot where fat mass is found.

Complaining about a saggy bum? These three muscles are hardly used so they loosen up easily and are the cause of sagging.