Fitness experts have claimed for years that the idea of reducing the fat from a specific area (Spot Reduction) with exercise is a myth. But recent studies might prove this wrong. A study held in 2023 may give people hope that they are struggling with belly fat.

Today, we will talk about why reducing belly fat is so tough, what the new research says about it, and how you can adapt this information to get the best results in your training for fat reduction.

Why Is Belly Fat So Stubborn?

In the weight loss journey, people do lose weight, but find that the belly fat is the last one to go. It might become frustrating and discouraging.

But Why is Belly Fat so Persistent?

Whether the fat will burn or not depends on the fat mobilization. To burn the fat, it needs to release it from fat cells into the bloodstream. As soon as it gets mobilized, the fat will convert into energy and burn. The worst thing is that the blood flow around the belly is so poor that it takes forever to lose fat around it.

Take your legs as an example that are constantly in use, like walking and running, so the fat mobilizes and burns very easily around those muscles.

All this info leads to a question: Could increasing the flow of blood around the belly help in losing belly fat easily?

A 2023 study states that spot reduction might be possible.

Countless studies have conducted in the last decade on the spot reduction, with each time scientists believing it does not work. Studies where participants trained only one leg and did thousands of sit-ups showed no signs of fat loss in targeted parts.

But a study from 2023 has challenged this belief.

16 overweight men were selected and divided into the groups of two:

• Group 1 (Control Group): They were asked to perform 45 minutes of treadmill cardio, four times a week.
• Group 2 (Spot Reduction Group): They performed 27 minutes of treadmill cardio after two exercises focused on ab machine crunches and abdominal torso rotations.

It’s important to note that the study focused on burning the same number of calories for both groups in each session. This is because the studies done in the past failed to monitor the calories, and for that reason, it’s not always accurate.

Both groups were monitored again in the 10 weeks, and they lost a similar amount of body fat. The catch is that the spot reduction group lost fat around the midsection 2.5 times more than the control group.

The most interesting part is that the control group lost more fat around the leg area, suggesting and backing the concept of blood flow influencing the fat loss.

Other Supporting Research

There is another study that was held in 2017 that supports the concept of blood flow affecting fat loss. It asked participants to perform either an upper body or lower body resistance workout, and right after that, cardio. When monitored after 12 weeks, it was noticed that those who trained the upper body lost fat more in their upper body, while the group that trained the lower body burned more fat around the legs. The catch is that both groups lost the same amount of fat.

Another thing that took place in 2021 added even more credibility to it.

How to Apply This to Your Workouts?

Research like this will continue to emerge in the future, but there are workouts you can use to get the results based on these studies.

1. Pair Ab Workouts with Cardio

• Doing ab exercises like machine crunches or torso rotations and then doing cardio for 20-30 minutes might trigger the spot reduction.
• You can also try doing this in reverse order, cardio first, and then followed by an ab workout.

2. Focus on Direct Ab Training

• Exercises like planks and stability-based exercises are great for the core, but weighted and direct ab exercises have shown effectiveness in spot reduction.
• Look for the workout that causes a burn in the abdominal muscles.

3. Basics are the Key

• A calorie-diet is important in the overall fat loss journey.
• If you perform your workout but can’t pair it with a calorie-deficient diet, then the fat won’t be lost.

4. Be Consistent and Patient

• The study we talked about earlier has the participants doing exercises four times a week for ten weeks.
• That is a total of almost three months, so if you are serious about the fat loss journey, stick to a solid plan.

5. Train Abs Like Any Other Muscle

• Abs are muscles just like any other muscles, so train them with progressive overload to get the definition as you lose fat.
• Training abs makes the midsection much leaner, even if the body fat is high.

Limitations of the Research

It’s good to know about studies, but always be cautious as well. Here are a few limitations:

• Small sample sizes: These studies, on average, involved around 20 participants.
• Uncontrolled diets: Participants were not provided with an identical diet, which shows unreliable fat loss results.
• Baseline differences: In some cases, one group can have more fat than the other.

Final Thoughts

Does spot reduction work? We can’t say no, but even a yes wouldn’t be a good answer either. As studies have shown that spot reduction works, we need to wait for more studies.

Based on the evidence, we can say that the proper targeted resistance exercise with cardio might help in getting results in the fat loss in the targeted area. It could be helpful in case of a big belly.

Never forget that the base of any fat loss journey is a calorie-deficient diet, consistency, and time. No new study can ever replace the basics.