Why Stomach Crunches Don't Burn Fat

One of the most common gym scenes is an overweight person complaining about not losing belly fat despite doing 50 crunches a day. Most gym trainers will continue recommending stomach crunches as a way to burn fat because either they don’t know better or (more likely in fact) they are tired of trying hard to break this omnipresent myth. The reason why stomach crunches don’t burn fat is because they are not supposed to. The reason why stomach crunches don’t burn fat is because stomach crunches, like all strengthening exercises, are only supposed to strengthen and toughen the muscles of the stomach.

Don’t Forget: Spot Fat Loss Targeting Does Not Work

Create a Calorie Deficit

The only way to burn 1 lb of fat is to create a calorie deficit of 3500 calories a week. That means that the difference between the calories consumed and the calories burned (through daily life and exercise) should equal 500 calories a day.

You Can’t Decide Where to Burn Fat From

If we had any say in the human body functioning, we’d instruct it to first tackle the fat from our bellies and then consider the fat around our wrists and arms. Truth is though the body will use up the smallest fat deposits first i.e. get to the belly last. This is the only reason most people get demoralised because they think they aren’t seeing results. But the results are there, they just need to stick it out. If they stay the course instead of quitting, they’d find that the body will eventually burn belly fat.

Diet and Exercise is the Only Way to Go

A controlled diet and exercise is the only way to ensure a daily calorie deficit. Exercise implies cardiovascular exercise that burns calories and strength training that ensures that your body burns fat even when you’re not exercising. You can wake up in the morning and do 200 crunches but the reason why stomach crunches don’t burn fat is because there’s only one way to burn fat and 200 daily stomach crunches isn’t it…