Ugh. Cellulite. Yes, that unsightly, dimply-looking skin that everyone hates, yet so many of us deal with. To make matters worse, it is often on our thighs and buttocks. You work out hard, real hard. But is your cellulite getting worse with exercise? Many think so. In this article, I will share what causes cellulite and ways to reduce it with leading experts.
Let’s get started.
From the Mayo Clinic, “Cellulite is a very common, harmless skin condition that causes lumpy, dimpled flesh on the thighs, hips, buttocks, and abdomen. The condition is most prevalent in women.
Many people try, with variable success, to improve the appearance of their skin through weight loss, exercise, massage, and creams marketed as a solution to cellulite.”[1]
From Healthline.com, “Cellulite is caused by a buildup of fat underneath the skin. Some women are more predisposed to it than others. The amount of cellulite you have and how noticeable it is can be based on your genes, body fat percentage, and age. The thickness of your skin also affects the appearance of cellulite.”[2]
Cellulite is just normal fat. It looks lumpy because it presses against connective tissue, resulting in the skin above it to pucker.
Whether you’re heavy or thin, you can get cellulite. Muscle tone can affect it, and very fit people sometimes have it. Hormonal factors and genetics both play a role. It might also be related to the thickness of your skin. Women are more likely to get it than men. It tends to form more as you get older.
Lifestyle factors may play a role. For example, cellulite may be related to:
- Unhealthy diet
- Fad dieting
- Slow metabolism
- Lack of physical activity
- Dehydration
- Total body fat (But at least one study showed that losing weight doesn’t change cellulite.)[3]
So, why is your cellulite getting worse with exercise?
As we talked about before, several factors impact why some people have cellulite and others don’t.
Genetics certainly plays a role. However, there is not much you can do about this so let’s focus our energy on the causes of cellulite which you can do something about.
➥Read also… Best products to remove stretch marks
Poor Diet. You’ve probably heard the expression, “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.” Yes, great bodies are made in the kitchen. This is especially true if you are no longer a teenager with a raging metabolism.
Regardless of how intense you work out, it is extremely easy to overeat and thus, eat more calories than you burn. Even marathon runners, who you would think could eat anything they wanted due to the nature of their activity, still have to carefully monitor what they eat to avoid excess weight gain.
➥Read also… Best Products to Treat Stretch Marks on the Buttocks
Exercise fires up your metabolism, as well as your post-workout appetite. Not only do athletic people still have to watch how much they eat, but also the quality of the food they consume.
Too much sugar. From Lipotherapeia, …“sugar is the number one cause of cellulite today and the increase of the appearance of cellulite in women in the mid-twentieth century has coincided with the increase in the consumption of various types of sugars, including sucrose (plain sugar), fructose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), etc.”[4]
➥Read also… Best Swimsuits for Cellulite Thighs
Doing the wrong type of exercise. There’s no way to prevent cellulite, according to the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and it’s a very common condition. The risk increases with age and certain lifestyle factors.
While you can’t control your age, you can make some changes to your lifestyle that may help reduce the amount of cellulite on your thighs and buttocks, as well as other parts of your body. These changes can include things like starting a regular exercise program and a nutritious diet.
➥Read also… Best Cellulite Treatments
When it comes to exercise, the most efficient or quickest way to reduce the appearance of cellulite is through strength training.
The use of free weights is a great way to build muscle strength and tighten the skin up around the thigh and buttocks areas. Free weights are easy to use and quite inexpensive for those who like to work out at home.
➥See Best Exfoliators for Dry Skin
Other products that can reduce the appearance of cellulite
Self-tanning lotions. Tanning gives you a darker hue, which reduces the appearance of cellulite. The reason for this phenomenon is darker skin conceals the skin’s texture more than lighter complexions.
➥Read also… Best Leggings To Hide Cellulite
Here are some of our favorite self-tanning lotions:
- Gradually builds natural-looking color while helping moisturize dry skin
- Enhances your natural skin tone with streak-free, buildable color when used daily
- Formulated with collagen and elastin to help improve the appearance of skin texture and support a firmer look
- FIND YOUR SHADE, SKIP THE GUESSWORK: Fair skin? Go Light. Medium to olive skin — or want a deeper bronze — go Medium. Already have a base tan? Medium is your go-to for maintaining that glow. Picking the right shade the first time means the color you get is the color you wanted.
- A NATURAL GLOW, NEVER ORANGE: Formulated to develop into a smooth, golden tan that looks like it came from the sun — not a bottle. No streaks, no orange undertones, just a believable "just got back from vacation" color.
- WON'T STAIN YOUR SHEETS OR CLOTHES: Our dye-free formula means no instant color transfer. As your tan naturally exfoliates over the following days, a little color may lift onto light fabrics — that's normal and washes out easily. It's never permanent.
- FIND YOUR SHADE, SKIP THE GUESSWORK: Fair skin? Go Light. Medium to olive skin — or want a deeper bronze — go Medium. Already have a base tan? Medium is your go-to for maintaining that glow. Picking the right shade the first time means the color you get is the color you wanted.
- A NATURAL GLOW, NEVER ORANGE: Formulated to develop into a smooth, golden tan that looks like it came from the sun — not a bottle. No streaks, no orange undertones, just a believable "just got back from vacation" color.
- WON'T STAIN YOUR SHEETS OR CLOTHES: Our dye-free formula means no instant color transfer. As your tan naturally exfoliates over the following days, a little color may lift onto light fabrics — that's normal and washes out easily. It's never permanent.
Cellulite creams. There are many anti-cellulite creams on the market, which reduce the appearance of cellulite by firming the skin as well as moisturizing it.
