FITNESS newbie or not, if you want to lose belly fat, you’re probably thinking about the potential changes you need to make to your diet and how you should be training. With all the workout options — HIIT, strength training, cardio, and CrossFit — it can be difficult to find the best workout that will help you get rid of belly fat.

“Belly fat doesn’t decrease at any different rate depending on your training methodology,” said Alex Harrison, a sports performance coach for Renaissance Periodization. “If the goal is to lose belly fat, you’ve got to lose all fat,” he continued. According to Harrison, “Where you hold the most fat will be the place where you’re last to lean out.” Spot reduction won’t work, but Harrison did explain what you can do to lose body fat in general.

For short-term weight loss, a few weeks or a month for example, Harrison said it doesn’t matter whether you do cardio or lift weights, but there’s a catch. If you’re trying to lose fat, “Weight training is almost certainly better because of your increased muscle mass and its ability to continue to burn more calories at rest,” he explained. Another reason Harrison advises doing strength training over cardio is because cardio has the potential to burn both fat and muscle.

To lose body fat and maintain or build lean muscle, you’re going to have to be diligent with strength training. “For the super-dedicated folks, I’ll have them do six days per week of lifting with only light cardio on their one ‘rest’ day,” Harrison said when asked how often you should work out to lose belly fat. If your schedule is more demanding, Harrison recommends lifting four days a week and doing full-body workouts.

If you’re a beginner or haven’t worked out in a while and six days of lifting sounds like too much too soon, don’t worry. Stephen Cheuk, founder of S10 Training in NYC, recommends two strength sessions a week, gradually working your way up to three sessions a week for beginners.

To lose body fat, you’ve got to hit the weights, and you’re going to want to strength train a minimum of two times a week. If you’re wondering which exact exercises to do, Harrison recommends compound exercises. Why? Because they’re multijoint movements that work large groups of muscle and elicit a greater energy expenditure. This means that you have to work harder to perform them, and as a result, your body will burn more calories and fat. Exercises like barbell back squats, deadlifts, walking lunges, bench press, and pull-ups are all examples of compound exercises.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to pay attention to how your body responds to both strength training and cardio, and find the best training routine for yourself.

(SD-Agencies)