Spot Reducing

[staceyalberta]

Okay i've heard you can't spot reduce an area. that being said then why do crunches & such work on abs? why do walking lunges shrink my behind & thighs? why do bicep curls tone my biceps? okay & lastly why do tricep dips tone under my arms? aren't those all forms of spot reducing? or am i missing what is meant by the term 'spot reduce?'

[almeeker]

When people talk about "spot reducing" they are generally trying to get rid of belly fat. You can certainly tone up your abs by doing crunches and core exercises, and you will increase the muscle tone with all the other exercises you've mentioned, but you can only get rid of the belly pooch by reducing your % body fat. One time I read a quote by someone that equated losing fat to draining the water out of the basement, that you just can't drain it one room at a time. Personally I think losing weight is a whole lot more like melting a snowbank, because my edges are downright scrawny, while my middle still has insulation on it.

[01gt4.6]

Originally Posted by staceyalberta

Okay i've heard you can't spot reduce an area. that being said then why do crunches & such work on abs? why do walking lunges shrink my behind & thighs? why do bicep curls tone my biceps? okay & lastly why do tricep dips tone under my arms? aren't those all forms of spot reducing? or am i missing what is meant by the term 'spot reduce?'

that is spot building, not spot reducing. You can work out your arms to build the up, but it will no burn the fat for that specific area. BTW we all have abs, they are usually just covered under a layer of fat. So you can work them all you want but you won't truly see definition until your overall fat percentage starts getting reduced.

[staceyalberta]

Mike that makes total sense spot BUILDING. thanks for clearing that up for me.