More often than not, people will complain about the fat on their tummy. So how do you lose the ‘love handles?’ How do we make the tummy look skinnier? A personal trainer will often recommend crunches and performing exercise after exercise to target the abdominals. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the reasoning behind it is not correct. It is not possible to target weight loss for particular areas of the body.
The best way to lose fat is to perform aerobic exercise. There are many, many ways to exercise aerobically. This can range from the various forms of activities (running, swimming, walking, cycling) to the various intensities and length of times exercising.
High intensity interval training has been proposed as the best way to lose abdominal fat. However, performing a range of different aerobic activities regularly during the week for lengths of time over 30 minutes is still the most heavily supported recommendation for losing body fat (as opposed to abdominal fat).
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t perform the abdominal exercises. These core strength exercises are very important for postural control and avoiding lower back pain (please see previous blogs for more information on lower back pain). Simply put, aerobic exercises are the best way to lose body fat, but high intensity interval training can be slightly more beneficial for abdominal fat.
Proper guidance and correctly designed exercise programs are vital for achieving the goals you set. A personal trainer is capable of helping achieve such goals, but for the highest qualified exercise professional in Brisbane and Australia look for an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. If you want to know more information such as that in this or one of our other blogs please contact one of the Exercise Physiologists at Bodytrack health and fitness on 07 3870 4119.