The Spot Reduction Myth

There is no such thing as spot reduction. There, it’s been said. Any fitness infomercial that promises to target the fat on your thighs, butt, arms, belly… is misleading. The best they can do is to target fat all over your body, and focus on tightening and strengthening specific muscle groups.

Your body stores fat for later use as energy. But that fat does not go directly from its gelatinous state into the nearby muscle as energy to be burned. First the fats are broken down into carbon dioxide, water and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The ATP molecules are high-energy phosphates that are required to provide energy for the body. You are creating ATP when burning fat during aerobic (with oxygen) as well as anaerobic (without oxygen) exercises. Rather than using fat from the nearest deposit to the muscles you are working, you generate energy from fat all throughout the body. You are burning fat in your legs, stomach, buttocks… all while working out your arms, and vice versa.

Your body chooses to store more or less fat in different locations primarily because it is instructed to do so by factors in your own genetic code, including your gender, race, and family tree.

The American Council On Exercise (ACE) cites a study conducted in the mid-80’s at the University of Massachusetts as strong evidence that spot reduction is a myth. The study put 13 males through a vigorous abdominal fitness program for 27 days. Body fat was tested at different spots on each participant’s body before, during and after the study. Data shows that fat decreased similarly at all measured fat deposit sites, as opposed to just – or even mostly – the abdominal region.

The author is a personal trainer and in his writes in his spare time about men’s health issues, such as testosterone replacement therapy on several of his own websites.

Motley

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