Exercise Myths - Need Clarification

[PrayForDeath]

Most cardio/exercise programs have you believe that if you target a certain spot in your body with workouts you will lose the extra fat in that area. For instance, if you have extra flab on your waist, doing abs/oblique exercises will slim that fat.

In reality, the body loses fat all over after exercise, not just in specific areas. But if that's the case, then why does nearly every cardio program emphasize the focus on certain 'problem' areas in the body? And is it true that focusing on a certain spot will have absolutely no difference than doing a general workout?

Can I lose extra fat from my thighs by doing just upper-body workout? Is it just as effective as doing workout that involves my lower-body? (assuming equal caloric output)

 

[Megatomic]

It's all marketing. They target those programs and products towards those who are looking for the easy way out. And you can target certain muscle groups, but you'll likely develop muscular imbalances and joint problems.

 

[brad310]

It's all marketing. They target those programs and products towards those who are looking for the easy way out. And you can target certain muscle groups, but you'll likely develop muscular imbalances and joint problems.

exactly. its all money and lies...and probably contributes to us staying a fat country overall. We want the easy quick solution - and we're willing to pay for it.

your preferred cardio/resistance training and counting your calories is what works. counting your calories alone works, but the exercise helps keep you in check as far as motivation goes because it will speed the results and make you adjust your diet to want to perform better.

you lose fat over your whole body, and you lose fat faster in the last place you gained it.

 

[Wyndru]

Keep in mind that some specific exercises will build muscle either toning a specific area or help your posture so that you appear to be losing fat in targeted area though.

It's more of a "If I stand up straighter my gut looks smaller" kind of thing.

 

[Kaido]

Imagine it this way:

1. You are wearing a suit made of fat (aka your skin)

2. Food and cardio (mostly food) controls the thickness of your fat suit, known as "bodyfat percentage"

3. Once your fat suit gets thinner, you can see your muscles more visibly

4. When you work to tone or pump up your muscles (bodybuilding), they pop out more


So when you workout, it reduces fat to the entire fat suit. Some people lose fat faster or slower in different places than others (stomach, legs, neck, etc.), but the suit is a suit - it spreads its love equally :biggrin:

This is also why you see really big guys at the gym with no muscle definition - they work out a lot to pump up their muscles, but they don't eat right or do cardio, so their defined muscles are hidden under a thick fat suit. The thickness of the fat suit mostly boils down to diet - that's why you see overweight guys at the gym running on the treadmill for years and years, never getting any skinnier - the diet has to change.

Another thing to keep in mind (going a bit off-topic here) is that bodybuilding is different than strength training. You can be strong, but not look big. You can also look big, but not be as strong as you look. Bodybuilding is all about doing lots of reps to inflate your muscles like balloons. Programs like Stronglifts are all about getting stronger - more weight, less reps. Then there's power bodybuilding...doing it allllll :awe:

 

[Pantlegz]

I
2. Food and cardio (mostly food) controls the thickness of your fat suit, known as "bodyfat percentage"

Lifting weights, mostly heavy weight, causes your metabolism to increase more and for a longer period of time than cardio. But you're right, diet is much more important that exercise for weight loss.

 

[Kaido]

Lifting weights, mostly heavy weight, causes your metabolism to increase more and for a longer period of time than cardio. But you're right, diet is much more important that exercise for weight loss.

Definitely, there's a lot of ways to approach it, depending on your willpower. I have a friend who invented the "eat whatever I want and exercise 2 hours a day" program. She eats crap all day, but works out for 2 hours every morning, and is skinny. It's the same for people who do a lot of running - lots of carb intake, but they burn it off. Heck, look at Michael Phelps - he ate 12,000 calories a day, but he swam for 6 hours a day and was in great shape :biggrin:

 

[Wyndru]

I have a friend who invented the "eat whatever I want and exercise 2 hours a day" program. She eats crap all day, but works out for 2 hours every morning, and is skinny.

That's funny, in a way people like this seem to value food over their free time. And if you eat really bad and just exercise it off, are you actually healthy? Could you still be in danger of high blood pressure and high cholesterol? I don't know if exercising completely negates eating bad all of the time.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Definitely, there's a lot of ways to approach it, depending on your willpower. I have a friend who invented the "eat whatever I want and exercise 2 hours a day" program. She eats crap all day, but works out for 2 hours every morning, and is skinny. It's the same for people who do a lot of running - lots of carb intake, but they burn it off. Heck, look at Michael Phelps - he ate 12,000 calories a day, but he swam for 6 hours a day and was in great shape :biggrin:

She may be skinny, but I guarantee she's not as healthy as she may seem. I don't know why people typically think skinny = healthy. There are a lot of things that obesity contributes to, but people can still have hypertension, insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, gastrointestinal dysfunction, excess inflammation, etc. Tell her to knock that crap off

 

[Remobz]

She may be skinny, but I guarantee she's not as healthy as she may seem. I don't know why people typically think skinny = healthy. There are a lot of things that obesity contributes to, but people can still have hypertension, insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, gastrointestinal dysfunction, excess inflammation, etc. Tell her to knock that crap off

So true!!

I am overweight myself and do not look skinny by any means. I do not eat unhealthy for the most part but I eat big portions at meals.

Anyway, I know of three skinny people over the past few years that had blood work done and were far from healthy. My blood work has always been really good.

 

[Whisper]

Keep in mind that some specific exercises will build muscle either toning a specific area or help your posture so that you appear to be losing fat in targeted area though.

It's more of a "If I stand up straighter my gut looks smaller" kind of thing.

Yeah, I'd say it's mostly a mix of this and marketing. People want to spot reduce, and like to hear that "experts" (i.e., the people pushing the product) say it's possible, so they're already primed to be looking for any possible result. Thus, if you work your triceps for example, and in doing so build a little muscle and thereby reduce some "arm wiggle," you'll be a semi-happy client.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

I like the muscular people they pay to gain 20 pounds and look fat. That is the before picture. Then they show them 90 days later with not fat and all muscle.

Other things I enjoy include the before picture with sad face and after picture with happy face.

As a bonus, the lighting is almost never the same. The after picture is always slightly brighter.

And don't forget makeup. thebefore picture of "I jsut rolled out of bed" and hte after picture whcih was 2 hours of sitting in a stylists chair.

And most of the time, pictures are airbrushed.

 

[Remobz]

I like the muscular people they pay to gain 20 pounds and look fat. That is the before picture. Then they show them 90 days later with not fat and all muscle.

Other things I enjoy include the before picture with sad face and after picture with happy face.

As a bonus, the lighting is almost never the same. The after picture is always slightly brighter.

And don't forget makeup. thebefore picture of "I jsut rolled out of bed" and hte after picture whcih was 2 hours of sitting in a stylists chair.

And most of the time, pictures are airbrushed.

Good point. I never really noticed some of those facts until now.

Interesting indeed.........