Andrew Cheyne

Spot Reduction - The Myth the Fitness Industry Won't Let Die

Spot reduction is by far the biggest myths that the fitness industry is using on the general public. The idea is that working a specific muscle group will burn the fat around that muscle is completly false. While this is untrue, the working of that muscle will actually increase the size of that particular muscle it wont help you burn fat in that particular area.

Spot reduction is one of the biggest myths that the fitness industry is involved in. The idea is that working a specific muscle group will burn the fat around that muscle. While this is untrue, the working of that muscle will actually increase the strength and size of that particular muscle.

The most common type of spot reduction involves the abs. Doing situps and crunches for your abs is not the answer to the question "How do I get a Six Pack." There are a ton of other examples including the fat under the arm (doing tricep extensions is not going to get rid of this) and fat on the buttocks and thighs (doing leg extensions and leg curls will not get rid of this).

While the theory of spot reduction is a nice one it is unfortunately one that has been dis-proven years ago and is still being used by many in the fitness industry to sell expensive useless gadgets.

Abdominal exercises will NOT get rid of fat on your stomach. Leg exercises will not get rid of the fat on your legs. Back exercises will not get rid of the fat on your back. Bicep exercises will not get rid of the fat on your arms. I'm too lazy to type it all, but this holds true for every single muscle group and body part. Exercises will take care of building muscle and strength, diet and cardio takes care of losing fat.

Fat is lost in a genetically determined pattern. This fat is lost from the entire body it doesn't matter if you work directly on your abs or another body part. In fact sometimes doing direct ab work will actually make your stomach bigger. I know this silly, but by actually building the muscle underneath of the fat and not taking care of the fat itself will actually increase the size of your belly.

One of the best ways I have found to lose unwanted belly fat is through interval fitness training. Now unfortunately we have already determined that you cannot pinpoint where you want the fat to leave from. Instead you will be losing fat all over your body, by doing full body interval workouts and burning a ton of calories.

A calorie deficit is the only proven way to lose fat, you have to reduce the amount of calories you are taking in and increase the number of calories that you are burning. This trumps spot reduction in every way. In fact it shows that spot reduction is in fact one of the biggest myths in todays health and fitness world. One that the fitness industry is making millions of dollars off and not producing any results. Do your best not to fall for the mis-conceptions that the fitness industry is pulling on you. There are real answers out there on how to effectively lose fat with out the myth of spot reduction. The all include diet and exercise as their main components and are far more effective than anything you will find on a infomercial.

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