Stubborn belly fat can be one of the most frustrating body concerns, especially for women in midlife who find it difficult to shift despite their best efforts.
A quick search for New Year fitness advice on Instagram or TikTok brings up a stream of toned gym enthusiasts performing punishing ab workouts, often claiming they can produce a flat stomach within weeks.
Yet leading fitness scientists are increasingly warning that many conventional core routines may be ineffective. In some cases, they say, these exercises could even raise the risk of painful and serious spinal injuries.
In 2022, an international team of researchers reviewed data from 13 studies examining whether training individual muscle groups could burn fat from specific parts of the body.
The conclusion was clear: working targeted areas such as the abs, glutes or biceps has virtually no effect on the amount of body fat stored in those particular regions.
So, what can actually make a difference?
Personal trainer and online fitness star Lucy Wyndham-Read shares the exercises, along with key lifestyle changes, that she says can help tackle belly fat over the course of a few weeks…
Fitness experts have warned that sit-ups can leave people vulnerable to severe neck and back pain
Why sit-ups and planks don’t work
There is substantial evidence that sit-ups will not eliminate belly fat.
In 2011, researchers from several US universities, including Brigham Young University in Utah, monitored 24 adults who carried out intensive abdominal exercises for six weeks.
They found little to no reduction in belly fat in the time since they began training.
More recently, University of Aberdeen researchers found resistance exercises such as planks and crunches was less effective than running and cycling for reducing fat around the middle.
The problem with so-called ‘spot training’ movements, Ms Wyndham-Read says, is that they only target a small group of muscles in the area.
Not only is this inefficient for fat burning, but the impact on muscle tone and strength will be ‘minimal’, says the trainer, who has nearly 3 million subscribers to her fitness YouTube channel.
She cautions that there are even potential dangers of sit-ups and planks.
‘You can end up doing more damage than good,’ she says. ‘As sit-ups compress the discs in the spine and can cause tension in the neck, sometimes leading to significant pain.’
She adds that the exercises may be particularly risky for women who’ve given birth relatively recently.
Pregnancy and birth increase the risk of a problem called diastasis recti – whereby the connective tissue running down the middle of the abdomen becomes thin and stretched, causing discomfort and often a visible bulge in the tummy.
Sit-ups and other lying-down exercises that contract the abdominal muscles are known to make it worse, according to Ms Wyndham-Read.
Exercise standing up for a flat stomach
The most effective way to destroy belly fat is with a combination of a balanced, calorie-controlled diet and what Ms Wyndham-Read calls ‘standing cardio’.
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‘Jump off the floor, forget doing sit-ups and planks,’ she says. ‘I’ve been teaching for 30 years and I’ve tried all kinds of floor abs exercises, but the ones that get the best results are the ones where people are standing up.
Jennifer Aniston, 57, credits exercises that build ‘functional strength’ throughout her entire body for her enviable defined abdominal muscles, rather than ‘training abs in isolation’
‘Here, there’s a greater challenge for the abdominals because you’re engaging more muscle groups, so toning while also increasing calorie burn at the same time, which is vital for fat loss.
‘Plus it provides other benefits like balance, and flexibility.’
Ideally, these standing movements should be paired with another regular cardiovascular exercise, such as running or cycling.
‘An activity that gets the heart rate up is really going to help,’ she says.
As for specific standing cardio exercises, she recommends ‘pretend boxing’.
‘Stand in a split stance and imagine you’re boxing, punching from one side with one arm to the other.
‘Twist through the waist, but keep your hip still so your lower body is solid. This will engage external and internal oblique muscles.’
She advises alternating between punches and knee lifts. ‘After one minute you’ll start to feel your tummy muscles working,’ she says.
‘Another great standing exercise is doing straight leg kicks – you’re using your legs, but you’re also really engaging your core.’
Choose five standing cardio exercises and repeat them for five minutes daily, she advises.
‘As long as you’re consistent, you’ll definitely see a difference after a few weeks.’
Don’t underestimate the power of a daily walk
‘People don’t realise that walking is one of the best ways to really work the abs,’ says Ms Wyndham-Read.
‘A ten minute walk in the morning, five-minute standing abs workout at lunchtime, and another ten minute walk in the evening, is far more effective than doing a 45 minute floor workout involving sit-ups and planks.’
Beyond exercising, another crucial element in the quest for a toned tummy is, of course, diet.
‘It’s just balance,’ she says. ‘The right sized portions, and trying to prepare your own food so you know what the ingredients are.
‘Don’t deny yourself anything – make healthier choices 80 per cent of the time, and eat what you want for the other 20 per cent.
‘It’s far more realistic to have a plan that you know is doable – the most important thing is to find something that you can be consistent with.’