I get this question a lot. People want to know how to get rid of fat in a certain area. They want to know how to firm up or tone up a specific body part. It can be frustrating to hear these questions at times, but I understand why people ask them. As a society, we’ve been brainwashed by the fitness companies and their marketing departments. They put out product after product trying to get you to buy into their hype. The fitness industry would fall flat on its face if they told you the real secret to getting rid of fat in those pain-in-the-butt places. With television commercials and ads like these being blasted at you, why wouldn’t you think you could target fat loss. A Google search brings up some of the following workouts:
- 10 minute toned abs
- Thigh toning workout
- 5 minute toned body legs workout
- 20 minute total body toning workout
- 8 workout moves for a toned body
- Triple threat toned abs
Every single one of these workouts has the word “toned” in it. It drives me nuts. I’ll explain why later.
The Secret to Targeting Fat Loss
The real secret to targeting fat loss in a specific area is through proper diet. I’m really sorry to let you down. You were probably expecting some mind blowing revelation on how to get six pack abs through some amazing 10 minute abs workout. If you were, then I guess this really is a revelation for you. You cannot target fat loss through exercise. Read it again. Read it again. You cannot target fat loss through exercise. Doing situps is not going to give you six pack abs. Doing butt blasters (or some other catchy marketing term) is not going to give you buns of steel. You aren’t going to get “toned” arms or legs by doing leg or arm workouts.
- The secret to targeting fat loss in the stomach area – DIET
- The secret to targeting fat loss in the inner thigh area – DIET (this is how you get 6 pack abs)
- The secret to getting a firm butt – DIET (this is how you get a great butt)
- The secret to getting toned arms – DIET
- The secret to great looking legs – DIET
Do you see a pattern here? I’m sorry, but no amount of exercise is going to make that body part look good if there is a layer of fat covering it up! Dieting is the only way to target fat loss. Fat loss is systemic – not localized. To better explain this, take your typical arm workout. Maybe you are doing some curls in the hope to have “toned” arms. As you are lifting the weight, your biceps send out a signal that it needs energy – fat. This fat is both used for lifting the weight (especially if you are not lifting heavy), and used to repair muscle tissue. When your muscles send out this “I need fat” signal, your body releases all sorts of fat burning hormones and neurotransmitters into the blood stream. Within seconds and a couple of heart beats, these fat burning chemicals are dispersed throughout the entire body. They start pulling fat from all over the place – from the fat in your midsection, to the fat on your fingers. It would be great if your muscles would just use the fat from the surrounding muscle, but it’s just not physiologically possible.
From commenter Jason – You can’t tell your body where to deposit fat, so why do people think they can tell it where to remove it?
Stop Trying to Tone, and Start Building Muscle
I really despise the word “tone”. It’s another one of those words created by the fitness industry. It was created to target women who didn’t want to get big. After all, what woman wants to look like a man? Here’s the thing though, being toned means nothing more than having muscle and being lean. There is no exercise that accomplishes this. Your goal should be to build muscle in the most efficient way possible, and then use proper nutrition to remove the fat covering it.
About Coach Calorie
I just want to say THANK YOU. I am going to post this to my group biggest loser facebook page. I am leading the group and losing weight along with them. The same question I get all the time is how do I get my belly slimmer or how do I get the thigh gap without bulking up my legs? I keep telling them that the weight loss is 90% diet and 10% exercise that will get them the body they are looking for. So just wanted to say thank you for confirming it for me.
Thanks for sharing on your page Risa. It’s an easy concept, but one that many people are in denial about.
Great post Tony. It hits I few problems I run into when I first start to train a new female client.
As you know I am big on adding resistance training to the mix when it comes to fat loss. And the first thing women say is that they don’t want to look like me or a female bodybuilder. It is very frustrating to hear that. Sometimes I think it is an excuse to not change their lifestyle. For someone who is extremely overweight my thinking is that a muscular body is more attractive than an extremely overweight one.
Diet is so important. Food is such a big part of culture, every social event involves food. So I can see it hard for people to change their diet when everyone around them is making poor choices. And when you go to all these different social events it is rare to find healthy snacks.
You can’t tell your body where to deposit fat, so why do people think they can tell it where to remove it. I like how you bring some honesty to the subject.
Jason recently posted..Metabolic Resistance Training
Great way of thinking about it Jason – You don’t choose where you get to put the fat on, and you don’t get to choose where to take it off. I like that!
I added your comment to the article. Thanks for the addition.
