Scads of articles online advise doing crunches to get rid of belly flat or to flatten a paunch.
As a fitness expert, I’m flabbergasted at the volume of incorrect information in cyberspace about how to trim a pudgy stomach, rid belly fat, flatten the abs, etc.
I was inspired to write this post after coming upon one such article. I don’t recall the title but it was something like “Get Six Pack Abs and Flatten Your Fat Belly.”
I expected to see the scientifically proven approaches, but instead there were only three recommendations: 1) Crunches, 2) Cardio and 3) Sit-ups.
Who was the dork who wrote this article? Well, being that the post was on a plagiarist’s content-mill site, the article was attributed to only “Editor.”
But that article is similar to reams of online posts praising the virtues of crunches for getting rid of belly fat.
Why do so many online posts recommend crunches and sit-ups for slashing stomach fat?
• The authors are not fitness experts nor have any personal experience with getting rid of belly fat.
• Like many people, they believe in the myths and probably don’t do much of ANY kind of exercise.
• They write these articles because they are writers trying to make money.
• They know that slashing belly fat is always a hot topic and decide to write articles on this topic.
So even though, from a literary standpoint, the writing may be good, the information is INCORRECT.
I have yet to read an article written by a personal trainer who actually declares, “I put all my belly fat clients on a massive crunching program and toss in some jogging, nothing else, and their fat stomachs shrink in no time and even show a six-pack.”
If someone does a search on how to lose belly fat and just happens to click first on one of these incorrect “do crunches” articles, that person is going to believe this advice.
Crunches Will Never Get Rid of Belly Fat
Not even a thousand a day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all you had to do was lie before the TV and do hundreds of crunches—being done by the time your favorite sitcom is over—in order to flatten that belly and show a six-pack?
Really, if it were that easy, every other person in the U.S. would have killer abs.
So what gets rid of a fat belly? What brings out the six-pack?
High intensity interval training is one way. Big compound movements like the back squat and deadlift are another way.
Back squat. Shutterstock/HD92
Deadlift. Anastase Maragos on Unsplash
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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