When most people want to lose belly fat, they think the solution is to perform ab workouts.
As a personal trainer with years of experience, I can say with certainty that the way to burn belly fat is NOT by training your abs.
In fact, I barely train my abs directly and I am able to maintain a lean physique all year long with a few simple strategies.
The Truth: Ab Workouts Don’t Burn Belly Fat
The assumption that ab workouts will burn belly fat comes from the idea of targeted fat loss.
In other words, choosing where to lose body fat by exercising various muscle groups that are near the origin of the fat tissue.
Fat loss does not occur this way.
In fact, fat loss is a completely individual process and everybody holds their fat in different quantities and distributions.
How Does Fat Loss Occur?
On its most basic level, fat loss occurs when stored fats are liberated from your adipocytes (fat cells) into circulation in order to supply the energy needs of your body.
In order to lose fat from your abs, you need to create an energy deficit.
Where your body loses fat first is a function of your unique fat distribution and genetic makeup.
But the good news is, no matter where you hold onto your fat – if you start losing fat on a global level, you will inevitably lose fat on your belly as well.
How to Burn Belly Fat
My strategy for burning belly fat has worked for myself and all of my clients and there is no reason that it won’t work for you.
If the underlying principle of fat loss is to sustain a net energy deficit, you need to have a strategy to create an energy deficit in the first place.
In other words, you need to burn more calories than you take in.
And there are two primary ways of doing this.
1.) Reduce Your Total Caloric Intake
The amount of calories that your body requires to maintain its physiological functions is called your BMR (basal metabolic rate).
Your BMR is determined by many factors such as your current body weight, age, sex, height, metabolism, and activity level.
You can find your BMR with a calculator.
Once you find your BMR, you have officially found the amount of calories it takes to sustain your CURRENT body weight.
Now all you do is reduce your caloric intake from this number by 500 calories per day if you want to lose fat at a rate of approximately 1lb per week.
I highly recommend using a calorie tracking app like myfitnesspal.
It’s a super easy way to maintain your calorie deficit and make sure you are hitting your numbers each day.
This is exactly how I maintain a lean physique and how I get my clients to lose fat.
2.) Begin an Exercise Program
The second thing you need to do is begin an exercise program.
I prescribe my clients specific exercises based on their unique needs and abilities.
It is really important that you hire a coach so that you know which exercises work best for you and which are going to be safe for you.
I coach people remotely and will write you a specific plan according to your needs.
You can find more about these opportunities here.
Once you begin your exercise program, you need to stick to it!
That’s because the metabolic effects of exercise take some time to accumulate.
After being consistent for some time, you will undoubtedly begin to lose fat from your belly.
Bonus Tip: Implement Zone 2 Cardio
Most people don’t know what kind of cardio they should really be doing in order to lose body fat.
But the way you get to elite metabolic health and an ideal body composition no matter your age is by implementing Zone 2 Cardio.
This is a low intensity form of cardio that will burn belly fat immensely well.
Trust me on this one – it’s exactly how I stay lean and how I get all of my clients lean.
Stay Accountable
The majority of people will fail to lose body fat because they are not being held accountable.
It is incredibly challenging to stay on track when you have a packed schedule and a family life to manage.
The majority of my clients have incredibly demanding jobs and it really helps them to have someone there for them each step of the way during their fat loss journey.
If you can have a coach hold you accountable and lay out the plan for you, it removes a lot of the decision making on your part.
I work with my clients closely and maintain a close relationship with each and every one of them to make sure they are getting my full attention and support.
This is precisely why I only work with a handful of select people at any given time.
If you need help improving your body composition, don’t hesitate to reach out!
I look forward to connecting!