We've all seen infomercials
selling abdominal or thigh "blasters" that claim to help us lose fat
'effortlessly' in just 'minutes a day' around problem areas like our
waist, hips and thighs.
This article will tell you the truth about how to get six-pack abs
and trim down other problem areas, how to tackle them properly and
in doing so hopefully help protect you from all the marketing hype
surrounding misleading exercise equipment infomercials.
Spot Reduction
In the fitness industry, trimming down specific areas of the body is
called Spot Reduction.
Contrary to what the infomercials suggest, there is no such thing as
spot reduction, other than that achieved via unnatural means like
liposuction.
Body fat distribution
Where our body stores fat depends upon our:
As these factors
affect where our body stores fat, they also affect where and in what
sequence fat is lost on our bodies.
Fat storage and loss sequences
Approximately half of our stored body fat is stored in between the
skin and muscles and the other half is stored around our organs.
But the fat stored under the skin is not distributed evenly around
the body. Typically we all have thinner layers of fat on our face,
hands, neck, calves and forearms. The layers around the core of our
body (including upper arms and legs) are usually a lot thicker.
Generally speaking, when our body draws on fat stores for fuel, it
draws it relatively evenly from all over the body. However, it is
also believed that fat will generally be lost first from the area of
the body where it was last deposited.
For women, this means that we will lose fat first from places like
our face, neck, wrists, hands and calves, and lastly from places
like our hips, thighs and upper arms. For the guys, the last place
they will lose fat is usually around the tummy.
Problem area fat loss
The key to looking our absolute best and being healthy is to
minimize excess body fat and have strong, well-toned muscles.
Luckily both of these can be achieved by us all with the right
approach, which includes the right combination of diet, incidental,
cardio and strength or resistance exercise.
Sorry to disappoint those of us that were hoping that we could
achieve the results we want by doing effortless stuff for only a few
minutes a day!
So now that we've swallowed that hard little pill, let's get on with
it! Let's explore each of the four things we can and should do to
get rid of fat from our problem areas, no matter where they are.
Cardio exercise
Cardio exercise is critical if we want to maximize total fat loss.
One of the great things about this form of exercise is that it also
helps tone some muscles, particularly those in the legs, hips and
arms.
The best cardio exercises to do are those that we like and will do
regularly.
Doing a variety of cardio workouts, as well as keeping our body
challenged and burning a maximum amount of fat, helps with
motivation and alleviates boredom.
Choose from the following list of enjoyable alternatives to walking,
jogging or aerobics classes:
- Line, Flamenco or
Ballroom Dancing
At a minimum, we
should all do aerobic exercises that raise our heart rate to
around 70 - 80% of our maximum, for at least 20 minutes, three times
a week. For the best results, we should try hard to gradually
increase our cardio exercise to sessions lasting between 45 and 60
minutes, five to seven times a week.
For those days when it's cold and wet outside, it's a great idea to
invest in a few fitness tapes or DVD's so we can workout in the
comfort of our own home. Better yet, if we can afford to, investing
in a good quality exercise bike or treadmill means we can exercise
all year round and whenever we want to.
Strength Training exercise
Weight training is the only natural way to individually shape and
sculpt our muscles and is one of the best ways to alter our
appearance and balance our proportions.
Strength training is also the key to really toning and strengthening
our muscles, so that when we do lose the fat from our problem areas,
the muscles visible look shapely and strong.
In addition to helping us look our very best, strong, toned muscles
help us burn more calories in our daily life and therefore work in
combination with our cardio exercise in keeping excess fat stores to
a minimum.
The best strength training exercises to do are the ones that use the
biggest muscles (such as our thighs), and tone the muscles we want
most to show off after we've lost our body fat (like our triceps at
the back of our upper arms for example).
The resistance exercises we do should also be tailored to our body
shape. For example if we are very slight in the upper body we may
want to do exercises like shoulder presses and chest presses to help
balance our upper body and lower limbs.
For good results, try to weight train two to three times a week,
exercising each muscle group once or twice a week.
General exercise tips:
To help us get the most out of our cardio and weight training
workouts we should all:
- Focus on enjoying
the exercise, not on what we are trying to achieve by doing it
- Begin our program
at a comfortable level and progress slowly
- Get expert help
from a personal trainer or gym instructor
- Check with our
doctor before beginning any exercise program
Incidental
exercise
Incidental exercise is that exercise we get doing everyday
things like walking to the train station, climbing stairs, washing
dishes or the car, gardening, playing with children, walking the
dog, etc.
By looking for opportunities to increase the incidental exercise we
get, instead of trying to avoid it, we'll burn far more calories
than normal and this will help us immensely in our fight to rid our
body of unwanted fat.
Dieting for fat loss
Dieting for fat loss does not mean starving ourselves or denying
ourselves some of the foods we enjoy eating.
On the contrary, it simply means trying to keep our fat intake down
below 30% of total calories consumed, eating fresh foods and
minimizing process foods wherever possible, keeping salt and sugar
consumption down to a minimum and keeping our portion sizes down.
It also means keeping total calories down, avoiding high calorie
drinks and drinking plenty of water every day.
Basically, we just need to try to eat healthy.
Strict diets aren't healthy and can actually be counter-productive
to fat-loss.
We should all use the food pyramid as a guide and try to eat 4 to 6
small meals each day.
Other stuff
Of course there are a couple of other things that we can all do to
minimize the anguish caused by having too much fat in all the wrong
places:
- Dress appropriately
for our shape to show off our assets and hide our flaws
- Stop judging
ourselves too harshly and be happy if our weight isn't so high
that it is currently causing, or is likely to lead to, weight
related health problems
The bottom
line
OK, so now we know the cold, hard truth, the rest is up to us.
We should never again be tempted by clever marketers into believing
that with a cheap little machine, and just a few minutes a day of
effortless exercise we can lose fat around our waist, hips and
thighs, and have the body of our dreams.
Sure, with just a little resistance training we can all "spot tone",
but we can't "spot reduce."
The best way to achieve the firm, slender body we all want is to get
rid of excess fat through aerobic exercise and healthy eating while
doing strengthening and toning exercises to define the muscles that
lie beneath.
Forget cheap equipment, simple and easy solutions and spot
reduction.
Instead, say hello to healthier eating, exercise, discipline and
patience, and the new body we're going to be proud to show off.
Conclusion
We've all seen infomercials selling abdominal or thigh "blasters"
that claim to help us lose fat 'effortlessly' in just 'minutes a
day' around problem areas like our waist, hips and thighs.
This article told you the truth about trimming down problem areas,
how to tackle them properly and should help protect you from all the
marketing hype surrounding misleading exercise equipment
infomercials and the spot reduction myth.
Good luck with your fat reduction and thanks for visiting
weightloss.com.au.
© Copyright Ultimate Weightloss.
Reproduction of this article is
permitted free of charge provided that it is reproduced unchanged
and in its entirety, it is accompanied by a website link back to
www.weightloss.com.au and is properly credited to Weightloss.com.au.