If you're thinking about running in order to get rid of stomach
fat, please read this article through to see whether running is the best
way to lose belly fat or whether you're missing out on an important
aspect of fat loss that may prevent you from getting those flat abs
you've always wanted.
There's no doubt that running does reduce belly fat. All cardio workouts do to a certain extent. You exercise and you burn calories, it's as simple as that. However, the question is whether running as most people do somehow magically burns off more belly fat than other activities do.
The answer to that is no for two reasons:
1. Running doesn't focus your fat burning on your belly alone. No workout does. You can't direct your body to burn more fat just from your abs. Your body loses fat from all over.
2. The way most people run is not the ultimate way to burn off body fat. It just isn't. If you're like most people then you are likely wasting a lot of time on ineffective workouts and have a very slim chance of ever seeing your stomach fat disappear.
The reason is that most people like to judge the effectiveness of their workout by how long it takes. They believe that they have to run for 40 minutes or maybe even an hour to really burn off fat by running. This is not true. The best way to burn lots of fat with running is to do intervals, changing your pace from fast to moderate every few minutes during the workout. It has been shown that doing intervals is a more intensive way to workout and helps you burn more calories in a shorter time. It can quickly help you to shed belly fat quickly. In addition you can probably cut your running time by half.
However, even interval running is not the best way to lose belly fat. To do that, you need to incorporate running in a more complete workout and nutrition routine. To lose the most fat possible you need to also keep your muscle tissue and develop it. This helps you to keep your metabolism running as high as possible and burning even more fat.
Running alone won't get you the kind of results you want. Only when used as part of a bigger program does it become the best way to lose belly fat.
There's no doubt that running does reduce belly fat. All cardio workouts do to a certain extent. You exercise and you burn calories, it's as simple as that. However, the question is whether running as most people do somehow magically burns off more belly fat than other activities do.
The answer to that is no for two reasons:
1. Running doesn't focus your fat burning on your belly alone. No workout does. You can't direct your body to burn more fat just from your abs. Your body loses fat from all over.
2. The way most people run is not the ultimate way to burn off body fat. It just isn't. If you're like most people then you are likely wasting a lot of time on ineffective workouts and have a very slim chance of ever seeing your stomach fat disappear.
The reason is that most people like to judge the effectiveness of their workout by how long it takes. They believe that they have to run for 40 minutes or maybe even an hour to really burn off fat by running. This is not true. The best way to burn lots of fat with running is to do intervals, changing your pace from fast to moderate every few minutes during the workout. It has been shown that doing intervals is a more intensive way to workout and helps you burn more calories in a shorter time. It can quickly help you to shed belly fat quickly. In addition you can probably cut your running time by half.
However, even interval running is not the best way to lose belly fat. To do that, you need to incorporate running in a more complete workout and nutrition routine. To lose the most fat possible you need to also keep your muscle tissue and develop it. This helps you to keep your metabolism running as high as possible and burning even more fat.
Running alone won't get you the kind of results you want. Only when used as part of a bigger program does it become the best way to lose belly fat.