SwonkDiesel: Fix Your Fat Loss

Working in a gym I see a lot of people, a lot of women especially, focusing on arms and abs. When I talk to these people about their workout they say that they want to lose the fat around their upper arms and stomach. To most people in the fitness world it is absurd to think about training with isolation movements to lose fat. The thing is, most of the average population thinks that targeting an area will make that specific area less fatty. Well I want to help spread the word that this is not how it's done.

Ladies, and Gentlemen, if you want to lose fat in certain areas you have to lose fat all over. Fat loss is not something that can be targeted. You can workout your upper back and build muscle specific to the upper back but you cant work out your upper back and lose fat in just your upper back. For this reason, if you want fat loss, you have to choose exercises that use large amounts of muscle. The legs, chest, back, and shoulders are the largest muscle groups. Exercises utilizing these groups are going to lead to better fat loss than something like bicep curls.

Another addition to a fat loss workout could be combination movements. Combining exercises to utilize even more muscle mass can get even better results. Something like a squat with a shoulder press. Using dumbbells you perform a squat then at the top of the squat do a shoulder press; Two exercises in one.

If your main goal is fat loss then you have to have an overall approach. You can't just focus on cardio, and you cant just focus on weight training. And within those you can't just focus on specific body parts. As far as cardio goes, I have voiced my opinion before. If you didn't see my post about interval training then check it out here. I believe that interval training will lead to better fat loss and in a quicker amount of time. However, novice gym-goers need to start with steady-state cardio (i.e. jogging on the treadmill) so they can build up some endurance to move into intervals.

Just remember, the more muscle you use the more calories you will burn. And as long as you are eating right this will mean better fat loss. Below is a few example exercises and combination lifts to add into your program.

Squat-to-Press