Sadly, there’s no such thing as spot reducing fat. You could do crunches until the next millennium, but if you’ve got too much belly fat up top, no one’s going to see your six pack.
Fat loss is a systemic and needs routine. Meaning, it happens throughout your whole body, not one trouble spot at a time. To reduce fat in any one place, you really need an old-fashioned more-calories-out-than-in approach that addresses body fat as a whole. That means a well-rounded exercise program, with a combination of aerobic endurance activities and strengthening exercises all over your body, plus a healthy diet.
Physiologically, the goal is to simultaneously shrink your fat cells and increase the size of your muscle cells. Crunches won’t burn calories like running, swimming, or cycling will, so you can’t count on them to reduce fat mass. So, when you do get hungry and want to eat more thinking that you’ve burned fat, which you haven’t, it will actually add more fat (or at least won’t make the old fat go away). That said, they will get you better abs. Muscle building, unlike fat burning, is done muscle by muscle. Not only will crunches increase your abdominal muscles’ strength, they also tone your muscles, so that once you do reduce the size of the fat cells around your middle, you’ll see a well-defined set of abs underneath.
What’s more important is that your abs, along with your obliques and lower back muscles, make up your core, so strengthening these muscles increases your stability, minimizes many types of back pain and improves your posture. Here’s a great exercise for your core. Click here —>
Secrets to a Strong Core
So What’s The Lesson Here?
Aim for 20 minutes of aerobic exercise at least three times per week, and strength training activities (including, but not limited to, ab work) at least twice a week.
Weight loss COMBINED with muscle strengthening is key.
