Losing weight can be relatively easy, but getting rid of those lateral muscles that Americans so graphically call
'love handles' -
something like love handles - seems like an impossible mission.
"They are
the first to arrive and the last to leave
. And they are so 'bastards' that they are not only noticeable in the thinnest people but also stubbornly resist disappearing in those who undergo a weight loss plan , generating
discouragement and frustration
", explains Martín Giacchetta, CEO of Boutique Gym (Madrid) and personal trainer.
Sculptor of some of the most mediatic and admired 'six pack' in the country (including those of David Bustamante or Manel Fuentes), Giacchetta knows very well what it means to face a challenge of this caliber.
"It looks like you're going to get it but they
're still there and it's exasperating
!" he jokes.
As enemies of our health (and our aesthetics), the first step to annihilate them is to know them.
"The lateral muscles are
an accumulation of fat,
more typical of men but that also occurs in women."
In this sense, he reminds us that "in
us,
the tendency is to store more adipose tissue in the belly and torso (
android
or apple-shaped fat), while in
them
-especially if they are of childbearing age - tends to focus on the hips, buttocks and thighs (
gynoid
or pear-shaped).
Why does fat accumulate?
The answer is the
basic law of energy expenditure
: what goes in for what goes out or, in other words,
what is eaten for what is burned
.
In other words, if we put more fuel into the body than it needs, it - in anticipation of times of scarcity - will end up
collecting the surplus
, which will be stored in very specific areas of our anatomy.
DIET, STRENGTH AND CARDIO
What do we do, then, to get rid of them?
Giacchetta clears us of doubts.
"The saying that
abs are done more in the kitchen than in the gym
could not be more true.
Eating is much more important than exercise.
The goal, if we want to lose fat, is to reverse the balance, that is
, eat less ( and better) and spend more"
For this, it is essential to have "a
balanced diet
, based on the consumption of
quality proteins that help us 'nourish' the muscle (eggs, oily fish, etc.); vegetables and 'good fats' (avocado, salmon, etc.) The processed
ones
, alcohol, soft drinks and packaged juices, or smell them."
Being obsessed with just
doing 1,000 sit-ups a day
, in addition to destroying our lower back if we don't do them with the right technique and in the right doses, is not the solution.
""Although it is true that -Gicchetta clarifies- the more toned we have all the abdominal muscles, from the deepest to the most superficial, the less it will be noticed because, in this way, the 'meats will be more subject'" .
Exercises to burn abdominal fat with Martín Giacchetta at Boutique Gym
The ideal, it is already known, is "
to combine cardio and bodybuilding
in its proper measure, although we should not forget that an intense and well-planned bodybuilding training also implies a very effective cardiovascular work".
Martín Giacchetta, personal trainer, teaches us how to do push-ups at three levels
In any case, Martín Giacchetta is committed to alternating cardio (running, brisk walking, swimming, etc.) and strength.
"We need
aerobics
to have a good 'engine' that pulls our body and allows us to improve our performance. And
strength
because, as everyone knows, the muscle, in addition to its function as a
'support' of bones and viscera
, performs a very important
metabolic mission
: the more muscle mass, the more calories we will burn, even at rest".
And, with all this, will we finally be able to get rid of them?
Well, we're very much afraid that, once the lorzas become strong on our flanks, as Giacchetta says, "they're the last to leave... the bastards!"
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David Bustamante