Use Strength Training to Combat Belly Fat
While you can’t get rid of belly fat with just crunches , a study from Harvard found that resistance training will have the greatest positive impact on your waist compared to aerobic exercise or no exercise at all.
For the study, published in the journalObesity , Harvard researchers studied 10,500 healthy men aged 40 and older, comparing their physical activity, waist circumference and body weight over 12 years (1996 to 2008). Ergo Log reports the results:
Over the period when the researchers observed the men, their waist increased by an average of 6.6 cm. Strength training reduced this increase by 3 cm. According to this study, this happens regardless of whether you are maintaining a normal to high aerobic activity or no.
The researchers even calculated that if participants did 20 minutes of strength training daily over the 12 years of the study instead of 30 minutes of aerobic activity, they would lose another 0.34 cm from their waist size. It would be even better if they did 20 minutes of strength training a day instead of watching 30 minutes of TV: this would lead to a decrease in waist size by 0.76 cm.
This is probably unsurprising, but those who have intensified their sedentary lifestyles, such as watching TV, have increased waistlines.
According to lead researcher Rania Mekari, waist circumference is a better indicator of health than body weight. While aerobic exercise is still important for your heart and other health, if you want to maintain a healthy waistline, increase your strength training. Even 10 minutes a day three times a week can help.
Using Weight to Fight Belly Fat | Harvard Gazette via Ergo-log