Baby Got Back: why you can't spot reduce fat

November 30th 2016

In a world where every second advert, film and television show tells us we are too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short, too light, too dark, too flat, our boobs are too small, our hips are too wide, it’s no wonder that we spend so much of our time obsessing over our looks. When I say ‘obsessing’, I’m not meaning that you are wanting to revolve everything around yourself. I’m instead talking about the little voice inside your head that speaks up judgmentally every time you eat ‘bad’ food, or when you compare your body to someone else’s, and when you’re getting dressed. This voice has the sole purpose of making you feel like shit, so tell it to F right off! It only exists because of all of these images we see that are telling us we can never be perfect.

This little voice is a dumbass as well, by the way. It tells you that you need to lose fat from your bum, your thighs, your hips, your stomach. The voice is tricking you-telling you lies! Why? Because you cannot choose where you lose fat from. I repeat, you CANNOT do anything to make you lose fat from certain parts of your body. Ummmmm but what about all those squat and ab challenges written by highly reputable Facebook sources, I hear you ask. In this blog I’m going to blow your mind with this new info, and help you learn how to change the way your body looks (if you feel it needs to) and how you feel about your body.

Rule 1: We CANNOT spot reduce fat (unfortunately)

Fat is like water. It is not confined to specific areas. It does tend to hang around on certain parts of our bodies, though; for men this is around the stomach and face, for women this is on our thighs, bum, hips and stomach. Why? Because Mother Nature thinks we’re only good for growing babies and wants to keep that area all warm and snugly like a hibernating bear. However, this unwanted jelly is not constrained to certain parts of your body; you don’t have bicep fat like you have a bicep muscle.

What does this mean? Alas, sadly, terribly, devastatingly, we cannot choose where we lose it from. Doing a million crunches won’t mean you lose it from your stomach. Your body will lose fat where it’s biologically and genetically determined to do so. Proof? Ladies, where do we lose weight from first? That’s right- our money makers, our girls, our boobies. I guarantee you we aren’t doing a bunch of boob exercises, but we lose it from here. Likewise, when you notice a friend has lost weight it’s often noticeable around their chin and neck. Again, I bet they’re not in the squat rack doing neck lunges. There you have it!

Rule 2: We CAN choose where to grow our muscle

Because we have over 600 muscles in our body, we have the ability to choose which ones to grow, to weaken, to lengthen and to tighten. Sometimes we do this without meaning to (like when we slouch we cause the top of our back to overstretch and our chest muscles to tighten). Other times we do certain exercises deliberately either for strength, to rehabilitate from an injury, to realign our posture and to change the way we look.

Finding the right exercises to achieve your goals is so important! As are other elements such as their order, your rep range, equipment selection, weight limit, and rest time. Have you ever been at the gym and done 100 biceps curls, felt like you’re a boss, but then wondered if it’s even worth it? Or have you busted your ass for weeks and started to wonder if you’re even doing the right thing? Let me make this very clear- doing any kind of exercise is FANTASTIC and AMAZING compared to doing nothing. Don’t ever think otherwise or yourself a failure!!! However, there are the few fundamental principles above that you need to understand to improve your development hugely. Feel free to contact me (I don’t have the room to go into them all here, sorry).

This brings us back to our original problem- how do I get rid of fat from my...? The short answer is that you just have to get rid of fat, and it will come off these areas in their own time. SO, how do you best lose fat? Along with making good food choices, you need to be doing the right exercises. Running on a treadmill or cycling for an hour is not the most effective way. Don’t get me wrong, these are great for your cardio endurance and keeping fit, but to change your body composition (less fat, more muscle) you need to do 2 things:

1. Cardio: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

This form of training is the most effective in using energy, therefore, reducing fat. Essentially you work your ass off in a form of cardio (treadmill, cycle, row, etc) for a small period of time (30-60 seconds); you’re working at 8-10/10 (10 being you’re dying!). Basically, you want to feel like you can’t go on. Then continue the exercise at a restful pace for the same or less time (5-7/10). Do this for 20 – 40 minutes for optimal fat burning. 20 minutes of HIIT is equivalent to jogging for a whole hour! You can also find great HIIT workouts online or on Pinterest to do at home without equipment like this one.

2. Resistance (Weights) Training

The larger your muscles are, the more fat you will lose. Simple. Why? Firstly, the bigger your muscles are the more energy it takes to move them in any way (even just walking to your desk). Secondly, resistance training still uses energy in repairing your muscles long after you’ve finished your workout (think of the pain it takes to walk or sit on the toilet the next day!). Ladies, do not be scared about ending up bulky. We physically can't unless we take loads of supplements, count our energy intake extremely strictly, and a whole bunch of other variables. We can look toned, but we won’t end up like the hulk. Don’t be scared of weights. TRUST ME-this is how you will see the main differences!

Right, class! What did we learn today?

1. You’re beautiful

2. How you critique yourself is largely based on false images and a stupid voice in your head

3. You can change the way you feel and look by changing some simple things in your day. Remember, an hour workout is literally only 4% of your day

4. You cannot spot reduce fat

5. Food and exercises choices ago hand in hand

6. You can choose where to grow and define muscle

7. Learning about elements of resistance training (rep range, rest, weight limit, equipment choose, exercise order) will change your gains exponentially

8. Being a cardio bunny isn’t very effective in changing your body composition

9. You need a combination of resistance (weights) training and HIIT to lose fat

10. You’re definitely not alone in your struggles and your journey