Mythbusting: Spot Reduction

“I want to just shed the fat off my belly or my hips but definitely don’t want my breasts to be affected or get smaller!”

I can’t even remember how many times I heard this sentence. That seems to be one of the most common misconceptions in the realm of fitness. People assume the human body is a tweakable entity that can be controlled down to spot reduction details. News flash girls and boys, the only spot reduction in real life comes from the scalpel of a plastic surgeon.

Most people think that if they run or cycle or do whatever, they can consciously target the body part they wish for reduction or fat loss. Sadly for you, the human body does not operate based on your whims and desires. It is a cold, calculating machine and it differs from man to woman. For instance, in the case of women, the majority store fat in the hips, it’s just how your genetic code is wired, and therefore, it is usually the last place where you end up losing the fat. As far as men are concerned, losing abdominal fat will always prove to be the hardest task on account of the fact it’s the male body’s place of choice for blubber storage.

Your extremities (arms, legs, face) are usually the parts to shed off fat the first then your body works more towards your center as your progress. Sure there are things you can do to help it do everything at once such as exercises that have your entire body moving (think swimming or rowing) but at the end of the day, it’s up to your body’s discretion to discard fat.

Fat loss also works different from one person to another depending on their body type with some people shedding it off with considerable ease while others find it somewhat of a Herculean task to do so. Your genetics play a major role in that process but saying you have bad genes and just accepting it is just being a lazy bum. I have shit genes. One grain of rice would show up on me as fat within hours of consumption. So I learn not to eat rice. You learn how to work with your genes (not against them!) because otherwise you’d be fighting an uphill battle against your very nature.

That being said, spot reduction is usually perceived from the wrong end of the spectrum, most through the fat loss lens. But what if you could change a specific spot on your body? Despite what I said up there, it is somewhat possible to target specific areas, but it won’t be cardiovascular training that does it alone; it’s weightlifting baby. Weight lifting, and specifically a good combo between compound and isolation exercises, can help target specific muscles in the human body. Muscle building directly correlates with boosted metabolism and consequently; improved fat burning.

Simply said, if you’re aiming to shed off the pounds from your hips and thighs, then girlfriend you best be ready to do some serious lifting on legs day with barbell squats, leg extensions, leg curls, deadlifts and adductor/abductor workouts. And for fuck’s sake, stop worrying about “getting bulky” if you’re a girl. Shit don’t work like that. You end up looking toned and fit, not manly. Unless you do steroids, but that’s a different story.

Compound exercises (think squats, deadlifts and bench presses) are arguably best for instigating overall fat loss and releasing growth hormone in the body (which contributes to increased metabolism/fat burning) while Isolation exercises are perhaps the right choice for smaller muscle groups to which you’d like to dedicate focus. For instance, if you’re a lady suffering from a case of flappy chicken arms where your triceps ought to be, you might want to consider incorporating triceps extensions and triceps pulldowns as a regular part of your upper body/arms day workout. Weights help tone your body, they help stretch the skin so it doesn’t look flappy and help boost metabolism and fat burning.

That’s it from me today on the ridiculous myth of spot reduction. Get crackin’!