Can you Spot Reduce Fat?
No matter what message board I visit, folks are always asking if they can reduce fat in one particular area. I read questions like, “How do I get rid of my pooch?” or “How can I lose my love handles?” The answer is that you cannot spot reduce. Believe me, I wish we could too. There is so much misinformation out there. Every marketing guru promises to spot reduce with a new fitness machine, lotion or pill, but it’s just not possible. The key to losing any area of fat is to burn it everywhere!
Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern that varies from person to person. For example, two women can have 20% body fat, but have very different figures. Although fat is lost or gained throughout the body it seems the last area to become lean, is typically the midsection in men, and the hips and thighs in women. So, you may think that a bunch of crunches or legs lifts will do the trick, unfortunately, they won’t.
It’s not to say that these exercises are not good, but you will never attain a flat stomach just by performing ab exercises alone. The reason is simple: a muscle does not own the fat that surrounds it. The exercises will strengthen the muscles, but will not get rid of the layer of fat covering those muscles. To lose fat anywhere on your body you need to burn calories by following a program that involves both cardio training and weight training. In doing so, you will decrease fat throughout your entire body, including the problem areas.
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I found out that you can’t spot reduce when I was trained by Skooter, LL CoolJ’s trainer and co author in 1995 in Gold’s Gym in Queens. Every body is different. Some women may lose chest fat they don’t want to lose before losing ab fat, etc. You have to get to know your body and experiment at first. Se my blog for more. http://www.louizafitness.blogspot.com. This information is also in my book Pocket Guide to Fitness.
Thanks for the post. It’s too late for me but I’m sure there are others that will benefit tremendously!
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