"Spot reduction" is a myth – for men or for women – a physiological impossibility; the overall amount of fat is just that, an "overall" condition – the result of too much food and-or too little exercise.
But in certain sections of the body of women or men, a very noticeable degree of "apparent spot reduction" can be produced – sometimes in as short a period as a day or so, or even a matter of hours.
When a fat appearance is a result of poor muscle-tone, as it frequently is – particularly in young women, but not uncommonly in men – then literally spectacular "apparent results" can be produced if direct exercise is applied to that area of the body; with little or no change in the body weight, and no measurable reduction in the actual fat content of the body – and with no change in the diet.
And without increasing the size of the involved muscles to any noticeable degree – and with no increase in the size of other muscular structures in the body.
Since this condition is most commonly developed in the upper-thighs and in the buttocks, and since conventional exercises for these muscles involve working the much larger muscles of the frontal thighs as well as the muscles you are actually trying to reach – exercises such as squats and leg presses – and since most women are not anxious to increase the overall size of their thighs (even if they are willing to use such hard exercises, and few are), it is obviously necessary to provide some form of direct exercise for the buttocks and upper-thigh muscles that work in connection with each other; with conventional exercise equipment, the closest approach is with a "thigh curl" machine – an exercise machine that applies direct exercise for the primary function of the thigh biceps, the muscles that bend the lower-legs back against the rear of the thighs. Such exercise will produce some results in the area – and will do so without involving the much larger frontal-thigh muscles; but there is still a lot lacking in this "closest approach."
Primarily because you really need to involve the secondary function of the thigh biceps – moving the thigh back into line with the torso – and because you also need to directly involve the buttocks muscles, which have a very similar function.
For these specific purposes, we have recently developed a new machine that works the muscles of this area directly; the Nautilus Buttocks ("Glute Curl") Machine.
Of little or no use to the average man, who should be willing and able to work this area of his body heavily in a normal manner while performing heavy exercises for the legs, such machines will undoubtedly find widespread acceptance by women – for several reasons; primarily because these machines can and will produce the desired results very quickly, but also because they will do so without requiring much-heavier types of exercise involving the major muscles of the thighs, and because no skill or practice is required on the part of the user.
However, I have mentioned the above described machine for a very good reason – because it is one of a very few "exceptional" exercise devices (or exercises), exceptional in that it is primarily limited to the use of women; but by and large, women should practice almost all of the same exercises that are used by men – and they can do so without the "danger" of building huge muscles. Which danger simply does not exist in the case of a normal woman.
The average woman could not build large muscles if her life depended on it – and for health purposes, for reducing purposes, or toning purposes, women should use the same basic exercises that men do. But in an almost opposite manner; instead of trying for maximum-possible "intensity of effort," they should strive for nothing more than a medium intensity – and instead of trying to reduce the "amount" of exercise to its lowest possible point while still meeting the other requirements, they should practice as much in the way of exercise as it is reasonably possible to do without resulting exhaustion.
In short, women should train more than men – but not as hard. Apart from these general considerations, practically all the rules for training of men apply to with almost equal validity to women.
