There’s one insane workout out there that TikTok has taken by storm, but is it worth the hype?
One user known only as @ janny14906 has gained over 4.2 million followers for videos she posts in a trustworthy, dance-like workout class in which she claims “Absolutely 100% effective at reducing belly fat” be.
In a video post that was liked more than 1.3 million times, the headline states that if done five minutes a day, the results can be seen in a month. Other accounts like @sporttothin have released videos of this technique for their almost 1 million followers.
But moving probably isn’t all that matters, fitness experts say.
Morit Summers, personal trainer and founder of Form Fitness Brooklyn, describes the movement as “a very aggressive hip thrust” that can be particularly dangerous for the lower back.
“I actually think if you do this too much, you could potentially be causing real back and nerve pain,” she said. “I just want people to be careful and maybe change it up a little.”
Erin Schirack, fitness trainer and co-founder of the streaming fitness platform CHI-SOCIETY, says that there is some validity in terms of movement itself, which she calls the “pelvic flexion” that can help loosen up the lower back and back Engagement in the lower abs. “
The way it’s done in this viral class is not the right form.
“This format is so wild and out of control that it is actually completely ineffective,” she said. “(It is) not done in a safe way.”
Schirack also says the claims about targeting the stomach area must be nullified.
“If someone ever tells you that a train or exercise is targeting something, use it as a marketing tool,” she said.
While there are movements that can help strengthen a particular area, she says it’s a “complete myth” that someone can minimize the size of a particular part of the body with just one movement.
However, some people who have tried the movement have written to see results for themselves. User @ melofficial97 shared a video comparing her progress after a month of showing a firmer stomach. In another video she writes: “This training is real.”
Summers explains that this is likely a total body weight loss from increased exercise, not that stomach fat is specifically reduced as a direct result of that exercise.
“If you are someone who is very sedentary and you are motivated by this trend to get up and move around, then you will see a change in your body as you suddenly add activity,” she explained.
Summers says the apparent simplicity of the move may have drawn people who haven’t exercised much in the past year.
“It looks pretty simple, doesn’t it? She’s more or less in place, just moving her hips. So I guess if you haven’t done a lot and say, “Oh, this looks like something I can do.” That’s part of it, ”she explains.
Schirack believes that the training has also gained traction due to the “ridiculousness of the movement”.
“People think the more ridiculous an exercise is and the more complex or silly it looks, the more it has to be the secret target for effectiveness,” she said.
Users’ obsession with exercise can also be compounded by a desire to get in shape for life after the pandemic.
As the vaccines rolled out across the country, trainers said the number of customers eager to do their best until the world reopened completely had increased significantly.
While fitness and psychiatrists agree that a healthy lifestyle is a worthy goal, they caution against rapid physical changes – especially after a year that has been traumatic for so many.
“You can’t just work out six or seven days a week like you did in the beginning,” Noam Tamir, founder and CEO of New York gym TS Fitness, told USA TODAY in March. “You will burn yourself, you can get injured, you can slow your progress because you are just doing too much.”
Contributor: Charles Trepany
Read more at usatoday.com
