Everyone dreams of shedding their stubborn belly fat. The issue is, you can’t direct where your body loses fat. At least, that’s what science believed.
However, new research suggests that targeting belly fat might not only be feasible but also simpler than we imagined. In this post, I’ll delve into the latest findings and explain how you can incorporate them into your workouts.
Understanding Belly Fat
Belly fat often proves to be the most challenging area to lose fat from. Even with overall weight reduction, the fat in this region tends to remain stubbornly in place. This raises the question: why is belly fat so difficult to lose?
To burn fat, your body first needs to release it from the fat cell, a process known as mobilization. Once mobilized, the fat can be burned off for energy. But how exactly do you mobilize it?
The Role of Blood Flow
When you strength train, you don’t just strengthen your muscles; you also increase blood flow to the fat that surrounds the muscle you’re working.
This could be why belly fat is so hard to get rid of compared to fat in other areas of your body—it tends to receive very little blood flow.
Moreover, we tend to train our abs less frequently than other muscles. Your quads and hamstrings are used all the time—running, squatting, walking, you name it. They receive a large increase in blood flow when you’re working out. But your belly? Not so much.
Can You Target Belly Fat?
Researchers wondered if boosting blood flow to your abs could help reduce belly fat during exercise. If you could target your belly, why stop there?
By increasing blood flow to the right spots, you could theoretically reduce fat in any area that you chose.
To find out, I researched and found a study by Dr. Bill Campbell, who runs a lab dedicated to fat loss at the University of South Florida. There’s always been skepticism about spot reduction, as most of the research suggested it wasn’t possible.
The 2023 Study
However, a 2023 study caught my attention. Researchers wanted to test a routine that could both mobilize and burn fat.
They divided 16 overweight men into two groups: one focused on spot reduction and the other was the control group. Both followed a 4-day workout plan for 10 weeks.
The control group did 45 minutes on the treadmill each session, while the spot reduction group had a shorter 27-minute treadmill workout followed by two ab exercises.
Study Findings
After 10 weeks, both groups lost a similar amount of total body fat. However, the spot reduction group lost 2.5 times more belly fat compared to the control group.
Interestingly, the treadmill-only group also lost more fat from their legs than the spot reduction group.
Limitations of the Study
The study had its limitations. One criticism was that the spot reduction group had more fat to start with. Even so, they still lost significantly more fat in the trunk area—7% versus 4%.
The workouts were tightly controlled, but the nutrition wasn’t. However, both groups lost a similar amount of overall fat, making this less of a concern.
Supporting Studies
Other recent studies also support these findings. A 2017 experiment had one group perform an upper body workout followed by 30 minutes of cardio and another group did a lower body workout followed by the same cardio.
Both groups lost a near identical amount of total body fat, but the upper body group lost more fat in their upper body including and the lower body group lost more fat in their lower body.
In 2021, another study used ab exercises to mobilize belly fat and combined it with cardio to burn the fat as fuel. They too found promising results, mainly in the upper belly area.
Practical Takeaways
The results of these studies offer practical takeaways you can immediately start using in your workouts:
- Be in a Calorie Deficit: If losing belly fat is your goal, you need to be in a calorie deficit to get the best results.
- Combine Ab Work with Cardio: Doing ab work and combining it with some form of cardio either shortly before or after can maximize your results.
- Intensity Matters: The cardio needs to be of sufficient intensity and duration to increase fat oxidation.
- Choose Effective Ab Exercises: Some ab exercises are better than others. Crunches and abdominal torso rotations are effective for targeting the abdominal muscles.
Sample Routine
Here’s a routine to better target and reduce belly fat, use direct weighted ab exercises combined with low to moderate intensity cardio. Here’s what a sample routine could look like:
- Warm-Up: 5 minutes of light cardio
- Cardio: 20 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio
- Ab Exercises: 3 sets of weighted crunches and 3 sets of abdominal torso rotations
- Cool Down: 5 minutes of stretching
Final Thoughts
The Science is still not 100% convinced about spot reduction. However, these latest studies have definitely opened my mind to the possibility. Future research could be promising.
Even if spot reduction isn’t entirely possible, regularly training your abs and with weight can still help with definition.
Most of your results will come from the basics, and losing belly fat heavily depends on your diet. Many people underestimate how many calories are in their usual food choices.
For those who want more step-by-step guidance with both their training and nutrition, checkout the 30-Day Belly Fat Blueprint.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next time.