subject: Is it Possible to Lose Fat from Certain Areas of the Body? [print this page] Is it Possible to Lose Fat from Certain Areas of the Body?
A typical question: I don't have big problems with my body, but I have a little excess fat at my thighs/guts/hips/etc. Which exercises to do to shed the fat from my thighs/guts/hips/etc?
The primary area of the storaged body fat is genetically determined in everybody. Some of us will store body fat primarily at the thigs (It's common for many woman.). Some of us will store body fat primarily at the belly (bear-belly). (It's common for most man.) Somebody has double chin, somebody don't have it even when largely overweighted. And somebody has that kind of body that stores fat evenly on every body part.
For example it's common that somebody starts doing sit-ups like mad. They do 1000 sit-ups every day, and they wonder that there is no result. The other typical example is to sit some this kind of hip adduction machine.
Girls usually sit in these machines for half an hour or more. They do it with very light weights. This kind of approach hardly has any benefit, except that they can read or swap stories. They have fun. :)
Strengthening these problem areas alone does nothing to reach your goal. You can build strength and develop muscles in those areas, but they won't shown because the fat is still on the top of them.
When you burn fat, you can't tell your body from which areas to burn it. You will lose body fat more or less evenly. Unfortunately fat will go down most slowly from the problem areas, where you have the most of it. For example, for six-pack abs you shouldn't train your abs more than any other body-part. If your goal is six-pack abs, sit-up is just one exercise, not any better than other exercises. So, you should train every body part. From the viewpoint of fat burning, it's not necessary to train those more. Some compound movements (like squats) train almost the whole body. (From other viewpoints, like strength training or body building, you can place more emphasis on certain areas/muscles.)
It's important to do exercises to develop muscles. More muscles burn more calories, even at rest. But try to train your whole body! You can't really target some areas. Cardio training is also great in burning fat. There is no real difference between two kind of cardio that has the same intensity and same duration. So, choose the one that fits you more (and you can do it more comfortable).
Diet is also important in burning fat. If you do 1000 sit-ups every day, it will do almost nothing for your six-pack abs. But drinking water instead of cokes will get you closer for your goal. The point is to burn more calories than you consume! Start some physical activity and focus on your diet more!
