I get so fed up with so called fitness experts. There was one on a talk show yesterday. She has annoyed me for years. Her voice and insincerity drive me insane, but that is not what I want to share. I want to share one of the biggest myths in fitness.
Anyhow, Miss Fitness Expert was on this talk show, because she has a new exercise video coming out. As she was demonstrating the exercises, she mentioned your waste can get thinner by twisting your upper torso. Here is the TRUTH! There is no such thing as spot reduction! Your waist will not whittle away just from twisting from side to side.
I have had many questions over the years about spot reduction:
- Will doing the thigh machine make my thighs smaller?
- What exercise will get rid of my stomach fat?
- My butt is so big, what exercises will make it smaller?
If it was that easy, we would all have thin thighs, six pack abs and a rock hard booty! We all carry our weight in different areas. While doing the thigh machine will make you abductor and adductor muscles stronger, it does not guarantee you will lose weight from your thighs first or ever have thighs the size you would prefer.
So what do I do?
- Weight train all muscle groups a minimum of once per week. As you develop muscle and lose fat, you will become more happy with your appearance and your problem area will improve as you increase your metabolism and take fat off from all over your body.
- Keep doing cardiovascular exercise for heart health. A lot of trainers are pulling overweight people from doing cardiovascular exercise, because it does not have the long term affect on your metabolism that cardiovascular exercise does. This is not a good idea in terms of overall health.
- Eat healthy 80% of the time. It truly takes both Exercise and Nutrition.
- If you can afford it, hire a coach or trainer. You will be amazed how much quicker you see results.
- Lastly, ignore so called fitness experts. Make sure they have a degree and certification. Do not hire a trainer based only on how buff or fit they look. They may just be a genetically gifted moron that has not injured themselves from improper training yet.
Now go out there and get fit!