Spot reduction is possible!

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SaqibH91
SaqibH91 Posts: 19
in Fitness and Exercise
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! :)
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Replies

  • DannyMussels
    DannyMussels Posts: 1,842 Member
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    That's a pretty solid wall of text.

    And spot reduction isn't possible.
  • AZTrailRunner
    AZTrailRunner Posts: 1,199 Member
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    I have read that spot reduction is indeed possible since the particular muscle group you are focusing on gets warmer than other muscles, and the fat is burned through thermal processes. Unfortunately, it would appear that the effects are so miniscule it isn't worth the effort.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    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.
  • SaqibH91
    SaqibH91 Posts: 19
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    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.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,224 Member
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    The lesson from your gym buddy who lost a lot of weight with only cardio and looked weak is that all of us need something more than cardio. Strength training is an absolute must to get a fit, strong body while losing weight. It is not spot reducing, it is maintaining muscle. As for ab training, a much more useful way to train abs is to train your whole body with things like squats and deadlifts which will also strengthen the core. Speaking of which, if a person trains abs but neglects their other core muscles (especially those of their lower back) they will not get the abs they want.
  • SaqibH91
    SaqibH91 Posts: 19
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    Thanks for the advice guys!
  • SaqibH91
    SaqibH91 Posts: 19
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    Thanks for the advice guys!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    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.
    Cardio is really not a good way to burn fat, strength training is actually much more effective for fat burning than cardio.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    The lesson from your gym buddy who lost a lot of weight with only cardio and looked weak is that all of us need something more than cardio. Strength training is an absolute must to get a fit, strong body while losing weight. It is not spot reducing, it is maintaining muscle. As for ab training, a much more useful way to train abs is to train your whole body with things like squats and deadlifts which will also strengthen the core. Speaking of which, if a person trains abs but neglects their other core muscles (especially those of their lower back) they will not get the abs they want.

    Agreed. Plus 1 on the lower back.
  • spyork
    spyork Posts: 187
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    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.


    Hi,
    A spot reduction on fat is never going to happen, the fact you trained your arms more maybe made them tone up and get a bit firmer by building some muscle, try training your entire body as the more muscle you have the more fat your body will burn naturally. Go heavy on your legs and you will see some major changes.

    Scott
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    The lesson from your gym buddy who lost a lot of weight with only cardio and looked weak is that all of us need something more than cardio. Strength training is an absolute must to get a fit, strong body while losing weight. It is not spot reducing, it is maintaining muscle. As for ab training, a much more useful way to train abs is to train your whole body with things like squats and deadlifts which will also strengthen the core. Speaking of which, if a person trains abs but neglects their other core muscles (especially those of their lower back) they will not get the abs they want.

    ^^This.
  • BeverageTreats
    BeverageTreats Posts: 149 Member
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    I train my core muscles because I rather like the idea of being able to hold my back up and all my guts inside when I lift up things.
  • bradstein
    bradstein Posts: 3
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    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.
  • jayfloyd1
    jayfloyd1 Posts: 2
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    Can you imagine a 500 lb man with a 6-pack? Try getting THAT visual out of your head all day. A small amount of fat burning in an area may be possible but the overall aggregate fat loss just in one area of the body simply isn't possible. Everyone's body and metabolism is different but the human body isn't designed that way at all. As your body burns fat, it will take one from the tip of your nose, the end of your toe and your knee cap and maybe 2 from the area you are working. It is possible, as you say, to tone muscles in a specific area. For instance, the arms can look and be toned faster than the abs because there is a thinner layer of fat there. In general, men carry fat differently than women and in different places. The first place it goes on is the last place it comes off and generally, that is the abdomen for men and thighs/butt for women. And, as others have said here, muscle toning burns more fat than straight cardio. That's why it's important to have all three aspects of workouts in your regimen. Those include Cardio, Resistance and Flexibility. Cardio is great for fat burning if HIIT workouts are done. Resistance for fat burning, even for women because of the muscle building and flexibility to prevent aging and injury. Some women don't want to lift because they don't want to get big. However, they typically have 10 times less testosterone than men so it just won't happen unless nutrition is dialed in PERFECTLY and you are lifting HEAVY along with taking a vast amount of supplements. Besides, if you gain muscle and don't like it, quit lifting and it will go away, I promise.

    Some of them are pretty funny. Good luck. Keep training the abs, but understand you will feel them before you see them. You have to burn off that layer of fat first and abs are made in the kitchen.

    This has inspired me to write a blog about it today. You can find it at my name, Jay Floyd dot com if you want to check it out.
  • jayfloyd1
    jayfloyd1 Posts: 2
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    sorry for the double post. It said site down for maintenance so I rewrote it.... Remember....

    Cardio (preferably HIIT for sustained fat burning), Resistance (Heavy to build muscle and boost metabolism) and Stretching (flexibility keeps you young and prevents injury).
  • cadaverousbones
    cadaverousbones Posts: 421 Member
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    You need to do cardio and strength training. The more muscle you build the more fat you burn & muscle takes up less space than fat. hence looking smaller.. hence losing more weight because your metabolism is faster the more muscle you have... Also.. you can not spot reduce FAT. You can build muscle in certain areas, like abs, bicep, etc. But your body itself is not going to say, "oh you worked out your *kitten* tonight, let me take that fat from just there!" get it? lol
  • bagge72
    bagge72 Posts: 1,377 Member
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    So you lost weight, and you want to know why you can feel your abs more in your stomach? Seems pretty self-explanatory to me. You lost weight so you have less overall fat.
    I just don't think you understand what people are saying when they say you can't spot reduce. They are saying doing abs isn't going to lose the belly fat, a calorie deficit is. You can do core strength as part of that calorie deficit if you would like, but that is just going to contribute to your overall deficit.
    People aren't spot reducing fat by bench pressing, or deadlifting, they are doing those lifts to get stronger, and by doing those types of compound lifts you are already engaging your core muscles, and that is going to make your core stronger than just doing crunches and sit-ups.
  • jhtrico1850
    jhtrico1850 Posts: 5
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    Despite the naysayers here, I too have been duped into the whole "ignore crunches, they make your belly bigger unless you're really skinny" mantra. After a vigorous ab exercise, I can definitely feel and see the ab muscles pop out, for that moment, and days later. It doesn't mean I spot reduced necessarily, but just like you can't lose weight and get biceps...

    You can be really skinny and have your skin wrap around your small washboard abs. It's easier for me to just crunch and popout.
  • labud1
    labud1 Posts: 23 Member
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    < got a hernia on ab machines
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    Despite the naysayers here, I too have been duped into the whole "ignore crunches, they make your belly bigger unless you're really skinny" mantra. After a vigorous ab exercise, I can definitely feel and see the ab muscles pop out, for that moment, and days later. It doesn't mean I spot reduced necessarily, but just like you can't lose weight and get biceps...

    You can be really skinny and have your skin wrap around your small washboard abs. It's easier for me to just crunch and popout.

    Thread resurrection. And swollen muscles =\= spot reduction

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