Health and Fitness Myth Busters: Spot Reduction

The Myth: You can burn fat from around your belly, hips, thighs, (fill-in a specific body region) by doing certain targeted exercises.

The Reality: Factors such as genetics, hormones, and age are what determines where we store body fat. Because of this, we tend to lose fat in the reverse order from which we put it on. For example, I put on fat around the middle first, then around my arms and chest, and then my face and backside. When I started losing weight, my face and rear were the first places that thinned, followed by my arms and chest, and... well... you get the picture.

Doing intense, focused abdominal workouts might give you six-pack abs, but if your body stores fat around your belly, your six-pack may be hidden from view. And although there is (allegedly) a recent study that shows a slight thermogenic effect in the immediate vicinity of a working muscle, it’s doubtful that it makes a difference (and frankly I couldn’t find the study “cited” by another author).

As disappointing as this might be for some people, keep in mind that now you’re free to avoid endless crunches or leg lifts and start focusing on full-body strength training that will help you in a number of ways (see 3 Good Reasons for Strength Training and 3 More Good Reasons...).

Train hard and pray harder,
Brandon T Jubar