PT Personal Trainers

Stronger glutes and legs? Do not devalorize trunk and arms

With the development of the food industry, food is at our disposal, sometimes without even leaving home, you just have to use the phone or internet to ask for a home delivery.

The comfort that we have today contributes to a caloric intake much higher than our ancestors, but unlike them, we do not spend much energy to acquire them, leading to an accumulation of fat mass in the body.

How does fat build up in our body?

The fat in our body is distributed according two patterns: android and gynoid. In the first one, excess fat is distributed in the upper part of the body (especially in the abdominal area) and is more associated to man. The second one is associated to females and is characterized by the accumulation of fat mainly in the glutes and thighs.

I want to know more

We can see, very often, girls who do not like and do not want to exercise the trunk and upper limbs because their focus is on fat loss and toning the buttocks and thighs. Sometimes the reason is also because they do not want to get a masculine appearence.

However, our body does not use energetic resources in a localized way. In fact, when you work out a part of your body does not necessarily guarantee the fat loss in that specific area. It is possible to make a lot of sit-ups a day and never lose the bellyfat that bothers you.

Reasons why everyone should train trunk and upper limbs

- Body symmetry and good posture: Bodywork generally help to achiev a symmetrical and balanced structure that is better prepared to respond to daily stress and needs. Our body will have a stronger base, which will allow us to have a better posture.

- Fight against overweight and obesity: The training of the different muscles of the upper body increase energy expenditure that will force our body to expend stored energy in the form of fat to meet the needs of that same effort.

On the other hand, when an individual's muscle mass increases, he or she will spend more calories daily as muscle mass requires a greater supply of calories to be able to subsist.

When we talk about building mass, there is no reason for ladies to think that upper body training will give them a masculine appearance. Unlike men, they have a low amount of testosterone (a key hormone for a large muscle mass increase).

- Helps in lower limbs development: Probably you never stopped to think but to perform exercises for lower limbs like squats, lunges or deadlifts it is required a lot of strength of upper limbs and trunk. If you do not work out the upper body you will limit your glute and leg gains.

For example, when performing an exercise such as a "deadlift," we feel that the posterior thigh and buttock muscles are able to withstand a very high load but we notice that our upper limbs are unable to keep their hands closed to support the load.

How to have the best of two worlds? 

When the desire is to have defined legs and buttocks, we must consider the upper limbs and trunk as a tool to achieve this goal as these will have a lot of influence on the work of the lower limbs and their development.

Having strong upper limbs and trunk will allow to our body to withstand superior stimulus. When we train the body with certain loads, we attack body fat on two ways: first we will consume fat to respond to the stimulus of the activity and, in parallel, we will build more muscle mass that will contribute to a higher daily energy consumption. All this results in a decrease in body fat mass and consequently leads to a greater tonification.

What if i do not like upper body exercises?

Personal Trainers can help you... 

If you are a person who does not like to do exercises for an upper body in an individualized way, know that Personal Trainers has a solution not to neglect a symmetrical and balanced body.

What is the best train for me?

All you have to do is to choose compound exercises, where different muscle groups are used in the same exercise. For example, when you do a “thruster” it is possible to stimulate the muscles of the arms and trunk while also working the legs and glutes.

Tip: The more muscles you include in your exercise, the greater the energy expenditure and the faster you will achieve the body definition that you want.

Train effectively! know how

Francisco Barbosatext