Skinny With a Belly? Protect Yourself From This Lie.

Skinny fat individuals suffer from two things more than anything else:

• Low muscular development
• Fat around the lower back, belly, chest, and buttocks

One person might have ‘love handles,’ whereas another might struggle with ‘man boobs.’ Whatever the case, we all share that issue and would love nothing more than to lose the fat from our troublesome areas.

The question is, how can we go about doing that?

“12 Simple Ways to Get Rid Of Your Love Handles”

Have you come across headlines like the above? You probably have. They sound good because they promise something we all want: getting rid of the fat in particular body areas. Tactics typically include doing exercises to target the site, following a specific diet, or taking a fat burner.

Unfortunately, spot-reducing body fat doesn’t work. Your body chooses where it accumulates fat, and it decides what areas to clear of excess fat. The only thing you can do is lower your overall body fat percentage. Doing so will reduce your total fat mass until the troublesome areas become less, well, troublesome.

A common myth surrounding spot-reduction is that you can train a specific area excessively, and that would lead to superior fat-burning. For example, doing countless crunches would burn belly fat quicker, resulting in washboard abs or ‘a flat tummy.’ The idea makes sense because training a specific area develops the muscles there, so why should things be different for the fat that covers it?

Muscle is active tissue that works during exercise, which makes it grow and get stronger, so it can handle the same type of stress in the future. On the other hand, fat doesn’t play an active role during training, so exercises don’t have a direct effect on the fatty tissue in a particular area of your body. You can do 1,000 crunches daily, but that won’t get you to burn belly fat and achieve ripped abs.

Spot Reduction Training Is The Worst Thing You Could Do

Any form of physical activity can benefit the right person under the right circumstances. Being active in some way is infinitely better than not doing anything, so even the people doing spot reduction training reap some benefits. But ask yourself: Since you’re putting in the effort and committing to regular exercise, why not optimize your approach, become more productive, and reap the best possible benefits?

Aside from being ineffective for reducing fat at specific parts of your body, spot reduction training is simply not a good way to train. Instead of following a proper training approach, you’re doing a bunch of isolation exercises that aren’t of much benefit. There is no logic or long-term plan. You’re simply ‘hammering’ different areas of your body, hoping to get them more defined.

As far as fat loss goes, fat-blasting exercises are less effective than movements like the squat and bench press because they often work a single muscle around one joint. As such, they don’t even burn many calories to support the necessary deficit for fat loss.

A huge reason why many people end up skinny fat, especially after losing weight, is they don’t do any proper weight training. As a result, their muscles don’t receive the necessary stimulus to stick around during periods of caloric restriction.

Here is How to Fix The Skinny Fat Physique

Going from skinny fat to lean and muscular takes time and patience and certainly doesn’t happen by doing a bunch of ‘fat-burning’ exercises. Instead, you need a process that consists of good training, proper nutrition, and adequate recovery. Let’s break it down.

1. Training

Here are some rules for setting up a good training plan:

• Train three to four days per week, having a day of recovery in-between most workouts
• Focus on compound lifts, such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses
• Do some assistance exercises (e.g., dumbbell rows) and isolation movements (e.g., bicep curls, tricep extensions, etc.)
• Recover enough between sets – anywhere from 1.5 to 4 minutes, depending on how heavy and demanding the set is
• Avoid training to failure on most sets; leave at least one to two reps in the tank for the most part
• Stick to the exercises you’ve chosen for at least eight weeks before making changes unless a movement causes discomfort/pain
• Aim for small and steady improvements (e.g., more weight, reps, sets, etc.)

Be consistent with the above, and you will achieve great results. The rules apply to traditional gym training, barbell training, and even dumbbell-only training for people with no access to other equipment.

2. Nutrition

Here’s what you should do:

• Calculate your calorie expenditure (TDEE)
• Adjust your calorie goal based on what goal you want to chase
• Determine your protein, carb, and fat needs
• Start tracking your intake via an app like MyFitnessPal and by weighing foods on a kitchen scale

You can read more about the entire process in the guide I wrote: Exactly How to Set Up And Track Your Skinny Fat Macros (In 3 Simple Steps).

3. Recovery

Here are a few simple recovery rules:

• Sleep for at least seven hours per night
• Consume at least 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight
• Structure your training to allow for a day of recovery after most of your workouts
• Avoid pushing yourself to your limits on most sets

Conclusion

People often like to complicate things by proposing fancy tactics, unproven ideas, and techniques that have a small impact on your long-term results. One such example is the use of tactics to spot-reduce body fat. But, as discussed above, doing so is impossible. Further, even if ‘fat-burning’ exercises did offer some benefits, they would still be ineffective because they are rarely used as part of a comprehensive fitness plan that aims to help you reach a goal.

While seemingly simple and ineffective, the basics surrounding proper training, nutrition, and recovery are enough for skinny fat people to make the best progress possible and stop wasting their time.