Excessive Chest Fat: Eliminate the Curse of Man Boobs
For many men, one of the most embarrasing features they ever have to deal with is having excessive chest fat, sometimes called "man boobs". Female breasts are a powerful secondary sex characteristic, one which our society adores, to the point that breast augmentation is the leading elective surgery in the country. Breasts on a man, however (unlike hairless faces or a shapely butt) are just a huge turn-off.
Excessive chest fat has reached near-epidemic proportions in the United States alone, and this of course has led to the inevitable genetic apologists. It's in the genes, they say, it can't be helped. There is some truth to this.
'Gynacomastia' is a hormone condition in which men begin to grow breast tissue just like an adolescent girl. Considering the number of hormone additives in our food supply, and other environmental factors that affect human hormone development, it is possible that increasing numbers of men are suffering from gynacomasti. (If you feel you are definately one of these men, check out our review of Cliff Manchester's 'Chest Coach System'.)
However, the United States -- and indeed most of the developed world -- is now experiencing obesity on an epidemic level. More than 50% of the population is considered to be overweight. So surely the great obesity levels are contributing to the increased occurences of excessive chest fat on men. Even if hormones are to blame, ridding the body of excessive fat and leading a healthier lifestyle will also contribute to balancing out hormone levels to normal for a man.
Therefore, the first step to combating 'man boobs' is to rid your body of any excessive fat.
This is a simple concept to understand, but difficult to execute, and definately beyond the scope of this article. However, remember the basic formula for weight loss:
CALORIES INGESTED < CALORIES BURNED
In other words, you must eat fewer calories than you use, in order for the body to begin using its stores of fat instead. The best way to accomplish this is by increasing your metabolism. Resistance training -- any form of exercise that uses resistance to work muscles harder than they normaly would -- is an excellent way to begin boosting the body's metabolism. Combining weight lifting (or the equivalent, such as using a Bowflex) with a cardio program --running, biking, fast walking, etc. -- is THE fastest way to get your body to start burning fat and losing excessive weight.
Cardio exercise is such a strange thing. In theory, it should work so perfectly well for all men and women, but as anyone who has tried it knows, the practicality of it just doesn't add up.
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If you are a real beginner, then start with walking. In the few cultures where the average life-expectancy is into the 90's and even 100's, the predominant activity is walking. Walking is what our prehistoric ancestors did when they first came out of the trees and started exploring the savanah. There are virtually no drawbacks to walking, except that it takes a fair amount of time, something that is often at a premium in our society.
Exercise That Targets Chest Fat
There are plenty of chest exercises one can do in or out of the gym. The Pectoral muscles are large muscles and are capable of pushing a lot of weight, hence the popularity of bench presses, with huge weight loads.
However, the simple push-up, which uses only your bodyweight, is an excellent chest exercise, especially for beginners. The reality is, though, that doing chest exercises does not 'target' chest fat. It is practicaly impossible to target specific areas to burn fat. Muscles can be targeted, but you won't see the result under a layer of fat. What is true of the elusive six-pack, is also true of ridding the body of 'man boobs'.
How to REALLY Get Rid of 'Man Boobs'
Unfortunately, getting rid of excessive chest fat is not a matter of a pill you can swallow, exercise you can do, or electronic device you can hook up to. It is a lifestyle change. Unless you are a skinny guy who works out regularly and is fit, yet still sport a pair of breasts any 14 year old girl would be proud of, then you must first get LEAN. That involves focusing on your diet and doing a lot of exercise.
The good news is that with the right kind of exercise you can see results FAST. Major advances have been made in kinesiology in the past decade, and a lot of the old rules about exercise have been thrown out as a result of better understanding. Cranking up the metabolism so that you are literally burning fat whether you are working out or not is a matter of following specific guidelines that are designed to achieve that result.
Ridding yourself of man-boobs may be a challenge, but it is a challenge worth facing. Not only will you become increasingly self-confident, but your new lifestyle will lead to many other health advantages that will in turn lead you to new levels of growth you may have never thought possible for yourself.