Okay, let me stop you right there. You will not like this answer.
That question is often the first thing I hear, when people find out I am a fitness coach. Fill in the blank with your most despised body part. Arm jiggle, belly pooch, love handles, the list goes on.
This question is perfectly normal. We all have parts we wish looked different. It is not your fault that you think there is some magic way to make it better. You have been led to believe that doing the latest greatest exercise will give you a flatter belly, lean toned arms and the only handles left to love will be on your coffee mug. Unfortunately this is just BULL $H!T marketing so you buy stuff.
Here it is… are you ready for it (bum bum whap – where my swifties at?)? You can NOT spot burn. Which means, if you want to burn the fat off of your belly, doing crap loads of “core” work will not make your body choose to use belly fat any sooner than any other fat stored on your body. As a matter of fact, adipose tissue (stored body fat) is moldable. So, if all that “core” work you are doing, involves a bunch of crunches and no exercises designed to extend your abdomen then you are literally squishing your belly fat into more of a pooch. Add the fact that you are probably making your posture worse at the same time, means you are doubling up the belly pooch.
Doing exercises, targeted on a specific area, will help to make the underlying muscles stronger. Which is GREAT!
To reduce the fat resting on top of those muscles, is a simple equation. Consistency + Time + Nutrition + Fitness = Reduced Body Fat = Less Belly Pooch, Smaller Love Handles and Leaner Arms.
BONUS***
You don’t like my equation? Want immediate results? Buy my latest greatest program… huge sale today only, just give me your money and your world will change over night… 🙂
Just kidding, try this.
Less Belly Pooch – Stand with taller, better posture. As soon as you hunch over, the pooch is compacted. Stand up which will make it longer, activate your core which will keep it tighter.
Jiggly Arms – So you want to be able to wave while wearing a tank top and have people mistake you for Michelle Obama… fine. When you reach up to wave, flex your arm and aim your hand slightly behind your shoulder. Your arm, needs a certain amount of loose skin, so it can stretch enough to allow you to reach over head. Ladies, this skin/ fat gets squished between your bra and shoulder all day, remember fat is moldable, that is why you have those little pooches on the front side of your arm pit. Holding your hand in front of your shoulder, squishes that area more. Holding it behind your shoulder will let it stretch out and look flatter. Also, when waving, the Tricep (back of the arm from armpit to elbow) is not activated. So when you wave, it is a loose relaxed muscle swinging back and forth. Flex your arm, activate the muscle and it wont swing… jiggle as much.
For real change, stop looking for the quick fix. There isn’t one. Put in the time and effort to improve your nutrition and exercise. The part of your body you don’t like didn’t get like that in one day/ week/ month, how can you expect it to change that quickly. The things that take us the most time and dedication are often the most fulfilling.
