So, if your goal is to lose that belly fat and have a flat stomach and trim waist (who doesn’t have that as a goal…?), then what is the main type of exercise you should be doing?
Crunches? Leg lifts? Sit ups?
How about none of the above?
The truth is, none of those are the best way to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach (dare I say a six-pack?).
In fact, if you’re doing endless crunches or other ab exercises in a quest for your six-pack, you might even be making your situation worse.
You see, crunches and other exercises that target the rectus abdominis (your six-pack) work to make that muscle stronger. Do stronger muscles normally get smaller when you work them?
Uh, no. So there’s mistake one.
Mistake two is that when you keep overworking your abs like that, they’ll actually become shortened and tight, pulling your ribcage down towards your pelvis, and eventually causing your lower back to round. Aside from the obvious potential back problems that presents, pulling your ribs down, throwing your posture out of whack, and making yourself look shorter is not a recommended way to a trim waist.
Then, in order to lose that belly fat, you need to burn a lot of fat. You do this through building and using lots of muscle. Crunches cause very little muscle activation, thus burn an insignificant amount of fat (if any at all). Mistake number three.
And just because you’re working an area, that doesn’t mean you’re burning the fat from that area. Your body simply doesn’t work that way and spot reduction is just a myth.
So, if endless crunches aren’t the answer, what is? Endless cardio, right?
Wrong.
This will be a whole other blog post, but for now just believe me that hours and hours on the treadmill is not the way to your six pack.
What you need to do are muscle building, compound exercises. And you’re thinking, what the hell is a compound exercise, right?
That’s an exercise that uses multiple muscle groups at the same time. Think squats. Think squat rows. Think kettlebell swings. Think rows. Think get ups.
These exercises activate a lot of muscle as you do them, which burns lots of calories. Plus they build lots of muscle as you recover, which burns more calories all day. In The Body Transformation Course 2.0 I go into much more detail on this, but suffice it to say that since muscle tissue is your main fat-burning furnace, the more muscle tissue you have, the more fat you’ll burn all day.
My bootcamps are designed for fat loss, and participants are doing only compound, muscle-building exercises in those camps and getting great results. The workouts in The Body Transformation Course 2.0 are designed the same way.
No wrist curls here. No chest flyes. Mainly compound movements that use lots of muscles, build muscle, and burn lots of calories.
That’s how you lose belly fat and get six-pack abs.
Now I know many of you women out there just read that and got scared by the whole “muscle-building” thing.
Don’t be.
I’m not making bodybuilders out of anyone and you won’t build big, bulky muscles if you do dumbbell squats. You know how Jessica Simpson worked out to get those legs she had in that awful “Dukes of Hazzard” movie?
She did tons of squats, lunges, and more squats. I don’t think her legs were big and bulky. So stay with me, it’s time to start thinking differently if you really want to start to get results.
~Dave
About the Author
Dave Soucy is a coach, trainer, motivator, husband, dad, and former fat guy. His goal is to teach as many people as possible how to achieve a life of health, fitness, and wellness through simply eating right and exercising. Click here to learn more about Dave.
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