When you lose weight, say five pounds, it’s a whole-body reduction in fat: a little bit here, a little bit there. Never will you lose weight in just one area.

But don’t let that bum you out. Where spot-reducing fails to work, spot-firming succeeds. It’s the visible difference in muscle definition you can see in your arms after doing biceps curls, triceps presses and pushups for a couple of weeks. So no, it’s not a figment of your imagination.

Regular resistance training helps tone spot-specific areas of your body, increasing both muscle definition and strength or endurance. Pumping iron can also increase your resting metabolism because you’re increasing your muscle size. And the more lean mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

Just remember, if you’re trying to trim flabby arms or find your six pack, you still need to do cardio to lose the layer of fat that’s hiding your muscles. But combine cardio with resistance training, and you’ll be able to see the changes sooner. And the more results you can see, the more motivated you’ll be to keep working out.

So if you’re trying to trim your flabby arms or give shape and definition to your calves, don’t just hit the treadmill to trim the fat. Hit the weights as well, and you’ll tone your muscles for a double whammy.