“The Myth of Spot Reduction”

GETTING THE BURN


There was a time when I was definitely NOT in the kind of shape I’m in today. I carried about 40 pounds of extra fat on my body and a large portion of it seemed to settle around my mid-section.


So like anyone else in my position I figured I’d better start doing some ab exercises so I could “burn away the fat”.

While I’d feel the “burn” in my abdominal region from the exercise, it didn’t actually melt the fat away from that area (it was just lactic acid accumulation).

I later learned that spot reduction, from exercise, doesn’t actually exist. The only way to spot reduce fat is from a surgical procedure like liposuction.


SO WHAT DOES WORK?


What I also came to learn was that it took a combination of things to achieve the results I wanted.


First and foremost, I had to face the fact that I had to change how I was eating. I was on the classic “See Food” diet where “If I saw it, I ate it!”


Second I had to start on a consistent exercise program.


This plan worked and I not only lost almost all 40 lbs in about 6 months but I also got extremely fit!


I WANT TO PUMP YOU UP!


Interestingly enough, what worked for me was not the typical cardio approach that so most people believe is key to losing weight (i.e. body fat).

I intuitively discovered that it was about building muscle!

This was lucky for me since I enjoyed resistance training more than cardio.

I did supplement occasionally with cardio, just because I figured I should do some cardio, but it was really a minimal amount.


Years later I learned that the reason resistance training was so critical to the success I had is because muscle is “metabolically active” tissue.

This means it requires a certain amount of energy in the form of calories in order to maintain itself.

Fat doesn’t use much energy and in fact it is a form of stored energy, so it’s not metabolically active in the way muscle is.


FAT LOSS PATTERNS


One thing that really surprised me throughout the process was that as I started losing fat, it came off pretty much everywhere else before my abs.

When it did start to come off there, it started with a 2 pack just below my sternum, then a 4 pack and eventually a 6 pack in the lower abdominal region.


I eventually learned that people tend to lose fat in a certain pattern . On most men it seems that the waist is the last place fat tends to come off, with women it’s usually, the hips and thighs .

Certainly some folks have different genetic patterns and I’ve actually seen the exact opposite scenarios between men and women.


YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT


Even after all these years that I’ve been involved with fitness, first as a “layperson” and then as a fitness professional, the only difference my physique undergoes these days in terms of fat loss is primarily as a result of how I eat.

This is because my fitness program is extremely consistent in terms of the way I cycle intensity.

In the winter months I like to carry about 5 extra pounds because I find being too lean in the winter doesn't work for me (as I can't stay warm), but as spring approaches I shed them.

This is always accomplished by gradual reductions in my overall caloric consumption, small changes that get me to where I want to be pretty easily and painlessly.

And what do you know, those lower abs come back where I want them to without any extra ab exercises. :)

IN SUMMARY


So in Summary. No matter how much time you spend working on your abs. butt or thighs, it won’t burn off the fat in those specific areas.

What will work for most people is to first clean up your nutrition, add a resistance training program to build lean body tissue (i.e. muscle) and supplement it with cardio as the "icing on the cake" (pun intended! :)).


A caveat: I wanted to clarify that I am not against cardio training and I do include training that I call "conditioning" work. This includes modalities like kickboxing, aerobic stepping and agility work among others.

I also do metabolic strength training which are intense circuits (or complexes) which create a great metabolic disturbance. This type of training does give cardiovascular and weight loss benefits.


Primarily, I'm just not a big believer in the efficacy of "steady state" cardio such as typical machine training on treadmills, bikes and ellipticals, as a primary weight loss tool (note: for severely overweight or deconditioned individuals, this may be a good starting point but not to the exclusion of nutritional modifications-the most important element- and resistance training).

If one wants to use those types of modalities, then interval training, in particular high intensity interval training, can give great benefits and will certainly produce caloric expenditure both during and after the workout.


The problem is that often people do that type of training as their sole source of fitness and often additionally neglect the nutritional element, and therefore don't get the fat loss benefits they are seeking.









Scott Fishkind

http://www.time4youfitness.com/