Great article!
it is amazing no matter how many times you tell your clients that diet is 99% of any weight loss program they still listen to commercials and magazine ads that promise a magic quick fix.
Your message is 100% what we preach at my studio in Delaware.
THANK YOU again.
Alisa Robinson
Alisa recently posted..7 Fast Food Choices Under 350 Calories
Advertising can be very persuasive. Sometimes you have to repeat yourself over and over again. It takes retraining. Thanks for stopping by Alisa.
The “diet” thing is a very big challenge for me because every time I read a lists of designed foods that help lose fat or whatever, most of the food items I don’t like or the combination of foods are nasty. How can someone eat healthy and still enjoy the foods they love? I love salads by the way but I can only eat it with Ranch dressing.
Also this article confuses me. Should you diet more and exercise less? I have heard that you can eat what you want but only in moderation and if you want to lose a substantial amount of weight…90 minute workouts, 5 times a week is ideal. I understand resistance training is important but what is your take on aerobic activities? Thanks.
Hi Toshy, I am by no means saying to exercise less. Diet is key for fat loss, but you still need muscle.
I don’t believe you can eat what you want and still have the physique you want, unless your desired physique is sub par. If you still want that bad food, plan on having a cheat meal once a week.
90 minutes 5 times a week is not needed. Start off with resistance training 3 times per week, and then add in cardio on 3 of your off days. Then take 1 day off per week. Add cardio days in as needed to break through sticking points.
Oh, I see. Thank you so much for taking the time to clarify. I will indeed use this.
Is there an exercise DVD that you would recommend?
Assuming I get the all clear tomorrow from my doc regarding other issues, I’m ready to actually do this thing. But I don’t get out much and that won’t change. So, any DVD exercise program that you recommend that would incorporate what you mentioned as “other highly effective compound movements” I can follow?
Wendy T recently posted..You Were. You Are: An Ode To My Daughter in Heaven On Her Birthday
I don’t know of any DVDs that I could recommend unfortunately. The good news is that you don’t need one to put together a good workout. Do you have a gym membership?
No I don’t. And I can’t for a couple reasons. So it has to be something I can do in the house.
Wendy T recently posted..You Were. You Are: An Ode To My Daughter in Heaven On Her Birthday
That’s OK, you don’t need a membership or weights to get a good workout. Your question deserves a post of its own, and I’m working on it.
what would you recommend I add to my weight loss routine. I do kettlebells (high intensity) twice a week for 1 hour sessions but have just started a sedentry job and feel this is not enough as i still have about 30 llbs to lose?
Hey Aideen, I always recommend weight training. I don’t think you can go wrong adding it to your fitness program.
Thanks for that, i thought kettlebells was weight training, but now i have defined it properly!
It’s a form of resistance training. However, I wouldn’t use that as your sole source of weight training. Lift some weights, or even bodyweight exercises would be good. Just make sure the intensity is high!
Thanks for these tips. I’m still working on overall weight loss but I would like to target my stomach and thighs so this information will definitely come in handy!!
I got cleared by the doctor this week to start going to the gym (although I have to take it easy at first) so I’m excited to start putting some of your information into action 
The fundamental problem I believe is that a women’s body is totally different from a males body. If I were to do weights only without the cardio then I would totally bulk up. A male can do weights alone with diet as they can bulk up and look good. A woman needs all three to get desired results. That is where I go wrong because it is just too hard to do all three required element of training to get the optimum results. Thus I am constantly on the look out for quickie weight loss gimmick. But ultimately it comes down to diet primarily and the weights. It’s just too damn complicated when I am at work 10 hours per day.
Silvia, a woman’s body might be different than a mans, but the way fat loss occurs is the same in both. You will not bulk up weight training as long as your diet is in check. Adding cardio certainly doesn’t hurt, but it’s your diet that’s going to have the biggest factor. It is very hard for a woman to put on muscle. It would take years and years and male hormone injections to look like the girl in the first pic.
A beautiful post and very enlightening indeed. It is with tips and information available online like this that I’ve managed to hit my weight loss and health goals.
I’ve personally lost 180lbs since Dec 2009. My blood pressure was 160/110, now its 120/80. My cholesterol was 256 mg/dL, now its 176mg/dL. I’m no longer Pre-Diabetic and I’m in the best shape of my life. It wasn’t easy but I can say that everyone can do it if they have the right program.
If you’re interested in my story please head over to Zdiets.net
Cheers.
Ryan E. Parker