It has been in the mythology of exercise for what seems like an eternity. This or that exercise will make help me lose the fat around my … whatever. The fact is no exercise will help you lose fat in around that body part. Exercise makes muscles work. That work burns calories. If you burn more calories than you take in*, your body will go to your “fat bank” and make a withdrawal. That withdrawal doesn’t come from any one area. It comes from all over the body.
 
Men and women carry fat differently and the fat stores aren’t evenly distributed. Men carry more fat around the waist and women carry more around the hips/thighs and shoulders/arms. If you believe that spot reducing works, this explains why men always want to do abdominal work and women want to do inner/outer thigh and triceps. But, it just doesn’t work that way. You can’t change the fat distribution. We don’t lose the fat cells. They simply decrease in size as we lose weight. Your “trouble” areas, because you have more fat cells there, will always be the last area to appear lean.
 
So what’s a person to do? Focus on full body workouts, keep the intensity high, minimize rest between exercises, and follow a well thought out eating plan. As you continue to lose fat, even your “trouble” areas will become lean.

*There are other factors, such as meal timing, adequate recovery, etc. that come into play.

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