How to lose belly fat. Do you need to pump your abs to lose weight

Many people go to the gym for a specific purpose: to remove the belly, lose weight in the hips or get rid of annoying folds. All the energy in this case is directed exactly to the training of the problem area. And do not get the result. The question arises, how to lose weight in a particular part of the body and whether there is localized fat burning.

The expert of “Championship” wellness coach Andrei Semeshov answers how local fat burning works.

Wellness Coach Andrei Semeshov

Local fat burning: myth or reality

If it were possible to change only one parameter of human physiology in relation to fitness, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second – local fat burning! People who perform more than 100 twisting presses per workout and then another 50 leg raises in the hang would go from being weirdos, mostly wasting their time, to having the coveted “cubes”. Sales of electric stimulators of the rectus abdominis would have hit the top, the Internet would have been filled with really effective programs “Pump up your abs in a month”. But alas!

“I’d like to remove a little on the abdomen, thighs and more here, and in other places do not need” – this phrase, addressed to a fitness instructor, sounds as unrealizable as a request to “get the moon from the sky”. Here is a plastic surgeon will listen to it with professional interest and even, probably, will realize. But that’s a different story.

I would like to remove a little bit on my stomach and here, and in other places do not need – this phrase, addressed to a fitness instructor, sounds as unrealizable as a request to get the moon from the sky.

Scientists have conducted many experiments. In some of them it was suggested to perform exactly one isolated movement with a weight (for example, bending the right arm with a dumbbell), after which the researchers conducted a comparative measurement of the biceps fat layer on both arms. The hope, of course, was that there was less fat on the right arm. It didn’t. They also studied tennis players, whose workload on the working arm is many times higher. But the fat levels on both arms were invariably the same.

Scientists continued different tests and achieved their goal! They managed to “catch” the phenomenon of localized fat burning. More precisely, there is a study that recorded a decrease in fat in the “control” zone, but it was so small that even the most devoted fans of this theory had to recognize that to take into account such indicators is not worth it. We were talking about tenths of a gram for 30 minutes of exercise in the target zone. Apparently, the increase in temperature in a particular part of the body had an effect. It should be understood that these fat droplets are not used as energy in a particular muscle group. They first get into the general bloodstream and are further distributed by the body depending on its needs.

We managed to “catch” the phenomenon of localized fat burning! But the result was so small that even the most devoted fans of this theory were forced to recognize that it is not worth taking into account such indicators. We were talking about fractions of a gram per 30 minutes of exercise.

How weight loss works

Calorie deficit

To fully clarify why localized fat burning is not an effective strategy, we can consider the overall logic of weight loss. It is based on physics and the law of conservation of energy. Once in the body, all food is converted into energy (calories). If we get more energy than we spend, the excess will be deposited as fat stores. And if one day we think that it would be good to get rid of this “ballast”, the first and main task is to create an energy deficit. The total daily calorie intake should be less than the consumption. And there are no exceptions to this rule. Losing weight is in any case about a little hunger. There are many systems, and for each particular person will be optimal for its own variant of reducing the daily ration. For example, the keto diet, or intermittent fasting. Either option is good, as long as two conditions are met: you get the necessary minimum nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, and you are relatively comfortable fighting hunger.

If we get the idea that it would be good to get rid of this “ballast”, the first and main task is to create an energy deficit. Losing weight is in any case about starving a little.

For example, I decide to lose weight and realize that at my current level of physical activity I need to eat 2000-2200 Kcal. And I know that I can easily forget about food until five or six in the evening. But if I go to bed with an empty stomach, hunger pains and insomnia are assured to me. Therefore, in the morning I have a cup of coffee or add a symbolic snack of 300-400 kcal, but I eat tightly after training and before going to bed with a clear conscience eat up to 1000 kcal. Some people, on the contrary, have no problem going to bed on an empty stomach, but in the morning they just need a solid breakfast. If you don’t know your body very well, start by evenly dividing your daily calorie intake into 3-5 meals.

Calorie burning

Let’s move on to training, more specifically, to physical activity and its role in the fat-burning process. The minimum number of calories the body spends in the supine position. As soon as you sit on the bed, energy expenditure increases. This is also due to the fact that it is necessary to make the muscles contract. We start walking – energy expenditure increases, we speed up the step – the expenditure increases again, we start running – the expenditure increases again. Like a gas tank in a car – the harder we press the gas pedal, the more fuel is burned. So our fat stores are that gasoline. Do not be misled by the fact that this fuel is dispersed throughout the body (and also unevenly). The body perceives all fatty tissues, regardless of their location, as a single gas tank. Not even a gas tank, but a spare canister, which is still carried by some motorists who survived the era of fuel shortage.

The body perceives all fat tissues, regardless of their location, as a single spare canister of energy.

Muscle group exercises

In the process of any physical work, we practically do not spend the fat we want to get rid of. At first, the energy reserves located directly in the muscle cells and circulating through the bloodstream are used. And when the load is over, the body begins to replenish its energy reserves to the previous level. Provided that the body does not get everything it needs from nutrition, it will take the missing part from its fat reserves. And this process is rarely uniform. Almost everyone still has so-called hard-to-reach places. Everywhere is already beautiful and thin, but at the bottom of the back, or, for example, on the inner surface of the thighs remains a hateful fat fold. This is about individual genetic features and the distribution of receptors. And many people also notice that very quickly the efforts of the slimmer are manifested on the face. There is no mystery – just the fat layer there is less and even a small reduction in it gives a noticeable effect.

The process of weight loss is rarely uniform. And almost everyone still has so-called hard-to-reach places. This is already about individual genetic features and distribution of receptors.

Bottom line

In an effort to get rid of belly fat, it does not make sense to do twisting every day until exhaustion. An effective strategy should be built on tidying up the diet and an adequate level of physical activity. Squats with a barbell will burn more energy (fat) than twists. Simply because it takes significantly more energy to perform them. Although, of course, it makes sense to include abs exercises in your training program. But not more often than bench presses or the same squats.