Ab workouts target the abdominal muscles, which is typically evident by the six-pack they produce. Hence, it may cause you to wonder, do ab workouts burn belly fat?
Research suggests that ab workouts stimulate the stomach muscles, which may help burn belly fat, but not enough to make a significant difference. Instead, they mainly help build a stronger core, which is needed for good posture and balance to help prevent back pain and increase mobility.
What Do Ab Workouts Do?
Exercising your abs will help them become strong and muscular; however, in order for your defined core muscles to show through, you need to get rid of any fat covering them, which ab workouts or spot-training the abs simply will not do.
In fact, several studies showed that ab exercises alone, even when done regularly, did not decrease belly fat density or the size of fat cells.
This is because ab exercises do not burn calories. For that, you will need to regularly participate in total body fitness that boosts your metabolism, which in turn helps burn calories and fat.
However, the more muscle mass you build during exercise, the more belly fat you will burn.
How Do You Burn Belly Fat?
To burn belly fat, you need to do cardio exercises that get your heart rate up, which helps burn fat throughout the body, including the ab area.
However, studies show that only moderate to high-intensity exercise is most effective for decreasing belly fat mass over low-intensity cardio or strength training alone.
For best results, experts recommend doing at least 50 minutes of moderate exercise up to 5-days out of the week or 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise at least 3-days out of the week.
What Exercises Burn the Most Belly Fat?
Any exercises that boost your heart rate can help you burn belly fat; however, some exercises that really get your heart rate up to burn more fat include:
- Cycling
- Aerobics
- Running
- Swimming
Studies further show that interval training, such as HIIT, which is simply alternating short bursts of intense cardiovascular exercise with less intense exercise, helps burn even more calories and fat for faster results.
Engaging your entire body in compound movements, like squats, lunges, burpees, and plank-based bodyweight movements, such as push-ups, also help burn more belly fat than isolated ab exercises.
What Ab Exercises Build the Most Muscle?
The abdominals are comprised of four major muscle groups, including the rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, and transverse abdominis.
Therefore, your ab session should target all four muscle groups to help build muscle and get a balanced workout.
Leg raises and scissor kicks are great for working the rectus abdominis, while side medicine ball tosses and Russian twists help strengthen the internal and external obliques.
And then, to tone the transverse abdominis muscle, throw in a few sets of dynamic toe taps and elbow to knee planks.
When doing ab circuit training, trainers recommend doing two sets of each move, then resting at least 30 seconds between each set for best results.
How Soon Can You Lose Belly Fat?
If you want to lose belly fat, reports show you must participate in at least 20 to 40 minutes of cardio at least 3 to 4 times per week, which, on average, can take up to 3 months or more to see significant results.
However, with the right cardio and a balanced diet, it is possible to start seeing a reduction in belly fat in as soon as 1-week.
In fact, the more high intensity the cardio, the quicker and more calories and fat you burn. Likewise, the frequency and duration of your cardio also help determine the time it takes to see results.
The number of calories you take in versus the number of calories you burn during cardio will also determine how fast you begin to experience a reduction in ab fat.
Lastly, some research shows that adequate sleep can also help accelerate your results. However ,one study showed that insufficient sleep may actually cause you to retain belly fat.
Should You Train Your Abs Every Day?
In order for your ab muscles to be transformed, they must be broken down to rebuild themselves.
However, it typically takes a day for the damaged muscle fibers to recover. Therefore, it is not recommended you work your abs every day because it will hinder the repairing process.
As a matter of fact, your muscles only grow when you’re not exercising them as opposed to during exercise.
Therefore, it is recommended you take a rest day in between ab training days to allow your body to do its work.
However, this doesn’t mean that during that time, you can’t engage them during other exercises, such as planks, etc.
In fact, balance exercises, such as planks, that cause you to engage your stomach muscles for stability have also been shown to effectively help reshape the midsection, so you don’t have to rely solely on isolated ab exercises to help transform your core.
How Long Should You Work You Abs to Help Flatten Them?
Unlike other workouts, you don’t need a full session to work your abs. In fact, you can simply add 15 minutes of core work at the end of your training to get results.
However, if you’re a newbie, experts recommend starting with just 5 minutes of ab work each session and then slowly build your way up to a 10 to 15-minute routine.
On the other hand, if you are experienced, you may find that you want to fit a longer ab workout into your training.
Just be sure to let your stomach muscles rest one day in between, so they can recover.
What to Eat to Lose Belly Fat?
Your diet also plays a huge role in the reduction of belly fat; hence, you will also need to modify your calorie intake to experience flatter abs.
Nutrition experts state that you should also limit your sugar intake to help flatten your stomach because it contributes to larger fat deposits around the midsection. This is also true for processed foods.
Meanwhile, increasing your protein intake will not only help your muscles with repair, but it also helps you feel full longer, so you consume fewer calories and the more fat you burn.
