Do Ab Exercises Burn Belly Fat?
Many people do ab exercises because they want to lose belly fat.
However, the evidence suggests targeted ab exercises are not very effective.
Spot Reduction May Not Be Effective
The term “spot reduction” refers to the misconception that you can lose fat in one spot by exercising that part of your body.
It’s true that spot-training exercises will make you “feel the burn” while muscles grow and strengthen. However, studies show they won’t help you get rid of belly fat.
One study followed 24 people who did ab exercises 5 days a week for 6 weeks. This training alone did not reduce subcutaneous (under skin) belly fat.
Another study tested the effects of a 27-day sit-up program. It found that neither fat cell size nor subcutaneous belly fat thickness decreased.
This is not only true for the abdominal area. It applies to all areas of the body.
For instance, one study asked participants to complete 12 weeks of resistance training, exercising only their non-dominant arm.
They measured subcutaneous fat before and after the program and found that participants lost fat throughout their bodies, not just in their trained arms.
Several other studies have shown similar results.
However, Some Studies Disagree
Some studies seem to contradict the above results.
One study tested whether spot reduction decreased subcutaneous arm fat. It found that exercise in a specific area of the arm reduced the fat in that area.
Another study examined whether the location of the subcutaneous fat mattered. It compared subcutaneous fat beside working muscles to fat next to resting muscles.
Interestingly, no matter how intense the exercise, blood flow and fat breakdown were higher in subcutaneous fat that was close to active muscles.
Nevertheless, the methods or measurement techniques used in these studies could be the reason for the conflicted results.
Bottom Line: The evidence is mixed, but many studies have shown that training one area of your body will not help you burn fat in that area. Studies also show that ab exercises alone have no effect on subcutaneous belly fat. Treat your body a whole and improve your overall health and diet to hit those troublesome ‘spots’.