Spot Reduction

Following my blog about proper abdominal strengthening, I thought this would be a good time to discuss a common myth about your midsection. SPOT REDUCTION. Spot reduction refers the belief that you can burn fat in only certain areas …the problem is that this cannot be done.

Why doesn’t spot reduction work? The easiest way to explain why it doesn’t work is by telling you that the only thing exercises target is muscles – not the fat surrounding these muscles.

So how do you lose the fat in the areas you want? It’s actually very simple but unfortunately doesn’t happen quickly. You need to take in less calories than you burn. This creates a deficit of calories, and that causes your body to burn your own stored body fat for energy. You can do this through either a proper diet, exercise, or a combination of both.

I’ve been working out for a long time and the area I want to lose fat looks the same! Why? The order in which specific body parts begin to lose fat is predetermined by your genetics and is impossible to change. This means most men will typically lose fat from their lower abs last (and gain it there first) just like most women will typically lose fat from their thighs and hips last (and gain it there first). Nothing you do can change the way your body stores and loses fat.

Does this mean that I’m not losing fat? No. As long as you have a proper diet and/or workout routine that causes a caloric deficit to exist, then fat will ALWAYS be lost. And at some point it will eventually start to come off from the specific body part you were hoping.

So the bottom line is this: Only performing leg exercises will NOT help you lose fat from your legs. Only doing ab exercises will NOT get rid of your belly fat. The fact remains the same for every other muscle group and body part you can think of. Does this mean you shouldn’t do these exercises? Of course not. Weight training is a great addition to your exercise program and I will blog about that next week!