Can you really lose belly fat exercise to burn belly fat?

Planks and crunches are two types of exercise that are effective in building muscle. However, why be so diligent sit ups but the stomach is still bloated too? Naturally. This is because planks and crunches are not, in fact, a good type of exercise to shrink the stomach.

Planks and crunches tone muscles, don't burn fat

Planks and crunches are still frequently introduced as a sport to reduce the stomach. But in reality, the effect of reducing belly fat from these two types of exercise is not that great. Because planks and sit-ups are actually sports that specifically aim to train and increase muscle mass so that it becomes stronger.

This increase in abdominal muscle mass is what makes people think that just sit-ups or planks are enough to lose fat due to a distended stomach. When in fact what is happening is that your stomach just feels tighter than before. Fat tissue still remains behind your belly.

Research in the journal Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport shows that doing planks or sit-ups even routine 5 days a week for 6 consecutive weeks does not reduce subcutaneous fat and visceral fat behind the stomach.

This is because when we do sit-ups or planks, fat metabolism does not only occur in the stomach but throughout the body. The process of burning fat around the stomach when we do sit-ups or planks is only a small part compared to the process of metabolizing body fat as a whole.

Then, is there an effective stomach shrinking exercise?

Remember, just focusing on training one specific body part will not necessarily lose fat in that area. Exercising with only one repetitive motion such as sit-ups or planks tends to be less effective at burning fat and losing weight.

In fact, there is no one type of exercise that is effective at burning belly fat. Generally, the reduction in various body fat tissues will depend on how many calories we burn during exercise. Burning calories from exercise will also depend on the variety, duration, and intensity of physical activity.

In addition, if you want to really lose your stomach, you also need to balance your exercise routine with an overall healthy lifestyle. Starting from maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet, good stress management, drinking water diligently, avoiding smoking, to getting enough sleep every night. The absence of one of these determining factors is not impossible to hinder your success in achieving a flat and toned stomach.

The bottom line: with diligent planks and sit-ups you can have tight abdominal muscles, but not necessarily small and flat if not accompanied by changes in diet and daily habits.

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