Is spot training for weight loss effective?
Spot training for weight loss
Everyone has some physique goals like slim thighs, slim waist, toned arms, etc. Reaching these goals through diet and workout takes patience, time, and sincere efforts. Any quick and fast solutions might not be so reward-yielding and long-lasting.
Spot training or spot reduction is a targeted workout that focuses on burning fat in a specific region. Spot reduction might not necessarily need to target the area where you intend to shed some pounds. For example, if you want to lose some inches on the arms’ back, you need to exercise the triceps. As much as it sounds logical and practical, there are still some controversies around this method.
Weight loss
There are several reasons for a person to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. Some might want to control or decrease the risk of chronic lifestyle diseases such as PCOS, diabetes, heart diseases, etc.
Most of the time, the excess weight tends to accumulate in specific regions like buttocks, thighs, arms, belly, etc. Lifestyle, genetics, age, eating habits, gender, and so many other reasons become a contributing factor for weight gain and where that excess weight is accumulated.
Weight gain can take a toll on your mental health, decrease your self-confidence and cause many health-related problems. Many people look for the easiest methods to shed pounds, and spot reduction seems like a quick way to reduce fat in specific regions.
Spot reduction works by engaging the muscles of the regions where you want to reduce some inches. But contrary to these methods, weight loss does not work in that way.
Weight loss mechanism
Triglycerides are the fat stored in our cells, which is used for energy. To be used as an energy form, triglycerides are broken into fatty acids and glycerol, flowing in the bloodstream. When you exercise, fatty acids and glycerol are used as energy sources from any area in your body and not just from the muscles involved during that exercise.
Does spot reduction work?
Many studies have shown that spot training is an effective way to lose weight in a particular area. One study found that six weeks of just targeting abdominal muscles alone did not reduce belly fat. Another study which included 104 participants with a 12-week training program for non-dominant arms, aimed to know the effectiveness of upper body resistance training had similar results.
However, researchers found that weight has definitely occurred across the body but not in just one specific area.
Alternatives
To those disheartened hearts, do not lose hope. Patience and effort are the keys to losing weight. Although there is no quick fix or instant remedy to shed some weight, lifestyle changes, physical activities, sleep, diet, and many other things can help lose weight. You need to remember weight loss is a combined effort of these factors. Here are some tips you can follow to lose some weight
Compound exercises
Compound exercises involve not just one or two types of muscles but engage many muscles throughout the body. For example, push-ups or planks engage core muscles, biceps, triceps, glutes, buttocks, etc. Squats engage glutes, hips, thighs, calves, and core muscles. Doing more compound exercises is that the more the forces involved, the more calories you burn.
Core exercise
Choose more core exercises to strengthen the muscles and increase stability. Core exercises tone your core muscles and help in burning more calories.
Consistency
Set weight loss goals and make consistent efforts to achieve them. Set your goals, design a plan and work on it. It might be difficult initially, but you will achieve your goals as you proceed forward and keep challenging yourself.
Metabolism
Metabolism plays an essential role in determining how many calories to burn. The more the metabolism, the more calories burnt. Here is our take on various ways to boost metabolism.
Diet
A nutritious diet filled with proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants helps in weight loss. Read our blog on diet plan for weight loss and best foods to burn fat to understand better the proper diet and fat burning foods you need to inculcate.
Sleep
Improper sleep impacts your weight loss goals, metabolism and also increases fatigue. It very important for you to have a stress free and a night of good sleep for 6 hours at least a day to see significant results,
Take Away
Spot reduction or training has been widespread, and many still believe that it works. Spot training is targeting specific muscles to lose weight in that region. However logical it might sound, weight loss does not work in that way. Whatever exercise you do and which body area you target, weight loss only occurs overall but not in specific parts. Remember, patience, strategy, and consistency are the keys to weight loss, and no quick and instant methods give you satisfying weight loss results.
