Spot reduction- targeting workout in order to lose fat on a specific part of the body. For instance, people will do a zillion sit ups in order to reduce the tummy. Or a thousand push ups for a firmer arms in order to fit into that evening sleeveless dress only to find that your abdomen had gone flatter but not much difference on the arms.
Many fitness experts have now agree that spot reduction does not work. So If you only do sit ups and no other forms of active exercises, then I definitely agree that you will not be able to see the results that you want.It’s true- if you focus your workout on some areas, you will succeed in building muscles in that area but you will not lose the fat. You need to lose the fat by reducing your calorie intake and doing lots of cardio exercises so that your body will start using the fat in your body as fuel. Then you also throw in some weight training so that you built more muscles, coz muscles are metabolically active and you get to burn more calories even at resting rate.
Weight or fat gain For folks who have gone through the process of weight gain, you will find that the weight gain is distributed to various parts of the body, even though it tends to be annoying obvious at the abdomen area. Then one day, something clicked inside you and you start a workout program consisting of cardio and a bit of weight training.
Exercising helps to regulate your insulin levels and after a few weeks of consistently sticking to the exercise regime of about 3 to 5 times a week, burning an average of 250 to 300 kcal per sessions (for starters), COMBINED with eating food in higher Glycemic index, you will find you are more in control of your food cravings that’s causing you to gain weight in the first place. That’s when you have to reign it in and tell yourself you should not be eating out of habit, boredom, emptiness. OK, ok, if you must, then only a little…. deal?
You go through that, you will find yourself looking more toned and the bulges gradually gets reduced. But, you will also find that you not get to issue any orders to your body. Your body will choose and decide where it wants to lose the fat. For ladies who’ve lost 50 pounds, you may find that you dropped by 2 bra sizes, even though that’s not the place you wanna lose the fat. But you also find yourself a lot thinner at the rest of your body…
Still, even though you do not get to lose fat at areas that you want, you may notice that with cardio and a bit of weight training, you somehow achieved a more balanced and toned look, better than you have initially bargained for. Your body seemed to have a wisdom of its own. So why not trust it?
Then, what’s the point in doing lots of sit-ups if it’s not reducing my tummy size?
Don’t despair. All that hardwork doing crunches and Abdomen weight machine does pay off. For starters, it definitely helps you to built a stronger core and your abdomen will achieve a more toned look. And if you cut down sugar and fat, you will definitely see that abdomen reducing- because by reduced food intake, your body will need to start burning your fat for fuel. Muscles do get burned along the way too but the exercising and weight training that you’re putting in helps built it back.
The tight and defined abdomen that you see celebrities like Britney Spears have are the result of abdomen & Pilates exercises. Combined with cardio and sensible eating.