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The
TRUTH about The first myth that you have to eliminate before you can get results is that working your inner thighs directly will magically metabolize the fat that may be covering the muscles below. Spot reduction does not and cannot happen. For most people, high reps will not and cannot build any muscle whatsoever and, as pointed out above, will not selectively burn fat from the inner thigh (or any other body part, for that matter). For each muscle and for each exercise there is a threshold of weight (or "load," physiologically) below which you get minimal, if any, benefit in strength or muscular growth. High reps, especially when done with a weight that doesn’t challenge the muscle at all, are a less effective use of your workout time because they neither burn fat optimally nor strengthen and build the muscle. “Toning,” “tightening,” and “sculpting” are all meaningless terms that do not describe any physiological process that exists in the human body. As mentioned earlier, what you want to do to improve your appearance is build at least some muscle; that’s the optimal way to burn fat. It’s the loss of muscle as we get older that has been linked to the gradual decrease in metabolic rate and concomitant increase in weight that many of us see. In order to get back the body you had when you were younger (or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof), you have to get back the muscle. The third factor to consider is functional anatomy. What do the "outer" thigh muscles actually do? They certainly don’t do the motion that you use on the seated hip abduction machine. Do you know that there isn’t even an official term for movement of the hip in that plane - because it’s unnatural. The only time that you move your leg like that is when you bring your right leg in when you enter on the driver’s side of the car, and when you pull your left leg out as you exit. That’s about it! Like the adductors (inner thigh muscles), the most effective exercises for your abductors are those in which you stand on one leg. Besides, when you sit on the hip abduction machine, your true abducting muscles aren't even in a position to do the work. Don’t get the impression that seated hip abduction is a complete waste of time; it isn’t. It is effective at working the gluteus maximus – which is a actually a FLAT muscle – and also the muscle group known collectively as the six deep external rotators of the hip – the muscles that help give your rear its shape. It just won’t get you the results that you are probably looking for. Just be aware of what you are doing and why with this and every exercise that you do. |
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