Spot reduction is possible!

HeidiMightyRawr

If you want to work your bicep muscles, you do bicep exercises. That is working the muscles there (making them stronger/larger) not reducing the fat in that place. Same goes for bench to work the chest muscles, squats for the leg muscle etc etc Your working on the muscles, and it means you'll look less flabby and in better shape when you do lose the fat there, but it's not actually causing the fat loss (aside from the calorie burn you get from any exercise)

People often spout the "ignore crunches" mantra and similar because the belly is one of the places most people want to lose fat. These people also seem to think that crunches and direct ab work will help you lose belly fat. It wont. You'll just work your abdominal muscles, that's all. If that's what you want, great.

In short, maintain a calorie deficit to lose the fat in general (where goes fastest depends on your body and where you tend to store fat) and strength train to work the particular muscle groups.

GymTennis

Well, of course that doing ab exercises is not pointless!!.. But, rest assured, everybody who says you can strip off fat from your stomach by doing a million crunches is just plain wrong... Spot fat removal is not possible indeed...

Yes, of course, do the ab exercises so you can shape your muscles when you burn off that fat so they can show nicely ... Moreover, strong abs and the core generally is so important for your body, overall.. (a lot of people who suffer from lower back pain actually have weak abs and improper back and stomach muscle balance)....So, yes of course, do the ab exercises..

However, to lose fat, you HAVE TO BE IN A CALORIC DEFICIT..It all boils down to calories in, calories out...

As for big arms.. If you want them, concentrate on your triceps more, which is twice as big as your biceps.. Good luck..

froeschli

i hit the wall, text wall, couldn't read through it all.
anyhow, i doubt spot reduction is possible, unless you go to a certain place and pay a certain person to spot reduce for you.

maybe, just maybe, the targeted strength training, after losing weight, increased a bit of circulation / added a bit of muscle and that made the skin look less flabby.

Wantingslim

Bump

jhtrico1850

I'm just saying, I was one of those people, about 16% body fat, that thought you needed to cut cut cut, see your abs, then work out to make them bigger. They won't look as cut, but if you're not too fat, you can see some abs. So I'm not necessarily saying you can spot reduce your belly, but I am saying you can make your abs look better without a really low body fat %.

meshashesha2012

i personally skip direct ab exercises because i have a short waist. i've been thin and athletic before and back then when i had a 6 pack it made my waist look like it was much thicker than it actually was. back then it was utilitarian since i played a sport and the way i looked was less important than what i could get my body to do.

but now, 6 pack + short waist => no bueno and not the look i'm going for. i get plenty of core strengthening in squats, deadlifts, push ups, turkish get ups and yoga but visible6 pack is definitely not something i want

ninerbuff

A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Physiology seemed to indicate that spot reduction may be possible, although to what degree is unclear. In the study, conducted at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), scientists had male subjects perform single-leg extensions with light weight for 30 consecutive minutes. The researchers then measured the amount of blood flow to the subjects' subcutaneous fat cells in both the exercising and resting thighs, as well as the amount of lipolysis from those fat cells. The scientists observed increases in blood flow and lipolysis in the exercising leg when compared to the resting leg. The study suggested that during exercise, body fat is preferentially used from the area being trained.

I've read this study too and again degree of fat loss isn't substantial enough for the average person especially when working out a single muscle for 30 minutes straight. So though is may be totally possible, the approach is improbable for many people to do.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

If exercising a muscle alone reduced body fat in the area chosen, people would just do ab work and hip work to reduce it. And I've seen many people doing countless sets and reps in several of the gyms I've worked in, and those people still weren't getting any further in progress.
It's always going to come down to adequate nutrition and a calorie deficit. Exercise is for fitness and physical health.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Cranquistador

That's a pretty solid wall of text.

And spot reduction isn't possible.

