Weight lifting/core exercises and love handles, stomach fat
Noreenmarie1234
Posts: 7,492 Member
I see on here a lot of people seem to say two people who exercise at the same weight will look exactly the same and that no amount of "core work" or weight lifting can change your fat distribution if you are maintaining your weight. "You can't spot reduce".
I'd like to know what you all think of this.
Maybe I am just lucky or other factors were at play, but when I started doing ab/oblique work and maintained the same exact weight, I lost the last little pouch around my stomach. Everytime I go a few months without doing anything it comes back without any increase in weight. I know n=1 is not very significant though lol. So I am wondering if anyone else has an input on this.
I'd like to know what you all think of this.
Maybe I am just lucky or other factors were at play, but when I started doing ab/oblique work and maintained the same exact weight, I lost the last little pouch around my stomach. Everytime I go a few months without doing anything it comes back without any increase in weight. I know n=1 is not very significant though lol. So I am wondering if anyone else has an input on this.
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Replies
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Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.1 -
Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
So you are saying that two people with the same genetics, one who does core exercises and heavy weights and one who doesn't will have the same amount of fat on their stomach?2 -
Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!4 -
justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.3 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
So you are saying that two people with the same genetics, one who does core exercises and heavy weights and one who doesn't will have the same amount of fat on their stomach?
First, I'm not sure 2 people *can* have the same genetics. But assuming they can for the sake of this conversation...
Those 2 people, both with similar training and diet... the only meaningful difference being one does dedicated core work and the other does not... there will be no meaningful difference in stomach fat. UNLESS... they are highly accomplished/elite level athletes where the smallest of small differences do matter (think physique competitors). And even then I'd argue that the differences are more in muscle development than they are in fat distribution.1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.
Right - that's not the way the body works. The body doesn't convert one to the other, in either direction. They are 2 separate processes.4 -
Where did you see this? People say you can't spot reduce which is true because you can't target specific areas for fat loss by working on them .. they will come off according to your genetics and how you lose fat. However you can help maintain muscle in areas by resistance training, so that when the fat does come off (with a calorie deficit) there will be muscle to show under.. this will give you a more defined look. If you did no exercise you would lose more muscle in comparison so the ratio would still be the same even though your size decreases, and someone would likely end up more soft vs defined with a higher bodyfat %.
It sounds like that is exactly what you did, or in your case you recomped since you maintained your weight.1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.
It doesn't work that way exactly.. the two processes can happen around the same time, fat loss and muscle gain, but fat does not actually turn into muscle and vise versa.3 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.
It doesn't work that way exactly.. the two processes can happen around the same time, fat loss and muscle gain, but fat does not actually turn into muscle and vise versa.
Sorry this is what I meant
just didn’t explain it properly. I meant that you could have lost the weight from exercise and been gaining muscle on your stomach area from working out that area. The fat loss might just be more obvious in your stomach area but it’s total body. 1 -
Spot reduction is not possible. Not through workouts, foods or supplements. Your fat distribution pattern is determined by your genetics and you have no control over it. Spot reduction is a myth created by people who want to sell you workout gimmicks and “supplements”.
Fat is inert and has no contractile properties. It can’t be exercised. You can strengthen the muscles underneath it, even make them larger (hypertrophy), but that has no effect upon the actual fat covering them.
And fat can’t be converted to muscle. I can’t buy a pound of butter from the store and turn it into a pound of steak, no matter what I do to it.1 -
Thank you for explaining.Now I understand what people are meaning when they say this. I was thinking they were meaning something a little different by saying you can’t spot reduce.Spot reduction is not possible. Not through workouts, foods or supplements. Your fat distribution pattern is determined by your genetics and you have no control over it. Spot reduction is a myth created by people who want to sell you workout gimmicks and “supplements”.
Fat is inert and has no contractile properties. It can’t be exercised. You can strengthen the muscles underneath it, even make them larger (hypertrophy), but that has no effect upon the actual fat covering them.
And fat can’t be converted to muscle. I can’t buy a pound of butter from the store and turn it into a pound of steak, no matter what I do to it.0 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.
Because that *is* impossible. They're two different types of tissue.1 -
collectingblues wrote: »Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »justjara123 wrote: »Genetics and current body fat levels determine where you will lose fat from (assuming proper diet and exercise for fat loss) - not your exercise routine.
On a side note... what you see happening may or may not be what is actually happening.
This^ and I think the fat might have just converted to muscle and vice versa. Some people can gain weight and look even skinnier and more fit than before!
Well that is what everyone says on here that it is impossible to convert fat to muscle like that.
Because that *is* impossible. They're two different types of tissue.
I know, I wasn't saying it was possible I was just responding to her comment with the type of comments I was referring to. I didn't take what she said as actual fat magically transforming into muscle. I interpreted the whole idea of toning and recomp as losing fat in the area, but gaining muscle mass back in the same area so that it is overall the same measurements, but different composition. I was thinking people were meaning this was impossible, but I was interpreting it wrong lol.0 -
I think core exercises like planks and other ab work can possibly strengthen the muscles that are in front of belly fat. This may make your belly appear slimmer but it could also be all in your mind too. I say go ahead and do core exercises because it will burn some calories and improve tone. The added muscle will be ready to go if you are reducing fat. When I lost my 50 pound beer gut I was doing a lot of running and planks. As I got to about 14% body fat I had eliminated my gut and started to see abs but that was 25 pounds ago I hate to admit.0
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Like others stated, there's no spot reduction of actual fat.
That being said, I find that when I do a lot of exercises that engage my core, that I tend to *appear* more firm in my stomach area, I tend to stand taller and engage those muscles without thinking about it, which also makes me *appear* thinner. My weight isn't changing, but how I look does. Even the amount of fat that may or may not be squeezed by the exact same pair of jeans can have a visual difference.
It's the same amount of BF (unless you've recomped, which is a very slow process), but simply engaging and using those muscles (and having some there to use) can make a difference in one's appearance of having a pooch or not.3
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