One of the most common problem areas on new clients is the mid section and waist line. Out of 10 of my most recent client assessments, nine said that they would like to lose belly fat and some of those stated that they were happy with the shape of their limbs and didn’t want to do any work on them.
There is a common misconception that if you stick to core exercises such as crunches and planks, that those exercises in particular will melt body fat away in that area – this is not true.
You may have seen my own progression in fat loss, here it is just to remind you 😉 You can see that I’ve reduced in size all over – and I’m pretty sure I didn’t get down on the floor to do one single crunch during that journey. (I did standing light body weight & cardio stuff but I’ll talk more about that another time)
We can’t control where the fat loss happens, to sum it up simply: “Asking your body to lose fat in one area is like trying to remove a cup of water from one corner of a filled bathtub,” says personal trainer Lecia Whitlock, an instructor at The National Personal Training Institute. “The overall water level will go down, but there won’t be a divot in one corner of the tub.” (cnn.com)
We burn fat efficiently through cardio, intervals, or PHA resistance programmes which work upper body then lower body back to back then rest. Once the subcontaneous fat (which is the body fat under the skin) reduces then we will start seeing muscular definition, which we work on through resistance training and yes, that can be controlled. If you’re a pure “cardio bunny” please consider adding some resistance training to your programme as it’s easier to burn fat when you have a bit more muscle to work with.
For ladies, if you think you don’t want your legs to get any skinnier they won’t. If you don’t have excess fat on them, you’re not going to lose the fat, and you won’t bulk up to look like a body builder. You’ll only get “bulky” legs if you follow a strict diet and exercise regime but for the majority of us, leg workouts will improve overall shape and strength so we can perform everyday tasks better (including lifting the bag of spuds in from the shopping).
Core exercises are great for stability, balance and improving on or reducing the risk of back pain. Back exercises are great for improving posture and if you have good posture that makes your waist appear slimmer. If one decides to only focus solely on chest exercises, they could end up with rounded shoulders, making them look like they’re constantly slouching forward all the time. It’s all connected in one way or another.
So look at your workout the same way as you would look at a balanced diet. Burn your fat and work all of your main muscles. Then if you catch the fitness bug, you can look into targeting some smaller, more specific muscles. If you don’t balance out, you could end up like my friend from Google:
