“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’!
Another semi-personal article today. And boy is this one going to be lengthy.
If I were stuck in an island and had to pick specific exercises to perform and could only perform one or two exercises per bodypart, well, aside from kicking whatever genie threw me on that godforsaken islands in the balls, I’d pick me some compound ones (exercises that incorporate many muscle groups simultaneously) and a handful isolation ones (one muscle group only).
A foregone conclusion in this piece is that you have been shown how to do all of these exercises in perfect form. I’ve attached a few videos along the article to help guide you but they are never a replacement of being shown how to do them by a seasoned veteran in real life to ensure you are doing them in perfect form.
Note: Compound exercises are also notable for boosting overall metabolism and triggering increased hormonal secretion for Growth and Testosterone hormones which are crucial for promoting muscle gain and boosting fat burning.
This one will tackle my number one exercises for the major muscle groups. Once again, this is not a list of directives nor does it portray bias towards any exercise over another. This is just the list I’d pick of what works best for me and what largely contributes to improving my physique.
This post isn’t meant to tell you how to do them I’ve posted videos for that, but always have an experienced lifter show you how to execute them safely and properly. This is merely a list of my favorite workouts.
Chest
Bench Press: Ah, a classic. Just saying it brings historically brilliant chests to mind such as Arnold or Serge Nubret. This workout is arguably one of the best in the world for contributing to upper body and pectoral development. The workout can be performed by barbells or dumbbells and some machines are actually decent enough to give you your money’s worth for this workout but I personally prefer the iron pump.
As a compound exercise, it activates muscle fibers in your front deltoids (shoulders), triceps and pectorals.
Flys: Another instant classic in the world of pumped chests. This move works by increasing the density of muscle fibers laterally across your pectorals - making them wider and more flat and less muscular tits. So that’s good. We want that.
You can perform those either using dumbbells or on specialized flys machines. Between bench press and flys, there really isn’t much else your chest need to develop. Obviously changing the degree of incline from flat, incline to decline depending on which part of your pectorals you want to hit.
Back
Lat pulldowns: Easily the machine equivalent of the classic pull-ups - albeit in reverse. This move works nearly every major muscle in your back and can be made quite different and fresh by using different grips and widths which can help focus on specific areas of your back and help you achieve more overall volume.
Deadlifts: Ain’t nothing like a compound classic to work your back and legs and get that growth hormone booming all throughout your body. This move is entirely dependent on perfect execution due to the load placed on your lower back and hips which aren’t exactly structurally powerful areas of your body. It’s important to nail down the form on this workout in order to really reap its benefits and better yet have an experienced lifter show you how to do it right. Don’t go overboard with weights on this one, a little can go a long way!
Shrugs: Although most people would rather hit their trapezius muscles on shoulder day, I find that traps are more closely related and activated more commonly during back day. There is a wide variety of ways, forms and grips to perform shrugs so be sure to check out some varieties on YouTube for reference.
Shoulders
Barbell/Dumbbell/Machine Shoulder Press: Arguably the best way to get some serious mass and development on your frontal deltoids (the biggest and most prominent part of your shoulders) You can dish out this workout using a barbell, dumbbells or a machine, whatever works for you really. Machines are recommended for beginners since they help you nail down the right form with dumbbells being a favorite for helping to strengthen the stabilizer muscles used for balance.
Lateral Raises: My personal favorite on shoulder day! Nothing gives your shoulder that nice round globe shape quite like lateral raises and when it comes to me personally, I find that drop sets work out best where I dish out 4 sets of 12 reps, dropping the weight by 20% every 4 reps.
Rear deltoid raises: It’s not really a “round” shoulder without putting some focus on the rear side of it now is it? These are best performed using specialized rear deltoid machines or dumbbells. Make sure to really squeeze at the top of your reps to gain maximum impact.
Arms
Bicep Curls: An oldie but a goldie. No brain work needed there. Some muscles need the basics and not much else. It’s what works best for me personally.
Triceps Rope push downs: Possibly my absolute favorite to isolate my triceps as it works all aspects of the muscles quite nicely and gets that lactic acid pumping faster than anything else.
Abdominals
Plank: I’ve already spoken extensively about planking in previous posts and I will repeat myself here. There is no workout I attribute my core development to over the past years more than planks. It is a static exercise which really engages your entire core region and increases overall core strength which in turn helps you out in a wide variety of other workouts which call upon a strong and reliable core.
Hanging Raises: Keep in mind this workout is usually reserved for individuals operating at more advanced levels. Many, even experienced folk, make the mistake of utilizing momentum to drive the movement in this exercise but that’s something you should strive to avoid. This workout engages your entire core area by virtue of your abs raising your legs and lowering them (in a controlled motion) rather than a spring action in which the legs are driving the movement.
Legs
Squats: No squats? No booty! No other workout hits your entire lower body and aids in the development of your quads, glutes and hamstrings altogether at once. It’s another compound classic which pushes your body to release testosterone and growth hormone and aids in overall development of muscles and fat loss.
Leg extensions: Arguably my favorite in terms of quads isolation over any other exercise. It really helps with quad developments and more advanced individuals can even do this exercise one-legged (with a significant drop in weights!)
Leg curls: Deadlifts may hit your hamstrings hard but if some isolation is what you’re looking for, look no further than the legs curls machine to really get those hammies burning up. Once again you can do this exercise one-legged but be careful to maintain perfect form and not to place any stress on your lower back or hips.
Walking lunges: A classic from the golden age of bodybuilding back when your weights were rocks and tree logs. This workout can work your quads, hamstrings, glutes as well as your hip flexors and stabilizer muscles but be prepared for a crazy burn.
Calf Raises: Calves are type II muscles which means that you need to go hard and you need to go heavy if you want to overcome the fact that you’re not genetically predispositioned to have big diamond shaped calves.
Body weight (General)
Push ups: If you want to add some core strength and shake your workout routine up a bit when it comes to your chest, look no further than push ups. There’s a ton of variation you can input into your push ups all the way from beginner on your knees style to one handed-one legged ones. Push ups hit your chest, triceps and shoulders all at once in addition to engaging your core for stability.
Pull ups: You want a V-shaped taper type deal on your upper torso? Then you best make pull ups your new best friend. Near infinite variation in terms of forms and grips which can help target specific areas of your back.
Dips: Hands down the best thing that ever happened to both my chest and triceps. Arguably the best contribution it offers is to your lower pectorals as it helps make them more shapely. A definite must have in your chest/triceps day.
So there you have it folks. These are my favorites. Obviously there are other ones I add to the mix but these should give you a pretty general idea about the most important ones to include in your weightlifting routine to get an overall tone going.
