If you want to get rid of your belly fat, vigorous aerobic exercises such as jogging or fast ride, beat in weight or resistance training, a new study shows.
If you are overweight or lightly obese and want to lose fat - Belly fat, visceral fat, hepatic fat - Vigorous aerobic training was better than resistance training, "says researcher Cris Slentz, PhD, a physiologist exercises in Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC
The study appears in the American newspaper of physiology, endocrinology and metabolism.Post Pregnancy Belly Fat Loss - To Banish Belly Fat, Keep Moving
Slentz and his team attributed men and women ranging from 18 to 70 years, to one of three groups:
- The aerobic training group exercised walk on a treadmill on a slope. They put the equivalent of 12 miles from running to 80% of their maximum heart rate every week.
- The Resistance Training Group made three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions on weight training machines three times a week.
- The combination group made the two workouts.
The study lasted eight months.
Slentz focused on visceral fat. It is located on the bottom of the body around the stomach and fills spaces between internal organs. He thinks about it as "inside fat." It is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.
It is different from subcutaneous fat, the type that is directly under the skin. Subcutaneous fat is what is responsible for the so-called "Top Muffin", the fat that spreads over waistband. Although much of this subcutaneous fat is not good, very visceral or "inside" belly fat is much more dangerous.
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The researchers compared measurements before and after. They reported results by 144 men and women, on equally divided between the three groups.
The aerobic training group had the reduction of fat more visceral.
The combination group had more total reduction of belly fat than alone aerobic, but lower reduction of visceral fat than the aerobic group only.
The resistance only group had the smallest total reduction of belly fat. He lost some subcutaneous fat, but actually earned a little visceral fat.
As for the reason aerobic training is the best belly fat correction, Slentz says he simply burns more calories than resistance training does. "I really believe it's all there is for that."
Aerobic training was also better than resistance training in improving risk factors for diabetes, such as insulin resistance and risk factors for heart disease.
Slentz warns people who were not active to check with their doctor before starting a vigorous exercise program.
Results are not surprising for Mark Tarnopolsky, MD, PhD, pediatrics and medicine teacher at McMaster Children's Hospital, McMaster University Medical Center. He revised the WebMD conclusions, but did not participate in the survey.
Aerobic training works best for belly fat, he says, because of the biggest calorie burning. "There are always rest periods between sets, even in a circuit weight training program," says WebMD.
"Years ago, we find that the energetic cost of a very intense circuit weight training in young people was just about 250 calories per hour," he says. Running for an hour burning 500 to 750 calories.He and a colleague are now looking if high intensity currents can also reduce belly fat.
The results do not suggest that people should give up resistance training, he says. It is necessary to compensate for loss of muscle mass with age and maintain strength.
The force"is increasingly important for health and the ability to live independently as we age," he says. "Resistance exercise does little if anything to help with loss of strength."
For this reason, he says, a mixture of aerobic and resisted training is better.
