Spot training can best be defined as attempting to either train or exercise only one part of your body at a time. Spot training does feature both pros and cons, but the cons of spot training easily outweigh the pros. If you think you can only exercise one part of your body and have it look amazing, you will be disappointed.
Fat reduction works like this: When you try to lose fat through calorie-burning exercises, the reduction occurs all throughout your body. Since the reduction is all over your body, spot training is impossible and a myth, for the most part. Still, there is at least one pro associated with it.
FrustrationThe misguidance to even attempt spot training is based on having the wrong idea about exercise. It is also based on not being familiar enough with how the human body works. Spot training is impossible because the way that fat burns through exercise is all over the body. It cannot be specifically targeted in one region. You may experience frustration with spot reduction attempts if you believe in the myth of spot reduction. There may have been a point in your life where you did sit ups regularly, with your goal being to burn belly fat. In all likelihood, even after some time regularly doing this, your belly fat failed to melt away. In that case, you likely felt frustrated because spot training failed. The reason for this is because exercises like sit ups only work to tone the muscle underneath the fat. The fat has to be burned off first.
Losing Fat OverallAnother con of spot training relates to burning fat overall. If you go into spot training thinking you will only burn fat in your belly, you will be sorely disappointed. Exercises that burn fat will burn the fat over your entire body. If you do exercises like running, swimming or bicycling, they all will burn fat off your body, because they are designed to reduce calories. Yet the reduction in fat will not be that apparent because it will not be focused on only one spot on your body. This effect of the real way that fat-burning works may even discourage you from exercising. However, continuing to exercise and burn calories is the only way to really reduce fat in any place on your body.
ToningThe only pro to spot training is that the exercises you used to originally "spot train" can be used once you've burned off fat. Underneath your fat is muscle. After you've burned off fat all over your body, you can exercise parts of your body to develop muscle. Once you have burned off belly fat with exercises like running, you will note that there is muscle underneath. Spot training exercises like sit ups can then be used to target the muscles in your belly. In this way, you can use spot training exercises to actually build up muscles in specific body parts.