^


doh...zombie thread.

dakotababy

A wise man once said that fat is burned from the body in the same manner that water is drained from a pool. It might look like more water has been drained in the shallow end but really it's all being lost evenly. With that being said, I've noticed that a lot of people don't bother doing ab exercises since spot reduction is considered impossible. They'd rather keep the belly and do some cardio, fair enough. But you don't hear anyone saying goodbye to the bench press since they can't lose their manboobs. So my question is, why do people neglect their abs all because of this theory? If you want nice biceps, you work out your biceps. If you want nice shoulders, you work on your shoulders. So if you want a nice set of abs, why not work on them too? I know people say spot reduction is impossible but it seems like this has totally demotivated people. I have been working on my abs for just over a month, and I have a BMI of 29 (was 34). I could never feel any abs beneath my belly but now my upper abdominals are slowly emerging. A lot of people say that if you work on your abs and are already fat then you will just look fatter since your abs are getting bigger and your fat is still on top of it. But from personal experience I must say that's just not the case. It almost seems as if my new hard-earned muscle is feeding off the fat around it lol (I don't know the science behind that). My gym buddy has lost 5 stones recently as well. All he did was cardio, but he's still at 14 stones and looks very weak. There was still a lot of fat sagging from his arms but for the last month I've been getting him to work his biceps vigorously and you'd be delighted to know that he now has much firmer biceps and tighter skin. All in all, spot reduction may be scientifically impossible but that's no excuse to neglect certain body parts. The results speak for themselves. Do correct me if I'm wrong guys, I'd love a professional opinion!

1. BMI is meaningless, I'm planning to get down to 8% body fat, and I'll still have a BMI around 30.
2. Spot reduction is not possible. The body loses fat based on genetics. Muscles show through when the body fat level in a specific area gets low.
3. Most people don't work their abs because their trainers typically tell them that doing ab exercises will make your ab muscles larger, which can make your entire belly look larger.

I just work out my arm and leg muscles, so in turn my belly looks smaller!

Sarauk2sf

I've heard this a lot also. I'm just wondering where the one inch of fat went since I did no cardio and only weight training. I seem to have lost it from the area I was training. I've lost fat from my arms too, simply for building more muscle on my arms. No cardio. Maybe it's just me... hmm.

You lost fat off your arms and waist - that is from a calorie deficit.

Mother_Superior

Sarauk2sf

A 2006 study published in the American Journal of Physiology seemed to indicate that spot reduction may be possible, although to what degree is unclear. In the study, conducted at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), scientists had male subjects perform single-leg extensions with light weight for 30 consecutive minutes. The researchers then measured the amount of blood flow to the subjects' subcutaneous fat cells in both the exercising and resting thighs, as well as the amount of lipolysis from those fat cells. The scientists observed increases in blood flow and lipolysis in the exercising leg when compared to the resting leg. The study suggested that during exercise, body fat is preferentially used from the area being trained.

I've read this study too and again degree of fat loss isn't substantial enough for the average person especially when working out a single muscle for 30 minutes straight. So though is may be totally possible, the approach is improbable for many people to do.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Yep, the amount of actual 'spot reduction' is so negligible to be pretty meaningless in the scheme of things.

Sarauk2sf

Holy shiznit..it's 2 years old.

Warchortle

It's not spot reduction. You're building muscle in an area which proportionally makes the fat seem less.

Cranquistador

i realized when i saw koosdel.

wheird

Despite this being an old post, I want to address the OP's incorrect assertion that most people who lift heavy neglect abs.

Squatting activates the abs more than planks.

That is all.

MyChocolateDiet

alls I know is I can't see your ticker.

BrainyBurro

to;dr



however...

...spot reduction isn't possible.

unless...

....you resort to liposuction.

or...

...amputation.

vanguardfitness

I've heard this a lot also. I'm just wondering where the one inch of fat went since I did no cardio and only weight training. I seem to have lost it from the area I was training. I've lost fat from my arms too, simply for building more muscle on my arms. No cardio. Maybe it's just me... hmm.

Did you really lose fat or did you increase fat free mass? I guess it depends on what lens you're looking through. But you can't specifically target what part of your body will remove fat over other parts. Fat generally gets removed (from most humans I'd guess) from the limbs inwards towards the center of your torso.