Here are some of our favorite anti-cellulite creams:
- ☀【Natural and Safe】This slimming cream contains is formulated with natural plant ingredients and other safe extracts, without any preservatives, non-irritating, easy to absorb. Suitable for all skin types. Belly fat burner for women men.
- ☀【Effective Slimming】Fat burning cream for stomach, waist, legs, arms, thighs, helps to shape a nice and attractive body. It can also be used as a body massage cream, Alleviate aches and relax the muscles.
- ☀【Firming Skin】 Hot cream ultra-moisturizing tightening & slimming works to firm your skin and keep you moist, helping to improve loose skin. This anti cellulite cream promotes blood circulation, helps in burning fats, and accelerates the metabolism and slimming process. After fully burning fat, it will help shape the muscle lines and make the muscles firmer.
- CAFFEINE COMPLEX IN LIPOSOMES – Encapsulated caffeine technology supports enhanced penetration for a firming, toning sensory experience
- VISIBLY FIRMS & SMOOTHS SKIN – Formula works to visibly improve skin firmness and smoothness on the abdomen and thigh area
- HELPS REDUCE THE LOOK OF CELLULITE – Targeted formula helps visibly reduce the appearance of skin texture associated with cellulite
- 【Natural Ginger Anti Cellulite Cream】- Our ginger slimming cream is made with no chemicals and preservatives just natural ginger extract ingredients, pure natural anti-cellulite helps in burning fats, accelerates the metabolism and speed up weight loss, suitable for all kinds of skin.
- 【Widely Applications】- Apply to areas with fats, cellulite and anywhere which you think needs some slimming down, Our heating cellulite slimming cream has great effect in slimming waist, hips, thighs, legs, arms and firming abdomen, easy to absorb, moisturizing and nourishing skin to make it smooth and tender, helps to shape nice and attractive body.
- 【Shape Perfect Body Slimming Cream】- The body massage cream has powerful, fast weight loss and skin care features. Cellulite Hot Cream is extremely effective at refine delicate lines, moisturise and improve the overall texture of the skin, the cream can quickly tighten loose skin caused by weight loss to achieve true weight loss.
Anti-cellulite massagers. These massagers work by naturally drawing the toxins from your deep tissue using utility and eliminating the fluid retention and creating the sculpting, contouring effect.
- 【4-in-1 Lymphatic Drainage Massager for At-Home Body Care】Experience a spa-inspired body care routine with our Lymphatic Drainage Massager combining vibration massage, warming heat, red light therapy and microcurrent stimulation. Designed for women who want to improve the appearance of uneven skin, relax tired muscles and enjoy a smoother-looking body contour. This multifunctional lymphatic drainage tool is ideal for daily use on legs, arms, belly, waist and other body areas.
- 【30 Adjustable Microcurrent Pulse Levels for Personalized Massage】Customize your massage experience with 30 adjustable microcurrent pulse levels, allowing you to choose a gentle, relaxing pulse or a stronger stimulation based on your comfort preference. Combined with vibration massage and soothing warmth, this cellulite massage tool helps create a personalized body care routine for tired legs, thighs, arms, belly and other target areas. Ideal for relaxing after exercise, long periods of sitting or a busy day.
- 【Anti Cellulite Massage Tool for Legs, Belly & Full Body】Create your own relaxing beauty routine at home with this anti cellulite massage tool designed for areas women care about most. The cellulite massager for legs and belly provides comfortable vibration massage for thighs, calves, abdomen, arms and hips, helping improve the appearance of cellulite, uneven skin texture and skin firmness. Perfect for use after workouts, during self-care routines or whenever you want a relaxing massage experience.
- 💡 Manual anti-cellulite massager – Non-electric cellulite tool for thighs, glutes, and legs: No batteries or motor — the intensity and pressure are entirely under your control. Use with slow upward and downward strokes to stimulate the skin and help improve its appearance.
- 🔬 International patented triple-action system: Unlike many look-alike cellulite removers with simple parallel rollers that barely affect the skin, this device features a unique system of converging rollers that lift and firmly squeeze the skin, followed by diverging rollers that stretch and smooth it. If the rollers were parallel, they would have little or no real effect.
- 🇮🇹 Made in Italy: Independently evaluated before market launch. Instrumental tests, showed measurable improvements in skin firmness, smoothness, elasticity, and a reduction in thigh circumference .* Consistency is key to achieving the best results. Individual results may vary.
- Promotes Muscle Relaxation & Comfort – This lymphatic drainage massager features a combination of soothing warmth and vibration to support a relaxing massage experience. The gentle massage action helps ease muscle tension, leaving your legs and arms feeling more comfortable after a long day
- Supports Skin's Look and Feel – As an effective massage tool, it uses gentle warmth and vibration to help enhance skin texture. The massage action targets areas like thighs, stomach, and arms, supporting your journey toward smoother-looking skin
- Supports Natural Body Contours – This body massage device offers a relaxing massage that helps ease muscle tension while supporting your body's natural shape. The versatile design allows you to focus on specific areas including arms, legs, and belly
References
[1] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cellulite/symptoms-causes/syc-20354945
[2] https://www.healthline.com/health/cellulite
[3] https://www.webmd.com/beauty/get-rid-of-cellulite#1
[4] https://www.lipotherapeia.com/the-peach-factor-blog/sugar-and-cellulite
Claudia Faucher is a fitness and lifestyle blogger who shares practical tips for women over 50 on staying active, stylish, and confident. As the creator of FitFab50.com and Beyond59.com, she covers topics like workout gear, beauty trends, and wellness routines. Claudia is passionate about helping others live their best life at any age.
Last update on 2026-10-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API