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By Karry Millette, GM Larry North Fitness Southlake
Love is in the air and it is time to start working on those relationships! Especially the relationship that so many of us tend to have with those stubborn “Love Handles”… you know those frustrating spots of your midsection that have somehow seemed to expand over the holiday season and just won’t seem to go away! I wish there was a magical exercise I could tell you that would give you what you are looking for here. But the reality is, there is no such thing as spot reducing, or what so many of us commonly think of as selectively taking off inches in a certain area of your body.
Despite what you see on the television at 2:00 am, it all boils down to reducing body fat, regardless of where it is attached to your body, it is always going to require a balance of three things:
- An awareness of your nutritional intake
- incorporation of some form of cardiovascular exercise
- foundation of resistance training
Let’s discuss some approaches you can start taking to turn your conversations from “there’s more of me to love” to “less is more.” Spreading some love to your overall fitness is what we all need to do.
Make sure to feed the need
Looking at nutrition alone is such a big topic but the simplest way to view body fat reduction is calories consumed versus calories expended. If caloric expenditure is sufficient enough, it will cause fat from the entire body to be reduced, not necessarily in the places we want first like those “Love Handles”, hips or thighs.
Since we can’t choose where it comes off first. The first step to conquer is to reducing your intake of calories by controlling portion sizes and becoming knowledgeable of the calories in the foods you eat. Also know that dieting isn’t just about reducing calories, especially if you are taking part in vigorous workouts. Over time, eating too few calories per day (less than 1,200) can put your body into a starvation mode and produce a reverse effect of storing calories as fat. It is best to discuss a proper eating program that is realistic to your body’s needs and your personal goals.
Feel the burn with interval training
Cardiovascular exercise in the form of jogging, biking or swimming is the second portion of our fat reducing balancing act. A common misconception is that the only way to reduce fat is through exercising at a low intensity for long durations. While it is true that activities at low intensities burn more fat, those at high intensities will burn more calories at the end of the day through a greater residual calorie burning effect.
Take this opportunity to incorporate some fun into your exercise routine by mixing up your cardio programs with shorter durations of higher intensity cardio once or twice a week. For instance, you may get a charge out of a few 10 minute sprints on the treadmill or up the stair-climber instead of the usual 30-45 minute marathon sessions. This is what is known as interval training. This is a form of cardio that simply alternates burst of intense activity with intervals of low activity.
Lean muscle for a leaner you
Skipping the weight stack is as poor of a choice as grabbing that morning donut. The impact on overall body fat reduction through resistance (weight bearing) training is vital building lean muscle that ultimately speeds up your metabolism.
There are many exciting and safe ways of structuring a weight training program to fit your personal needs. Work with a fitness professional to add a total body resistance training program to your life.
With sessions of at least twice a week in addition to the balanced approached we just discussed you will be able to see results.
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