In the age of social media, there are many marketing gimmicks which trick a lot of online users into buying their products and one of the most gullible industries is fitness.
The rise of waist trainers and ‘slimming tea’ has given lots of people hope that perhaps they have finally found an easy way to lose fat in a concentrated area without putting in much work.
But does this work really? Scientifically speaking, there is no proof that such methods work, and it is purely theory that one can lose fat in one area of the body.
When you have excess fat in , say your arms of tummy, it makes sense to concentrate on those areas while working out. Experts refer to this as ‘spot reduction’; and research has shown that this kind of training is rather ineffective in the long run.
So yes, while you might have the discipline of going to the gym everyday to lose that belly fat, spot reduction technique might be hindering you from achieving some serious gains in the long run.
In reality, concentrating solely on one spot will not necessarily help you lose the fat, but working the entire body will.
Exercising triggers the release of hormones. The higher intensity exercise, the more hormones your body pumps out and the more likely you are to lose the metabolically active fat.
The ladies tend to target spot reduction because they are afraid of losing their curves in the process of gaining fitness. But fat stored in hips, bum and thighs is not metabolically active and is rather hard to shed.
In summary, it is better to aim for overall body fitness as a body that triggers release of hormones is likely to shed some fat in most areas, including the trouble spots such as the arms and stomach.
If you are one to shed a lot of weight with high intensity workout, you can incorporate weight training to help tone your body to gain stronger, more authentic curves in the case of the ladies.
