Targeted exercises known as ab exercise are not going to help you reduce orget rid of stomach fat. If your current training regime includes these exercises with this goal in mind you need to think again. Examples of these types of moves include side crunches, crunches, weighted sits up and similar exercises which include higher impact examples ofyou having to twist or bend.
While for many years people have considered these the best exercises for stomach fat reduction in truth they are much more likely to damage muscle, put strain on your back and play havoc with your posture. Ab muscles are not meant to bend and twist, they are there to keep your midline stable; indeed they are there specifically to stop you twisting (etc), causing damage. This is basic anatomy and persisting with these exercises may well cause you a back injury and perhaps long term problems. It certainly won't help you get rid of stomach fat.
Strengthening Your Abs
There is of course nothing wrong with strengthening and defining those abs, far from it. Stronger abs will provide further protection to your midline and spine. Exercises which don't involve twisting and bending, planking for instance are much more effective here and if you give it a try you'll soon feel the difference.
What Will Get Rid of Stomach Fat Then?
Targeting stomach fat specifically isn’t possible andyet in order to get rid of it you need to burn it off. To add an extra sting one of the areas that is less likely to be affected by fat burning methods (thanks to insulin sensitivity) is..... yes you guessed it, your tummy/stomach area.
Basically when you eat your insulin gets to work, spiking. If you eat higher levels of sugar or foods which break down into sugars more easily (examples being bread, pasta and other commonly eaten starch-based foods) the insulin in your body has to work harder to deal with these. The more your insulin has to work at peak performance all the time the more likely it is that it will loose sensitivity and be less effective which in turn causes insulin insensitivity. This then results in more fat being stored in the body in those more prone areas.
The answer? If you are looking to burn off stomach fat you firstly need to do it from the inside out, starting with your diet and giving your insulin a break. Look to follow a lower carb diet, giving your insulin a chance to work less hard and thereby giving it a chance to get better / recover somewhat. Refined carbs especially should be avoided.
Secondly embrace the research which tells us that exercise can in fact help with insulin sensitivity. Stay active and increase the intensity levels you work out at to help burn fat and reduce insulin resistance while incorporating the ab strengthening exercises suggested to stabilise and define over time.
Insulin sensitivity and ineffective (as well as potentially harmful) stomach burning exercises are no joke so do consider what you eat and how you work out carefully.