However, stick to lean protein sources, such as fatty fish, lean chicken, nuts, and beans, etc.
The omega-3 oils found in fatty fish and the omega-6 oil found in nuts and seeds have also been shown to help you lose fat and build muscle.
Experts also recommend consuming a high-protein breakfast to help kickstart its effects early on.
Fiber, such as that found in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, has also been shown to help you lose belly fat by slowing down digestion and curbing your hormones, so you eat less.
Since it isn’t digested, it also helps keep you regular, so you experience less puffiness and bloating for a flatter tummy.
Probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria naturally found in your gut, may also help you lose belly fat and help regulate your weight.
In fact, research shows that obese individuals tend to have less good gut bacteria than leaner people.
Furthermore, those with less good gut bacteria also tend to gain more weight than those with more gut bacteria, suggesting probiotics, especially a diverse range of probiotics, plays a role in influencing your body weight.
A few studies even showed that when gut bacteria obtained from obese test subjects were introduced into the guts of lean test subjects, it caused them to develop obesity.
Probiotics may also help inhibit the absorption of dietary fat, increasing the amount of fat excreted from the body.
They are also believed to help release appetite-regulating hormones as well as decrease levels of fat-regulating proteins, which help decrease fat storage and burn calories and fat.
Lastly, you should also drink plenty of water to help rid belly fat because it helps with digestion and muscle function, which helps with weight loss.
And reduce your salt and alcohol intake because they can lead to water weight gain.
Some other belly fat burning foods include:
- Red fruits
- Oatmeal
- Lean meat
- Plant based diets
- Leafy greens
- Bright vegetables
- Green tea
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
What Else can I Do to Get/Maintain Fit Abs?
When doing ab exercises to help tone your belly, it is equally important to ensure you are properly engaging the core because it can weaken your stomach muscles, which can cause them to bulge instead.
To properly engage your ab muscles during exercise simply means to tighten all the muscles in your core, similar to bracing yourself to get hit in the stomach.
To continue to breathe with your core engaged, inhale, fill your belly with air, and then while keeping your abs full and tight, breathe in and out, using only your rib cage.
You will know that your abs are braced when you notice your ribs moving in and out when you breathe instead of your stomach.
In the meantime, you should also be sure to keep your back straight when doing stability exercises and seated exercises, such as push-ups and shoulder presses, to also help strengthen your core.
A strong core is also crucial to help prevent injuries as well as to also improve your workout and sports performance, and you can even brace your muscles when you’re not exercising to help build ab strength.
Eliminating stress can also help you achieve a flatter midsection because it helps decrease cortisol, which has been linked to increased fat around the belly.
Therefore, you want to keep your hypothalamus from releasing too much cortisol, which stress management habits, such as meditation, breathing, and exercise, can help you do.
Will My Ab Results go Away if I Become Sick or Injured and Can’t Workout?
Unfortunately, if you don’t continue to work your abs, you will lose the results of your hard work overtime.
However, the more active you were before you became sedative, the longer it will take for you to lose your muscles, provided you don’t go on an eating binge during this time.
Instead, experts suggest cutting back on your carb and fat intake to help keep your calorie intake in check.
However, they stress that you should keep up with your protein intake because it is your muscles’ building block, which will help you retain your muscle mass while you are out of commission.
They also suggest you continue to drink plenty of water because it will help fill you up and decrease your appetite, so you don’t overeat.
Some reports show that water also helps burn calories.
To help prevent bored eating, they also suggest you keep your mind busy while immobile, so you avoid excessive snacking.
In the meantime, to help keep your abs toned, they recommend doing various sets of 60-second ab holds throughout the day.
Finally, when you do resume your regular ab training, they suggest starting slow and then working your way back up to help avoid injury.
Best Ab Trainers
| Core Max 2.0 | SideShaper | Stealth Core Trainer |
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| The Core Max 2.0 is a no frills ab training device that helps you get those perfect abs in just 8 minutes a day. | The SideShaper allows you to target different parts of your ab muscles with its unique, bi-lateral swivel technology not found on many other ab trainers. | We included the Stealth Core Traineron our list of top ab training machines because it’s a unique workout experience that allows you to play games on your smartphone while training. |
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Final Thoughts
Understanding how your abs work to build muscle and burn belly fat enables you to
properly train your core and body for the greatest results.
Toning your stomach muscles also promotes good posture, improves your athletic performance, and prevents injuries while carrying out everyday activities.
Research shows that ab workouts also help decrease back pain, provided you exercise the proper form. Otherwise, it can actually cause back pain or make the pain worse.
However, belly fat left unattended is linked to an increased risk of serious health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and more.
So if a healthy future is in your plans, then seriously consider committing to a regular workout regimen that also includes ab strengthening to help get and keep you in the best shape of your life.
