The Spot Reduction Fallacy

I hear it time and time again from the usual abs and thighs to some outlandish ones, "Phil, thanks for listening. I have an incredibly fat face. The rest of me is fine can you give me some exercises and foods that will burn fat from my face and leave the rest of me how I like it." AAHHHH!!,

Um yhea buy and ultra sized back of big league chew, and cram the whole thing in your mouth and chew it every day all day for a month, 30 days and you'll have a ripped and shredded cranium.

People, I don't care what the commercials say, the popular media, etc. Spot reduction is a fallacy. Aside from some new studies Dr. Lowery quoted about a year ago in an interview we did that shows "some" promise spot reduction is not something you should spend your time chasing. In my time, from being anywhere from Ultra fat to crazy lean I can tell you that fat comes of your body at its own regulated pace from the whole of you.

I like the general rule of first on, last off. Meaning, the place you as an individual put fat on first is going to as well be the last place it comes off. For most of us as well, that's the one spot we want it off the most, the abs in men, hips in women, with some variance of course.

To get it off, I'm sorry, doing endless crunches or thigh master reps ain't going to cut the mustard. Those moves are just as prone to burn fat off your chest or calves as they are to take it off the areas you want.

Take a whole body approach, work with BIG moves, pick activities that are going to target the body as a whole and give you the most bang for the buck, then go for a walk to target fat as fuel. If you want to pick it up more throw a back pack or weighted vest on, or drag a light sled. Get that core temp up, get your sweat on, and enjoy yourself. Have a training program based in BIG compound moves to preserve and build that BIG furnace of metabolism and eat foods that math your goals.

Realize your limbs are generally going to be leaner then the rest of you. Your body, the human being is "lazy" by nature. The human body has to expend energy to move on a regular basis. Therefore the body fat goes up as you move more and more proximal into that core center of gravity and around those vital organs and for a reason. That is the ideal place to store fuel and not expend as much energy moving it, as well it is for your protection.

If you want a tip that "might" help. Bundle up so the tissues you want to shed, fat, are warm and therefore get more blood flow. It's not a sure fire thing by any means but may help a bit, though your still going to have to still look at the body as a whole. You just can't have a ripped six pack without first having shredded to the bone legs, arms, chest, and all else etc.

Originally Posted on StaleyTraining.com