The Answer To A Popular Fat Loss Question - What Exercise Will Reduce My Belly Fat?

What Exercise Will Reduce My Belly Fat?

The answer to this question is a little discouraging . . . 

When you try to isolate muscles, you are actually creating a body that is non-functional and will be prone to injury. Essentially, you are creating a body that is a compilation of body parts, instead of a powerful, functional unit that works together. 

Now if you really want to end up hobbling around in a body bandaged up with joint problems, tendonitis, and excess body fat, then by all means, continue trying to ‘isolate’ body parts. 

This answer is discouraging, BUT the solution to reducing belly fat is simple . . . 

On the other hand, if you would rather have a lean, muscular, injury-free, functional body that works as a complete powerful unit to perform complex movements (in athletics or even everyday tasks), then you need to shift your focus away from muscle isolation. 

Another benefit to moving away from the muscle isolation mindset in weight training to a more ‘complex movement’ mindset is that you will find it much easier to lose body fat. 

The reason is that by focusing more on multi-joint complex movements as opposed to single-joint muscle isolation lifts, you not only burn a lot more calories during each workout, but you also increase your metabolic rate, and stimulate production of more fat burning and muscle building hormones such as growth hormone and testosterone.

Let’s look at an example. 

The machine leg extension is a single joint exercise that works mainly the quadriceps, can potentially cause knee joint instability in the long run, and doesn’t even burn that many calories.  

On the other hand, exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups, and deadlifts are all multi-joint complex movements that work hundreds of muscles in the body (including the quadriceps) as a functional unit, create more stable and strong joints in the long run (when done properly), and also burn massive quantities of calories compared to the single-joint exercises. 

Now although multi-joint exercises should comprise the majority of your weight training workouts, there can be some benefits with just minor inclusions of single-joint exercises for variety, etc.  Build your training programs with about 90-95% multi-joint exercises and about 5-10% single-joint exercises at most.

Interested in discovering more ways to create a body that looks as good as it functions?

Pick up a copy of Certified Personal Trainer Mike Geary's innovative book The Truth About Six Pack Abs.

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