In this video, JJ Virgin debunks the myth of spot reduction, explaining that fat loss occurs systemically rather than in specific areas like the underarms. She clarifies that while targeted resistance exercises (e.g., tricep extensions) can build muscle and increase glycogen storage in the worked muscles, they do not directly burn fat from that spot. Virgin describes how upper‑body resistance training improves muscle tone, resting energy expenditure, and insulin sensitivity, which together support overall fat loss. She outlines a multi‑pronged approach: incorporate upper‑body push/pull resistance work, maintain a modest caloric deficit, prioritize protein, and reduce overall carbohydrate intake. By losing fat throughout the body while building muscle in the desired region, one can achieve a tighter, more toned appearance under the arms. The video also references her other content for deeper dives into these strategies.
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What about spot reduction? Can spot reduction exercises work for targeting bat wings? It's interesting when you think about spot reduction, usually that means burning fat in a specific area. And while it's, it's interesting, when we burn fat, we burn fat systemically all over. So you can't say, you know what, I wanna burn fat off the back of my arm. So I'm gonna do lots and lots of tricep extensions and burn that fat off the back of my arms. Uh-uh, it's not gonna work that way. What does happen specifically in spots is that you'll build the muscle and you will use the carbohydrates stored in the muscles called glycogen to do that. So you now give carbohydrates a place to go back to rather than being stored as fat, they'll go into your muscles to be stored as glycogen. So that happens. But in terms of spot reduction, here's how that actually will work. If you start doing resistance training that focuses on your upper body, pushing and pulling exercises, we'll be discussing this. You will start to build your biceps and triceps. You build your biceps and triceps and you're going to have more muscle tone. Muscle tone is that partial contraction when you are at rest, which is going to give it a little bit of shape and help hold everything in tighter. Now, it's not going to burn fat off that area, but it's going to hold everything in tighter. And I always like to say that muscle's metabolic Spanx, right? Holds everything in tighter. So, and as far as I know, there are no actual Spanx for arms, are there? I don't think there are. Hopefully that we just will never have those. We'll just do what I'm talking about in this video. And the best strategy to lose fat in the stubborn areas like the underarms is to lose fat all over. And I've done videos, a lot of videos on how to lose body fat while holding onto or building muscle. So make sure that you check those out. But it's a multi-pronged approach. Where you're going to do your resistance training to build muscle, to have better resting energy expenditure and better insulin sensitivity, which allows you to burn fat better. Remember, when your muscles contract, they also help you burn fat and build muscle. And then you are gonna go into a little bit of a caloric deficit so that your body has to use stored fat for fuel. And you're going to eat protein first and lower your overall carbs so that you're gonna also help your body use more fat for fuel. I've talked about this in depth in my other videos, so make sure you check those out. You're gonna lose fat all over. You can't just lose fat in the areas you want to. I know every woman and every man out there wishes it could be that way. We would like keep the fat in our faces, lose the fat off our bellies, keep the fat, you know, like women would have fat go into their chest, their tush, outta their belly and onto their cheeks. But it doesn't work that way. So you gotta lose fat systemically. And then you've gotta do resistance training in those areas so that you build that muscle for that great muscle tone.
