Can you spot reduce?

I hear it so often, "I want flat abs and no matter how many ab exercises I do I can't seem to get any results", or "I want to lose the flab under my arms and none of the triceps exercises I do are working". My first instinct to this sort of question is to find out what else are they doing as part of their workout routine. Usually the answers are the same, they are trying to spot reduce by doing a bit of cardio and then working on that particular stubborn area.

In general spot reducing does not work. You simply cannot direct your body to lose weight in one specific are: Exercises such as crunches and single muscle machine exercises will not give you results if done on their own. You may be working the muscles in that specific area, but if that area is covered in fatty tissue then you will see no visible change.

There are many exercises however that can be done that target multiple muscle groups at once and although they target one muscle group primarily they will help build lean muscle overtime in different areas of your body: Exercises such as a sumo squat dead-lift, dynamic push up variations and many cable machine exercises help you get results quickly and effectively.

Abdominal muscles are one of those muscles that are unfortunately trained to death by people trying to get rid of beer belies or years of eating poorly, etc. The truth is that you will get much more results in your abs by doing squat and lunge variations, push ups and planks, than you will from doing most ab exercises. Most ab exercises are only effective of you are working you body as a whole.

As I have mentioned before, cardio has its place and is great for your heart, but if you have a weigh loss goal you have to ad strength training into your routine. As you continue to incorporate strengthening exercises into your routine, you will build more lean muscle tissue and in turn increase your metabolism. Every extra pound of muscle you develop will burn extra calories even while at rest. It will also make you skin tighter, giving you that lean and toned look!

Yours in health.

Daniela