You CAN Spot Reduce

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Replies

  • bonniecarbs
    bonniecarbs Posts: 446 Member
    There was a challenge on here about 6 months ago, to do 200 crunches a day. I started the challenge and I'm still doing it. My belly is down - from two different tape measurers, and from the pinch test. I'm down 1.4 inch in my belly and waist ONLY. Call it what you want, 1.4 inches is 1.4 inches. If I ever decide to do something besides slow walking I'm sure I will get great results. I used a body blade ONLY for four months 2 years ago and got my arms down 1/2 inch in four months. My daughter did the same thing, using the blade only, and because she is young I guess, she got a whole inch down in the arms.
  • Mellie289
    Mellie289 Posts: 1,191 Member
    If we can spot reduce, why did I lose the fat off my face first by jogging, while my legs didn't change at all? I think fat distribution is genetically programmed and it goes on and comes off accordingly. I put weight on from the bottom up and take it off from the top down, no matter how much I run on the treadmill or how many squats I do. I'm just now seeing a reduction in my legs after losing more than 30 pounds, most of it off my tummy (without doing any ab work until recently) and my upper body.

    LOL obviously you didn't read the post- running doesn't work! You have to do JM 30 Day Shred to spot reduce! Duh! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Almost finished a month of that and barely lost anything of my legs still ... but my face doesn't have an ounce of fat left and my waist is down almost two inches.

    The only sure fire way to spot reduce is liposuction!
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
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    Guys, anecdotes =/= evidence. Please read some of the scientific work done on this concept.
    It baffles me that this thread is still going but as a "nay-sayer" I guess I'll bump :tongue:
  • ZeroWoIf
    ZeroWoIf Posts: 588 Member
    If spot reduction was possible then someone would have fat in their thighs, arms, penis, and have razor sharp abs. Just think about it lol.
  • Aritiger
    Aritiger Posts: 14
    I ride my bike 5 miles a couple times a week. I dont lose weight but my calves are awesome!!!!

    One would think Id lose fat on my 50yr old thighs. I wish.

    No spot reduction there.

    Anyone know where I can get some sexy knee high boots that will fit around my calves?
  • Aritiger
    Aritiger Posts: 14
    Since apparently spot reduction is possible, please tell me how to do it. I would love to spot increase and put on some extra fat in my boob and butt spots. Thanks OP!

    Me too!!!!
  • echosentwo
    echosentwo Posts: 10
    I was excited to hear you can spot reduce. maybe because i wish you could so badly that i want to belive you can. More people say you can't then you can.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    I was excited to hear you can spot reduce. maybe because i wish you could so badly that i want to belive you can. More people say you can't then you can.

    Damn, it's been 15 hours since somebody tried to say you CAN spot reduce. LOL, bump it up bump bump it up!!!
  • crystalslight
    crystalslight Posts: 322 Member
    If you could spot reduce.. I wouldn't have love handles or a second butt!
  • sarah2954
    sarah2954 Posts: 291 Member
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  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    Absolutely. You don't need to do a single crunch to get a flat belly. You need to use up your fat storage.

    Unless you have a strength deficiency in your core area crunches are a waist of time when you could be doing other things like kettlebell swings.
  • mirandamayhem
    mirandamayhem Posts: 772
    If you could spot reduce.. I wouldn't have love handles or a second butt!

    You don't understand! You can only spot reduce CERTAIN parts of your body, not ALL of them! Silly! :laugh: :wink:
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    You can tone areas up by building muscle in said areas. When people say "you can't spot reduce" they mean that doing crunches over and over WILL NOT burn the fat off your stomach (I mean unless you incorporate into a cardio routine- now we're talking) It will only build up muscle so that it may look like you are slimmer but to lose that fat you have to do cardio and eat clean.

    Of course you need to eat clean and burn fat with cardio, but you can build muscle in certain "spots" to improve the amount of muscle vs. fat in those spots.

    I just hear so many people so frustrated with certain spots on their bodies and people are not giving them helpful info regarding how they can improve those spots.

    Okay... if someone tells me they want a flatter tummy, I'm going to tell them to do cardio and eat less and quit doing a thousand crunches every day. Because usually when people don't know what they're doing they only do "spot reducing" and don't look at the whole picture.

    Absolutely. You don't need to do a single crunch to get a flat belly. You need to use up your fat storage.

    Unless you have a strength deficiency in your core area crunches are a waist of time when you could be doing other things like kettlebell swings.
  • Keightisgr8
    Keightisgr8 Posts: 121 Member
    Magnets? How do they work?..
  • TallCurvyMuscles
    TallCurvyMuscles Posts: 50
    Yep theres thing called plastic surgery
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    LOL.
  • avir8
    avir8 Posts: 671 Member
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    Absolutely. You don't need to do a single crunch to get a flat belly. You need to use up your fat storage.

