Can Exercise Target Cellulite and is Spot Fat Reduction Still a Myth?

As a fitness professional, you may be approached by a lot of clients asking you to give them exercises that can eliminate their hip cellulite and their belly fat. These clients may be beginners seeking quick fixes and magic potions or even experienced individuals who are struggling with “stubborn” fat and who can’t seem to get rid of cellulites around their buttocks. The answer to these questions may be confusing for trainers, clients, and even researchers studying the possibility of exercise to assist in cellulite reduction and spot fat reduction.​

Beware of the Pseudoscience!
Before indulging in any scientific review over the effect of exercise on reducing cellulites and on spot fat reduction, we must be very careful of what the commercial media feeds the population and sometimes even the professionals. Such sources are motivated by revenue rather than raising awareness in terms of clickbait article titles (e.g., The Three Exercises you MUST Do to Lose Your Belly Fat!) and just writing articles for clicks that in turn would generate profit. Such materials have a huge impact on misinforming the public, who in turn seek guidance from their local trainers when these quick fixes fail to help them on the long run.​

We cannot stop such sources from operating, but what we can do is raise awareness and not succumb to their content and consider it to be true and scientific just because a fit individual wrote it and backed it up by his/her experience.​​

Can Exercise Alone Reduce Cellulite?
The studies on the effect of exercise on cellulites reduction are scarce. In one important study by Knobloch et. al (2013) (1), exercises that target the glutes had no effect on reducing cellulites. However, if you or your clients seek cellulite reduction, it is advisable that they seek the advice of a dermatologist, since there are several types of non-invasive treatments that can reduce cellulites (1,2).​

Is Spot Fat reduction Still a Myth?
The more debatable subject is that of spot fat reduction, which is described by the localized fat reduction due to exercising nearby or adjacent muscles to the fat area.

Until recently, it seemed that we cannot localize fat loss (3,4), since there is no direct blood supply between the adipocytes and the adjacent muscles. This study used low to moderate intensity training. However, when higher intensities were used, such as explosive upper body training in a circuit routine for 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes moderate intensity aerobic training through cycling (5), greater fat reduction was noticed in the upper body, specifically around the arms.

This has also been shown in another study by Stallknecht et. al (2007) (6) when intensities were progressed from low to high intensity. However, the study design was not very applicable or practical in traditional training settings and not familiar among training individuals.​

The proposed mechanism for spot fat reduction is that the blood that carries hormones specific for fat mobilization (catecholamines and growth hormone GH) is generally present in greater quantities around the worked muscles (provided high intensity and long duration workouts are being done for the targeted muscles) due to the greater blood supply to these muscles. This enables the lipolytic (fat breaking) hormones to exert their function on the adipocytes near the targeted muscles.​

However, other regions than the worked muscles also witnessed fat reduction, since the action of these hormones is systematic, given the fact that they are endocrine hormones (released through the blood into the whole body). It should also be noted that this mechanism is not definitive and alternative explanations may develop in the future.​
It also seems that fat loss is non-uniform, especially among obese and overweight individuals and between genders, where it has been found that the arms and legs lose more weight in obese individuals, and men lose more weight around the trunk than women (7).​

​Takeaway Message
Based on the current studies, we still cannot say that exercise alone has any effect on cellulites, and hence, we cannot promote such information. However, when it comes to spot fat reduction, it seems that intensity plays a key role in breaking fats near the exercised areas, but unless your workout includes high intensity and explosive exercises followed by prolonged aerobic exercise, spot fat reduction won’t probably occur (3,4).

This means that we are still far from determining how we can induce spot fat reduction through traditional training routines. As far as we are concerned and from a behavioral change standpoint, spot fat reduction should not be a major concern for anyone seeking general health and fitness. Promoting movement and safe and efficient exercise with gradual progressive overload in resistance and cardiovascular training will promote fat loss around the entire body, with some differences between genders and body mass indexes (7). MOVE more, worry less, and aim for long term changes in total body fat instead of localized fat reduction for greater health improvement!​

References
1.Knobloch K, Joest B, Krämer R, Vogt PM. Cellulite and Focused Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Non-Invasive Body Contouring: a Randomized Trial. Dermatol Ther. 2013 Dec 3;3(2):143–55.

2.Paolillo FR, Borghi-Silva A, Parizotto NA, Kurachi C, Bagnato VS. New treatment of cellulite with infrared-LED illumination applied during high-intensity treadmill training. J Cosmet Laser Ther Off Publ Eur Soc Laser Dermatol. 2011 Aug;13(4):166–71.

3.Ramírez-Campillo R, Andrade DC, Campos-Jara C, Henríquez-Olguín C, Alvarez-Lepín C, Izquierdo M. Regional fat changes induced by localized muscle endurance resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Aug;27(8):2219–24.

4.Kostek MA, Pescatello LS, Seip RL, Angelopoulos TJ, Clarkson PM, Gordon PM, et al. Subcutaneous fat alterations resulting from an upper-body resistance training program. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007 Jul;39(7):1177–85.

5.Scotto di Palumbo A, Guerra E, Orlandi C, Bazzucchi I, Sacchetti M. Effect of combined resistance and endurance exercise training on regional fat loss. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2017 Jun;57(6):794–801.

6.Stallknecht B, Dela F, Helge JW. Are blood flow and lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue influenced by contractions in adjacent muscles in humans? Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Feb;292(2):E394-399.

7.Benito PJ, Cupeiro R, Peinado AB, Rojo MA, Maffulli N, PRONAF Study Group. Influence of previous body mass index and sex on regional fat changes in a weight loss intervention. Phys Sportsmed. 2017;45(4):450–7.