What is the Best Ab Workout for Losing Belly Fat?

The answer to the often-asked question of "What is the best ab workout for stomach fat loss?" is...

None! Abdominal workouts alone don't create a sufficient metabolic response in your body to produce fat loss.

As a trainer, nutrition specialist, and fitness professional, I am often asked about the best types of exercises and workouts for losing stubborn stomach fat in order to create visible six pack abs. The problem is that most people with excess belly fat are trying to uncover their abs with some "miracle abdominal workout" that is going to eliminate their fat in no time.

The thing is... they are going about the process entirely the wrong way! The truth is that you won't lose belly fat by doing abdominal exercises.

The problem is that focusing the majority of your time and effort on ab workouts to try to flatten your stomach and bring out six-pack abs is simply wasting your time. Instead you need to focus on correct workout programs that will actually reduce your overall body fat for good.

To answer what are the best exercises are for losing belly fat, my response would include full body exercises such as the following:

Squats, lunges, clean and presses, deadlifts, swings, snatches, presses and pulls, mountain climbers, sprinting, etc.

I would design an exercise program using a much higher percentage of these types of full body exercises instead of abdominal workouts simply targeting the midsection. The way these full body exercises are combined into a strategic workout is what maximizes your metabolism.

Don't misunderstand... I do recommend a certain amount of directly targeted abdominal exercises that work the core, but these are just a small portion of the workout programs that I design for my clients. Your workout time is better spent focusing on full body exercises that stimulate the maximum hormonal and metabolic changes in your body. A beneficial side-effect of working out using mostly full body and multi-joint combination exercises is that you also work your entire midsection while not specifically targeting the abs.

Keep in mind that the most important factor in losing belly fat to visualize your ab muscles is actually in the area of nutrition. No matter how hard you exercise, if your diet is full of junk food, your abdominals will still be covered with ugly fat. Nutrition is without a doubt the "secret of getting a 6-pack".

So let's clear this up entirely...

Stop wasting your time focusing on crunches, situps, leg raises, and those gimmicky "ab contraptions" in your attempt to develop six-pack abs. Instead focus on full body high intensity lifts using combination multi-joint exercises combined strategically into highly effective fat loss workouts. Couple that with a healthy diet of natural unprocessed whole foods as close to their natural state as possible, and those elusive 6-pack abs will be yours in no time!

Learn more about my key strategies for losing stubborn belly fat and getting Flat Sexy Six-Pack Abs for life.

Michael Geary (CPT) is a recognized International Fitness Expert, contributing writer for Muscle & Fitness Magazine, author of the internationally-popular book, The Truth about Six-Pack Abs.