Are Crunches the Best Exercise to Lose Belly Fat?

By Ryan M Hall

You may think, like much of the world, that the best exercise to lose belly fat is crunches or cardio. Surprisingly, this is not true. In fact, crunches have very little effect on belly fat, and cardio is not as effective as some other methods. So what can you do to burn fat fast?

While most people will try to use cardio, like running on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike, there is a much better way to burn fat in a much shorter time. This can be accomplished by building muscle. But how can resistance exercise, be more effective than flat out running or crunches?

Resistance exercises are exercise like lifting weights, doing bench press and squats. This is not to say that you need to become a body builder in order to lose belly fat, but building some lean muscle will make your body burn belly fat much faster and for much longer than just running on a treadmill. In fact, building muscle can actually burn fat for up to 72 hours after a workout, something that running on a treadmill can't do.

What is the best exercise to build muscle and get your body burning belly fat? The best type of exercises you can do are compound exercises. Examples of compound exercises are squats, bench press, and rows. These exercises build muscle all over your body, which will burn your belly fat much better than building muscle in specific areas the way isolation exercises or cardio does.

Doing cardio and crunches won't get you the results you may want because the best exercise to lose belly fat is compound muscle building exercises. Doing these exercises will get your body burning fat and building muscle, and just a few workouts a week will get you almost immediate changes in your midsection. - 30414

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