Muffin top

AnvilHead

I saw a post where a person posted before and after photos,
she weighed 130 in her before picture,
and was lumpy, flabby, had a flabby round tummy, and said she had back fat rolls, too.

in her after picture,
she weighed 133, and had a very small waist, and looked quite buff.

she changed shape but not her weight. (yeah, yeah, i get that she must have reduced her body fat % )


One CAN change the shape of a body.
but, no argument, that weight loss is great way to lose lumpy parts.
especially excessively large lumpy parts, will require weight loss to reduce, no argument.

.......
Exercise can target specific spots, and tone them up, and reshape those parts.

There's no argument that one CAN change the shape of their body. What you're talking about is called 'body recomposition'. It's an entirely different thing than 'spot reducing'. Body recomposition is altering the ratio of lean tissue to fat tissue.

Of *course* you can target certain muscle groups with weight training...that's the principle of every weight/strength training program ever written, and why we do specific exercises for different body parts. It's also why "curl bros" can get huge, jacked arms and still have chicken legs. Your legs aren't going to grow from doing a million curls in the squat rack. Where "spot reducing" fails is that muscles respond to stimulus, fat doesn't - it's inert, just lying there covering the muscles. You can work your biceps, abs, legs, etc. with as many exercises as you want for as long as you want - the muscles may get larger and stronger, but if you're not doing something to lose the fat (e.g., creating a caloric deficit through diet and/or exercise), the fat isn't going anywhere.

If you'd read the study I linked to (which you obviously didn't), it specifically stated that targeted abdominal exercise did absolutely, positively nothing....*nothing* to eliminate abdominal fat. It did develop endurance strength in the muscles buried beneath the fat, but it did not change the fat composition one iota. Allow me to quote from the study, just so you don't have to click the link and read it for yourself:

There was no significant effect of abdominal exercises on body weight, body fat percentage, android fat percentage, android fat, abdominal circumference, abdominal skinfold and suprailiac skinfold measurements. The AG performed significantly greater amount of curl-up repetitions (47 ± 13) compared to the CG (32 ± 9) on the posttest. Six weeks of abdominal exercise training alone was not sufficient to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat and other measures of body composition. Nevertheless, abdominal exercise training significantly improved muscular endurance to a greater extent than the CG.

The whole concept of "spot reducing" is silly and ignorant. It doesn't work. You can work out your muscles, but you can't work out your fat.

BlueJean4114

////"There's no argument that one CAN change the shape of their body"////

YES! I AGREE!!:bigsmile: That is what i said! YAY!!


I think we probably agree that exercise CAN change the shape of a body part, too!! (did not realize there really ARE people who don't "believe" that! wow!):noway:
but you can call it "re composition" of the area, whatever,
but, it can change shape from exercise. LIke biceps, can be made larger with exercise. Waists can be made smaller with exercise. Calves can be resculpted somewhat, with exercise. etc
etc
etc
etc
etc


////"The whole concept of "spot reducing" is silly and ignorant. It doesn't work. You can work out your muscles, but you can't work out your fat."////


I don't think i ever used the words "spot reduce" but although i am new here, i have seen that word thrown at anyone who asks about exercises to help various body parts, as if they've done some kind of error to even ask.
I think that type of reply, can be stifling. Members here have to join specific subgroups, to share exercise ideas without being mocked in the main forum, kinda odd, that.

TO THE OP, DO JOIN A SUBGROUP, to get out of the main forums.:indifferent:
In subgroups, people DO share exercise ideas.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:


so AnvilHead, i am not sure why you are arguing,(?) or why you seem to want to prevent this person from exercising certain parts of her body, i don't get it. Why discourage this? I think it is great for a person to shape themselves as they lose weight. I think probably that does give the best end result, if a person exercises as they go along, instead of wait til all the weight is off.
and some areas will need extra exercises in some people, to get that area to be the shape the person wants.
All i said was, one can change the shape of a body, or of a body part.
and i even said //"worth a try anyway, but stand by for the inevitable attack of the bodybuilders who will tell you that you can not target a specific muscle, nor reshape a specific body part."//:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I am only new, but, i KNEW ppl would attack for wanting to exercise a certain part of their body, i knew it!!:laugh: .

There are normal weight people, (and even thin people) with lumps, and exercising does reshape those areas.
Those people do not need to lose weight, but exercise. People can look entirely different,
at exact same weight,
after exercising,

even if they are only targeting the areas they have lumps and flab on. People can reshape areas, without changing weights.
People can target just a certain area, to reshape through exercise, without losing weight, if the person is not overweight.
You seem to suggest that *all* flabby people need to lose weight, which i don't necessarily agree with.

Even body builders, will focus exercising a specific area, just to reshape it. (true, some body builders have other reasons, as well, to target one area for exercises, to bulk it up, to make it stronger, etc. who hasn't heard a body builder talk about whatever area they are working on with exercise to target that area)

but, like i said,
if the lump IS excessively large,
or
IF the person IS generally overweight,
yes, yes, like i said, weight loss will help the person reach the goal of removing or reducing or reshaping the area that bothers them,
absolutely!!

but, again,
even normal weight people
and even thin people
can have flabby lumps, poochy tummies, flabby legs, arms with no definition, etc, which can be improved through exercising the area that bothers them.


The op IS losing weight, btw, and although her style of "ticker tape" is hard for me to read well, it appears she has lost almost 30 lbs, and i want to support her urge to exercise. I have no idea why some people here seems to be so hellbent on slapping down the idea of exercising for people who ask about exercises for special areas of their body, as if we can not reshape as we lose weight (IF that particular person is also interested in losing weight).
odd, how often and how smugly this lil band of "you can't target one area" types always jump in almost every thread like this, as if to prevent others from sharing what helped them reshape that area.

odd. The OP never said she was not continuing her weight loss,
nor relying solely on exercise, my impression was she IS losing weight, and just wanted ideas on how to exercise some area she wants to work on. TO THE OP, I SAY GO FOR IT HONEY!!!


