.

During my series on physique assessment last week I mentioned that one of the key elements of creating a vastly more aesthetically appealing body is to get your waist as close as possible to an ideal size (which I defined as approximately 45% of your height).

 .

I later received an email asking if I believed it was possible to preferentially target abdominal fat as was mentioned in THIS ARTICLE.

 .

Truth be told, I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Lowery and generally appreciate his articles so this is not an intended slam on him personally or T-Nation for posting the article.  However, I’m just not convinced at this point that the main study supporting his article was strong enough to suggest that this is really an effective strategy.

.

Let’s Take a Look

.

Are blood flow and lipolysis in subcutaneous adipose tissue influenced by contractions in adjacent muscles in humans?

Stallknecht B, Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Feb;292(2):E394-9. Epub 2006 Sep 19

.

Background

.

There is evidence that exercise induced fat loss is higher in visceral fat (around the organs) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat below the skin) in the abdominal region than in the femoral (thigh) region.  This suggests that regional fat tissue is regulated independently and that spot reduction may be possible.

.

*Note that the aforementioned belief belongs to the authors not me*

.

Numerous studies have examined spot reduction with conflicting results.

.

Purpose

.

To determine if spot lipolysis (local fat breakdown) in subcutaneous fat occurs to a greater degree overlying contracting muscle than resting muscle.

.

Methods

.

10 male subjects performed one legged knee extension ergometer for 30 minutes at 25% of their maximum work capacity.  They then switched legs and performed 120 minutes at 55% of their max work capacity.  Finally, they switched back to the first leg and performed another 30 minutes of exercise at 85% of their max work capacity.

.

During this time they had microdialysis catheters inserted in the adipose tissue of each thigh to measure blood flow and fat breakdown.

.

.

Results

.

In general, exercise increased adipose tissue blood flow in both the working and resting leg.  However, in the 25% and 55% work capacity conditions, the blood flow to the adipose tissue closest to the working muscle was higher than the resting leg.

.

.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue lipolysis (fat breakdown below the skin) was greater for working leg in the 25% and 85% capacity groups, but not in the 55% capacity group.  In other words, the fat breakdwn for both the exercising leg and the resting leg was the same in the group working at 55% of their work capacity.

.

.

My Thoughts

.

One major point that I want to highlight is that Dr. Lowery correctly pointed out that exercise does increase body temperature and temperature does increase adipose tissue blood flow.  However, based on this study, I’m not sure the blood flow and lipolysis are even directly releated..

.

In the 25 and 55% conditions blood flow was higher for the exercising leg, but adipose tissue lipolysis was greater in the exercising leg in only the 25 and 85% conditions.  In other words, the conditions that caused the greatest increases in blood flow didn’t match the conditions with the greatest amount of breakdown. 

.

As a result, I tend to believe temperature and blood flow may not be the primary mediators of local fat breakdown.  So even IF local fat breakdown can be effected, taking measures to increase local temperature and blood flow probably aren’t going to help.

.

And, as the authors of the study astutely pointed out, any broken down fat stores may be replaced or even supercompensated (more fat stored there) when exercise is complete.  This is certainly a possible scenario and highlights the importance of not using acute variables (like lipolysis) as anything more than hypothesis generating tools for the possibility of chronic changes (like local fat loss).

.

But most importantly, even if the fat wasn’t replaced in that area, the maximum calculation for the amount of fat lost in the area at the end of 30 minutes of 25% or 85% exercise is 2.1 milligrams of triglyerceride per 100 grams of fat in that area.  Doing some rough calculations in my head I think this would amount to NOT VERY DAMN MUCH!!!

.

As I’ve blogged before, I just don’t think the evidence for spot reduction is strong enough to warrant any of the methods suggested to achieve it.  And even if it was statisticaly significant, will it be visually relevant?  Would you really notice these effects in the mirror?  Two milligrams per 100 grams of fat doesn’t seem like it is worth pursuing to me.

.

What do you think?

.

If you’d like to review studies like this for yourself, check out my product How to Read Fitness Research.

A few years ago when I first heard Charles Poliquin mention Biosignature Modulation at a seminar I was completely blown away by the concept.  If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, Charles explained that he’d done caliper measurements on 12 skinfold sites with loads of athletes and discovered a relationship between certain hormones and the location of fat storage.

