SPOT REDUCTION - Anyone dis/agree???

buttercupbee

I'm hearing some conflicting stories of late that you can tone up with excercises specific to your problem areas - ie; ab rockers for tummy, step machines for thighs.

Then I hear (and tend to believe) that in order to lose fat from a certain area, you must lose weight from ALL OVER.
If working incessantly on thighs you may in fact lose fat from your abs, hence the rumour 'you cant spot reduce'.
I also believe this to be true because some people who are fanatical about working out often have to turn to liposuction to remove their most stubborn bits - think Simon Cowell and his admission to lipo on the man boobs...

Opinions please

bigstar

buttercupbee wrote: »

I'm hearing some conflicting stories of late that you can tone up with excercises specific to your problem areas - ie; ab rockers for tummy, step machines for thighs.

Then I hear (and tend to believe) that in order to lose fat from a certain area, you must lose weight from ALL OVER.
If working incessantly on thighs you may in fact lose fat from your abs, hence the rumour 'you cant spot reduce'.
I also believe this to be true because some people who are fanatical about working out often have to turn to liposuction to remove their most stubborn bits - think Simon Cowell and his admission to lipo on the man boobs...

Opinions please

its not a rumour. you cant spot reduce. Fact!

Frogdog

bigstar wrote: »

its not a rumour. you cant spot reduce. Fact!

+1

quietobserver

Totally agree.
Think of it like trying to remove your jumper with your jacket on.

eskimo

OP - think about your own post for a second... it makes no sense.

Yes you can tone up specific muscle regions.
No you cannot reduce fat in specific regions.

Muscle toning and fat removal/reduction are two different things, yet you seem to think they are the same.

So if somebody says it is possible to tone specific muscles, and somebody else says it is impossible to spot-reduce fat, they are both right! They are two different things!

As a rule, if you want to lose fat anywhere, you will have to lose it everywhere. As it goes, your belly is the final place your body will burn up fat. As far as I'm aware, the burning of fat will start around your facial area, then move to the lower half of your body, and lastly it will start burning your belly fat, which is the most stubborn body-fat to burn.

Go for strenuous full-body workouts if you want to tone your muscles, and a calorie-controlled diet if you want those toned muscles to be visible.

Regarding liposuction: During liposuction, fat-cells are removed, and in the future when your body is storing fat it won't store it in the region that's had the liposuction because there are no fat-cells there anymore. As a result, it will store this fat in other parts of the body. therefore, the other parts of the body will get fatter. For example, if you have lipo on your tummy, you won't gain weight in your tummy in the future, but the fat that otherwise would have gone to your tummy will now need a new home - possibly your ass - so your ass will get much bigger.

To answer your real question, unfortunately real weight loss and a nice body do in fact take effort, work and determination. There are absolutely NO quick fixes in life and if you do ever hear about a "quick fix" - it's wrong.

d'Oracle

eskimo wrote: »

Muscle toning and fat removal/reduction are two different things, yet you seem to think they are the same.

So if somebody says it is possible to tone specific muscles, and somebody else says it is impossible to spot-reduce fat, they are both right! They are two different things!

This is the most important thing to get OP.

The problem in my opinion is that "tone" word.
It has very little meaning.

A lot of people seem to think it means some sort of increase in visible muscle.

As a result of it being so undefined, people seem to feel its a combination of building muscle (but not too much) and loosing fat.
Which are two different things.

O.P.H

I also don't buy that bull that people who workout in a 'fanatical' way ever have turn to lipo to get those hard to reach areas. The people who do lipo are those that believe they are training really hard when in fact they're doin feic all and they are just lazy. Somethin tells me Simon Cowell wasent breakin his balls to get rid of his moobs

bigstar

d'Oracle wrote: »

This is the most important thing to get OP.

The problem in my opinion is that "tone" word.
It has very little meaning.

A lot of people seem to think it means some sort of increase in visible muscle.

As a result of it being so undefined, people seem to feel its a combination of building muscle (but not too much) and loosing fat.
Which are two different things.

i dont think 'toned' is that big a deal. to most it does mean an increase in visible muscle. theres no need to split hairs over the word. you can tone lots of your body without losing bodyfat, simply running will give your legs a more defined look. likewise weight training can change your body shape and make you look more toned without losing fat. the problem with 'toning' is that a lot of people want to tone their mid section, which aint never gonna happen if you dont lose fat. the fat loss element is important though because the less fat you carry the more 'toned' you can look. man i hate the word now.

d'Oracle

bigstar wrote: »

i dont think 'toned' is that big a deal. to most it does mean an increase in visible muscle. theres no need to split hairs over the word. you can tone lots of your body without losing bodyfat, simply running will give your legs a more defined look. likewise weight training can change your body shape and make you look more toned without losing fat. the problem with 'toning' is that a lot of people want to tone their mid section, which aint never gonna happen if you dont lose fat. the fat loss element is important though because the less fat you carry the more 'toned' you can look. man i hate the word now.

Exactly.
Its a terrible word.