Question:
I am blasting my abs but the fat remains. What gives?
– Amanda

Answer:
We have all been guilty of it at one point or another. Squeezing in a few extra ab exercises to help rid the fat that has accumulated over the midsection. Although your gut feeling (pun intended) may tell you that blasting the abs with exercise will burn the fat and flatten the midsection, reality is that this theory is far from the truth. Spot reduction is a huge myth that is alive and well!

The fat that accumulates in the abdomen, or any other part of the body, is stored energy. To get rid of it, you must burn the stored energy. While strengthening exercises such as crunches can add significant muscle tone, the amount of calories this type of exercise expends is very limited. You can perform endless ab exercises and never see a flatter stomach unless you lower your calorie intake or burn the fat that blankets your tummy.

Research has been done with tennis players who get much more exercise with one arm than another and when the amount of body fat is measured in each arm, they are equal. When your body burns fat for energy, it grabs it from throughout your body. You notice the most reduction where your body stores the most, usually the midsection. You must create a deficit of 3,500 calories through exercise, diet or a combination of the two in order to burn one pound of fat.

 It’s really a catch-22 that applies to every part of your body. If you have firm muscles that are covered by a layer of fat, you will have a soft and sloppy appearance. But the same holds true if you fail to exercise, because exercise is what gives muscles a firm appearance. You must eat well and exercise to have a lean and tone look. Sorry, no way around it, ladies!

I can help rid another myth. The abdominals have a high endurance capacity and while they can handle being exercised daily, this may be overkill in the eyes of many experts. Depending on your fitness goals, targeting any muscle two or three times per week with strength training of proper intensity (this means tough workouts!) will offer considerable improvements in strength, shape and firmness.

Doug Gibson
		About the author:
		Doug Gibson is a columnist for Cincy Chic and President of Sensible Fitness Personal Training Center in Blue Ash, Ohio, which specializes in women’s fitness programs. E-mail him at doug@sensiblefitness.com.
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Last update: 09-06-2008 21:39

Published in : Magazine Items, Health