I started lifting weights out of high school.
I don’t even know why I started, but I’m so thankful I did.
I have this memory of being in the uni gym and wondering why I was the only woman in the weights room.
Well, not the ONLY woman. There was often a line-up of women for one machine and one machine only… the adductor (inner thigh) machine!
Luckily I was studying physio, so I learned pretty early on that my efforts on this machine would be wasted (if my goal was to reduce fat on my inner thighs, that is).
The myth of spot reduction has been around for YEARS. And you only need to scroll through a few fitness accounts (especially those aimed at women, sadly) to see that this message is still going strong.
I mean, I get it on one hand. The idea of spot reduction is just so darn appealing! Imagine if you could just sculpt your bodies like a statue, according to whatever your ideals are?? (We won’t delve into where these ideals likely came from now, but I think you know 😉)
But unforunately, our bodies just aren’t designed to work this way. Genetics, hormones, age & gender all influence where fat accumulates and where it disappears.
And unfortunately, despite the fact that this myth has been busted over and over again by research, we are still being bombarded by messages (directly or indirectly) that it is possible to spot reduce fat in certain areas of our body with exercise. You can however build strength in the areas you train – as well as flexibility, endurance, power & functional capacity.
So, I’m just going to continue scrollin on past when I see these messages pop up in my feed, and I’ll continue to lift weights so that I can be strong enough to do all the things I want to do for as long as possible.
Who’s with me?