    Unless you have a strength deficiency in your core area crunches are a waist of time when you could be doing other things like kettlebell swings.

    Haha, is this a pun?
  • oandptech
    oandptech Posts: 12

    Of course you need to eat clean and burn fat with cardio, but you can build muscle in certain "spots" to improve the amount of muscle vs. fat in those spots.

    I just hear so many people so frustrated with certain spots on their bodies and people are not giving them helpful info regarding how they can improve those spots.

    What you're referring to here is spot increase (increase in muscle) You CAN NOT spot REDUCE (reducing adipose tissue (fat) in a specific spot. Any reduction happens roughly everywhere there is fat. Some individuals are lucky and they just so happen to loose the fat where they want it gone. But for the vast majority of us that doesn't happen, we loose is in other places before the "targeted" areas/ I'm never going to loose my belly fat doing crunches not matter how many thousand I do, just ain't gonna happen. In fact doing a whole bunch of crunches can have a negative increase in size even though what I'd be building is muscle it would visually just be bigger. And yes, I know, more muscle= more calorie burn.

    You are confusing the ratio of fat vs. muscle with "reducing" fat. It is NOT the same.
  • cindybickler
    cindybickler Posts: 113 Member
    :huh: gotta read this all later......cheap entertainment!
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
    Absolutely. You don't need to do a single crunch to get a flat belly. You need to use up your fat storage.

    Unless you have a strength deficiency in your core area crunches are a waist of time when you could be doing other things like kettlebell swings.

    Haha, is this a pun?

    No, that's just me being illiterate, but that was funny LOL.
  • LovelyNFit
    LovelyNFit Posts: 92 Member
    If you can spot "increase" body building then you can spot reduce...It may not have quick noticeable results but its possible. Just my opinion from experience.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    If you can spot "increase" body building then you can spot reduce...It may not have quick noticeable results but its possible. Just my opinion from experience.

    By muscle atrophy? Yes, I suppose that is possible. Wear a cast for awhile and you will spot reduce that area. Has absolutely nothing to do with fat though.
  • KellyUK1987
    KellyUK1987 Posts: 75
    This thread has actually been quite informative for me. (Being someone who has just started to work out, and knows absolutely nothing about weight loss and such). I think people that know nothing, *assumes* spot reducing is possible.. I did. I thought doing sit ups etc would lose weight on my gut. Not because I'm stupid but because I'm just uneducated in this field....

    Now that I've read this thread, and read the scientific stuff people have posted I, personally, now understand that 'spot reduction' is not possible, and I will no longer waste my time working on my abs, only cardio for me for now :) So thanks everyone.
  • rose_mortem
    rose_mortem Posts: 147 Member
    surgery is always an option if you're that desperate :laugh:
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    This thread has actually been quite informative for me. (Being someone who has just started to work out, and knows absolutely nothing about weight loss and such). I think people that know nothing, *assumes* spot reducing is possible.. I did. I thought doing sit ups etc would lose weight on my gut. Not because I'm stupid but because I'm just uneducated in this field....

    Now that I've read this thread, and read the scientific stuff people have posted I, personally, now understand that 'spot reduction' is not possible, and I will no longer waste my time working on my abs, only cardio for me for now :) So thanks everyone.

    Wait wait wait! The answer is not "only cardio"! That message got misconstrued. There are TONS of benefits to strength training as well as cardio- the strength training 1)preserves muscle mass, 2)increases bone density 3) Teaches you CNS to use muscle fibers that you already have and haven't been using- resulting in firm and strong muscles 4)Hormonal Response that accelerates fat loss significantly over cardio alone.

    But yes, unless you have some specific need to train your core, your time is much better spent by using compound movements and targeting big muscle groups- your abs and core will get trained while doing those lifts, such as Bench Press, Pushups, Overhead press, Deadlifts, Lunges, Rows and my favorite- SQUATS! A half hour 2-3x a week is all you need to spend on strength training.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    I do not think the trainer was trying to sell me something. Came free with my gym membership.

    Spit out my coffee on that one.

    --P
  • InnerFatGirl
    InnerFatGirl Posts: 2,687 Member
    Absolutely. You don't need to do a single crunch to get a flat belly. You need to use up your fat storage.

    Unless you have a strength deficiency in your core area crunches are a waist of time when you could be doing other things like kettlebell swings.

    Haha, is this a pun?

    No, that's just me being illiterate, but that was funny LOL.

    Good one :wink:
  • Mighty_Rabite
    Mighty_Rabite Posts: 581 Member
    Yeah, spot reduction.. not possible. It goes with this great saying I once heard, that six pack abs are made in the kitchen.

    Spot toning, sure. Anyone can target a single muscle and work it out.

    Best analogy I saw was the typist one.
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    beat_dead_horse2.jpg

    I think I love you. :heart:

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