.

Moreover, he suggested that these hormones could be affected by food, supplements, and training such that we could actually remove fat where we wanted to remove it.  Charles Poliquin had discovered the secret to spot reduction!!!

.

I was so enamored with the idea that when Charles came to Toronto for a 3 day Biosignature seminar I was all over it.  My wife paid for my registration as a birtday gift (yep…she’s awesome like that) and I spent three days learning the protocol and brought it back to experiment with my clients.

.

In the end, it worked.  My clients’ skinfolds went down, they lost fat, and looked better.  But since the program is pretty heavy on the supplements it could also get VERY costly.  What I eventually noticed was the clients I had that couldn’t or wouldn’t use the supplement protocols get exactly the same results.

.

Over time I slowly found myself disenchanted with the system and I completely phased it out.  Below are my thoughts on the Biosignature Modulation system after having had a couple solid years to reflect on the protocol and its effectiveness.

.

Note that these thoughts are not meant to attack or belittle coach Poliquin, but to express my opinion.  As Mike Boyle has said brilliantly, “there is a difference between disagree and dislike”.  Charles Poliquin was an early influence for me in this industry and has inspired me in many ways.

.

My Restrospective thoughts on Biosignature Modulation

.

As I see it, Biosignature Modulation relies on three central assumptions:

.

1. Body fat storage is correlated with specific hormones

.

While this may certainly be true (I can’t say one way or the other), a correlation does not equal causation.  In other words, just because the hormones and fat storage are related does not mean that hormones cause the fat to be deposited in certain areas.  There may be an association, but one may have nothing to do with the cause of the other.

.

2 – Changing those hormones will cause changes in the location of fat storage

.

Even if these hormones do cause fat storage in specific locations, evidence would have to support the notion that changing them would alter fat storage.  In the Biosigature system estrogen is reported to be the primary cause of excess fat store in the glutes and thighs.  If this were the case and it could be altered by changing the hormone then estrogen blocking drugs would decrease fat storage in this area.  I don’t believe that any research supports this claim.  As I’ve mentioned before, changing hormones doesn’t always result in the expected outcome.

.

3 – Those changes can be brought about by manipulation of hormones with nutrition, supplementation, and training.

.

This assumption is based on the fact that the two previous ones are true.  And while I can’t attest to the fact that there is no evidence for any of the strategies provided by coach Poliquin, one of the most popular seems to be the use of fish oils for accelerated fat loss in those with extra fat at the insulin sites (love handles being one of these sites).  I can say that without a doubt there is currently no scientific evidence to support this as explained by Alan Aragon HERE.

.

And while you might argue that I haven’t really provided evidence that all of the protocols don’t work, I would suggest that the burden of proof when selling a product/service/system is not on the potential user, but on the person/company selling the system.  Their job it to convince me that the protocols stand up to rigorous testing and, in this case, I don’t believe they’ve met the requirement.

.

But proponents say it works…

.

With any popular system you will always get hard line proponents that are completely inflexible when it comes to questioning of their methods.  In terms of those using Biosignature Modulation, it can also contribute a rather sizable revenue stream to their business so letting it go can be economically challenging.  And, of course, there are those who are just afraid to question the protocol because it comes from Charles Poliquin.

. 

Personally, I’m not about to argue that those using Biosignature aren’t getting results.  What I would argue is that those results could probably be had with an appropriate diet and training strategy.  Moreover, when using Biosignature I never did see the specificity of fat loss that was suggested.  People lost fat, but it was pretty much what I would have expected with a good diet and training. 

.

The one advantage of the protocol is that if people are spending a lot of money on supplements in addition to private training they might be more apt to stick to their plan.  As you’d expect, you will obviously see greater results with greater compliance which is a possible people report good results.

.

In the end, if you’re considering taking a Biosignature course I’d suggest keeping your money in your pocket.  If you are considering using a Biosig protocol on yourself, I would highly recommend you skip it and stick to the time honored classics…nutrition, training, and consistency.

.

There is no substitute for hard work.  There are no shortcuts.  If someone tells you differently they are selling something.

.

Questions?  Comments?  Random Insults?  Leave ‘em below!

.

If you’d like to read research for yourself, check out my product How to Read Fitness Research.