If losing unwanted body fat feels like a drink from the fountain of youth, then spot reducing would have to be the Holy Grail. Let’s be honest, we all have that one (okay) two spots we’d like to lose while the rest is pretty much okay. Billions of dollars have been spent on such remedies as: gels, wraps, abdominal blasters, pills, potions, etc. only to find that they don’t work. Still, some people think, if it’s on T.V. it must be real, there goes more $$$.
Savvy exercise enthusiast and trainers are well aware of the error in this line of reasoning. All the crunches in the world aren’t going to make your abs flat, plastic wraps aren’t going to make your hips smaller, and oatmeal baths and deep tissue massage isn’t ridding you of cellulite just because the spa lady said it would. Lies, lies, lies.
Popular belief among real trainers is that if you want to shrink your gut, you have to lose weight all over; your body taking it from where it will, according to your genetics. If you want a smaller waist you’re going to get better results from doing cardio than from spending the time doing abdominal exercises. It’s a simple case of calories in versus calories spent.
I recommend my clients follow a protocol of resistance training to build muscle to enhance metabolism, cardio to burn calories now and a 90/10 diet (healthy 90%, cheat 10%) to control intake. Bottom line, it’s what works.
Here’s where the new comes in. A study was conducted in Australia at NSW University to test the efficacy of sprint training on fat loss. The subjects were broken into two cycling groups, one exercised for 40 minutes at a constant pace 3x’s a week while the second group followed a protocol of 8 second sprints followed by 12 second rest periods. They performed this for 20 minutes 3x’s a week. At the end of the study the sprint group lost 3 times as much overall weight, but the real kicker is that the fat loss was most significant in the thighs and legs area. Abdominal fat was also greatly reduced.
At least part of the reason for this result is the effect of post workout metabolism or afterburn. Cardio exercise generally has a very small effect on metabolism, but intense exercise has a significant effect on afterburn as the body requires additional calories to rebuild and recover. Still, the more intriguing result is the spot reduction.
This is just one study pointing to a possibility of spot reduction, but a pretty good one. Further studies and evaluation should continue, still we can extrapolate that a similar effect would also work for running, swimming or skating sprints. Currently at the Ultimate Health Training Center in Hollywood, CA we are experimenting with burst training. Essentially we use short duration explosive movement on heavy bags and sprinters drills for upper body, and burst sprints on a track or cycle for lower body. Preliminary results are very encouraging.
Who knows, maybe one day we’ll be able to lose the fat parts while still saving face.
Lift Weights To Lose Weight - Err, brun the fat
Sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s true. I often hear people saying they are afraid to lift weights because they don’t want to gain weight or look bigger. The error is in their perception, they couldn’t be father from the truth and here’s why…
When And How To Stretch For Best Results
Knowing how and when to stretch properly is just as important for preventing injury as it is for improving performance and range of motion. Strength and flexibility are two sides to the same coin. One is incomplete without the other.
Burning The Fat - The Truth About Training Zone Heart Rates
I often have new clients ask me what the correct heart rate training zone should be for fat loss. I have recently read message boards and forums with claims that to lose fat you should stay in the 120-135 bpm zone. The rational comes from the fact that under low level activity our physiology uses much higher percentages of fat as a fuel source.