AnvilHead, i wonder, what you'd recommend,
if you met a thin or normal weight person,
with flab, lumps, squashy areas, droopy areas, rounded flabby tummies, whatever, but is not overweight
(LOTTA those types around...who DOESN'T know someone like that?

weight loss?

AnvilHead,(cute name for you)
what would you recommend if you met a person,
at proper weight,
who wanted to reshape his arms?

weight loss?

Wait, wait, could it be, that the person could exercise could change the shape of just his arm somewhat? ??

BlueJean4114

TO THE OP, DO JOIN A SUBGROUP, to get out of the main forums. :indifferent:
In subgroups, people DO share exercise ideas.:bigsmile: :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

munchlaxx

I had a bit of an ugly muffin top going on while I wore most of my pants...since I changed my diet and started cardio/strength exercises...my body reshaped in that area. Everything is starting to look quite well in that area (2 months later). Just work hard, watch your food intake and you shall see some sort of results come along! Just remember everything is a slow process.

caraiselite

when i eat carbs, it all goes to my belly.
try and get more protein and vegetables.100 grams of carbs a day might be good to start with.

LiviLou2011

Hm I thought a muffin top was from women wearing pants that are too tight for them... >.>

i think this person IS right, too,
if you wear appropriately sized clothing your shape will be less distorted into "extra" curves which are not even there when you are nude.

thats called a Camel toe

lmao

NZhellkat

Hi there I am in need of some exercises to lose my muffin top it has to be no weights or machines as I don't have either.

If you have canned goods or containers of laundry detergent then you have weights. That's what I did. If there is a will there is a way you just have to improvise with what you have on hand. Watching what you eat and doing some cardio will help get you there more efficiently.

drusilla126

Oh people. It's not just from wearing improperly fitting clothes. The op probably means while completely naked they still have that horrible little pouchy area in the abdomen. Frustrating area that. As you've read about twenty times by now life sucks and you can't spot reduce BUT I would recommend reverse crunches. They certainly can't hurt. And yes planks too. It's crazy how much stronger my core is after I added a few to the mix.

BlueJean4114

////"There's no argument that one CAN change the shape of their body"////

...<headache-inducing rambling snipped>...

Wait, wait, could it be, that the person could exercise could change the shape of just his arm somewhat? ??

I'm sure you have it all correct. Yes. You're right. If the OP bends over, grabs a barstool and waves her leg around in the air behind her, the muffin top will magically disappear.

Good luck.

why do you mock me?

{edit: why would anyone here feel the need to mock anyone here who IS being sincere and either asking for help, or trying to encourage someone else asking for help? what's the point in that behavior? how is that helping? }


why do you mock my suggestion of an exercise for her to try?


why do you think people shouldn't do exercises as they are losing weight?


(to the OP, if i did give the impression one(1) workout makes muffin tops smooth out, i did not mean to, or, perhaps it is just only "AnvilHead" who does not understand if someone suggests an exercise to try, that no magic is involved, and it is not a one-time thing. BEST OF LUCK, OP, GO FOR IT!!

BlueJean4114

Go to Youtube.com and search Tiffanyrotheworkouts.She has a a few shrt excersises for your core that left me sore a couple times plus she has other good workouts for stubborn areas. Good luck

great link,:bigsmile: her lower abd flattening-moves looks great, too!

THIS Tiffany Rothe video, from the link you posted,
has a move,
VERY similar to the one i was trying to describe,:bigsmile:
about bending forward, holding onto something, and moving one's leg up and out, TIL YOU FEEL that spot where your muffin top area IS being pulled, and move your leg riiiiiiiiiiiiight there, back and forth or up and down, moving that very spot.

however, in this clip

---

http://youtu.be/0Yn-qdODHlM
the trainer, Tiffany Rothe is bending forward,
holding onto an object,
and moving leg out to side, said this move shapes the outer thigh area, if you move leg straight out to side.

prettygirlhoward

bump

LorinaLynn

As someone who has changed the shape of her body... there's no such thing as spot reduction. I have a small waist and mostly flat stomach, but I hardly do any ab exercises. It's a full body approach. All the sit-ups, crunches and planks in the world won't flatten a stomach or trim a waist unless you get rid of the excess fat.

However, the "tricky" part is losing the excess fat without losing too much muscle. If you're cutting calories too much, if you're not getting adequate nutrition and especially protein, and/or if you're not getting resistance training, you're going to lose more muscle than you should. That was my problem last time I lost weight, five years ago. I got smaller, but my body shape stayed the same.

Even this time around, it wasn't until I added strength training that really changed my shape. But it wasn't a pick and choose sort of thing. It wasn't spot training and spot reduction. It was working the whole body, and working it hard.

Here's an example:

First photo is when I'd already lost about 20 pounds. Second photo is after losing another 11 pounds. At the time, I was running 3-4 times a week, and doing some body weight and 5 pound dumbbell work. I was smaller, I was lighter, but my body shape was pretty much the same.

The third photo is after 8 months of strength training (lifting heavy 2-3 times a week, running 3 times a week), with virtually no change on the scale.



Since then, I've gained another 5 pounds. I can't find it.



And that's why it's so frustrating when people say, "No machines or weights." Weights are the BEST tool to change your body composition. It's like asking how to paint a room without a paint roller. Sure, it can be done with just a brush, but it's going to be a lot harder and take a lot longer. Why limit yourself?