Targeting Your Trouble Spots: Fact or Fiction?

You’ve gained weight. Again. It seems to always show up in the same old familiar places – belly, butt, or thighs. Diminishing your trouble spots once and for all may feel attainable if you merely look at it as a quick diet or a few months of exercise, but this way of thinking will only lead to frustration and disappointment. Targeting your trouble spots is a specific daily lifestyle, not simply adjusting your diet or a few months obedience to the latest and greatest workout fad. It’s important to remember that while there are dietary and lifestyle changes that we all need to make, we also have to remember that any real changes are unique and individual to every person due to genetics and body type. That is one reason the latest diet or workout fad may not be right for you.

I do believe that you can target your trouble zones or spots, but only if you are working the entire body as well. It’s imperative to build muscle in all areas of the body in order to burn fat. Many people think that spending 30-60 minutes on only cardio-related exercise will get rid of those trouble spots, when in reality the trouble spots may remain even as you become a smaller size. Resistance training, cardio, and nutrition all work together to attack the trouble zones. Once you are working the entire body to build muscle and shed fat then you can perform some progressive ‘burn-out’ type of moves to target the areas that need a bit more attention.

For instance, if you are working to rid your ‘jiggle in the middle’, then focus on adding 10-20 more abdominal exercises to your current routine. Use slow-controlled resistance to confuse the muscle a bit. Count slowly to three as you lift up into your crunch and the same as you come down. At the end of these reps – hold at the top of your crunch for 8-10 seconds. Maybe you were only performing fast crunches before and your muscle has gotten used to your every move. Changing it up a bit will activate your muscles in a new way.

What about your butt or thighs? Here’s an exercise to try…A plyometric squat! Squats are great for both the butt and thighs so why not hit them at the same time. First, make sure that your knees are in a healthy condition to perform squats. Next, keep these rules in mind: make sure your knees do not go out over your toes, stick your butt out, back straight, and stomach in tight. A plyometric squat will increase your heart rate, shed fat and build muscle. Jump straight up in the air and come down gently and squat back with weight in the heels of your feet. Do this throughout your day for faster results and do 10-12 each time.

It’s a fact, you can target your trouble spots when you focus on your entire body then add some progressive ‘burn-out’ moves along the way. You’ll see that your trouble spots will soon be no trouble at all. Keep in mind that the same old hum-drum workout not only gets boring to you, but to your muscles as well. Mix it up!