Daily Archives: April 11, 2011

STOP Targeting!

I am absolutely sick and tired of seeing exercise tips on TV and magazines that are recommended on the basis of “problem areas”. You women are constantly given these bogus tips for the backs of the arms, hips and mid section. Tried em yet? Didn’t work, did they? That’s because the real true information all these companies and products fail to tell you is that you can’t spot reduce fat on your body. The reason your arms are flabby and you have big thighs and butt is not because the muscles in those areas are soft or drooping – it’s because there is a large amount of FAT there. Actively recruited muscles burn fat. They do not burn fat from specific areas of your body. Let me say that again…

MUSCLES DO NOT BURN FAT FROM SPECIFIC AREAS OF YOUR BODY.

Let me also state that no muscle group in the body should be focused on at the expense of all the others. ALL the muscles in your body need to be trained. ALL the muscles in your body need to be strong. By focusing on certain areas of the body you put your muscles out of strength balance. You also rob yourself of the greatest possible elevation of your metabolism which is what you need to burn the fat.

However, this fat burning process will only happen if you have a calorie deficit in your body by way of diet (intake) vs activity (output). The more muscles you use in your workouts, the more fat and energy you will use. Strength training will break down the muscles and cause them to adapt to lifting heavier weights. This adaptive recovery process uses energy and burns calories. This process takes place primarily at night while you sleep. So if you want to burn maximum number of calories while you sleep at night then you better be working out with heavy weights (this means a weight you can lift at least 8 times but no more than 12) and using all the major muscle groups in your body. The reason these companies and products keep leading you to believe these lies is because they know it will fail and keep bringing you back to purchase the next product they plan to roll out. So stop listening to all the plastic looking models posing as trainers on TV, and start listening to the facts.