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Belly Fat Myth #1 - Long duration, low-intensity cardio workouts are the best for burning belly fat.
This is not true. Not only have two different studies shown that this type of cardio is not the best way to burn belly fat, there have also been some indications that it might not have any effects on burning fat in your belly at all. In each study, low intensity exercise (LIE) was compared against either interval training or high-intensity cardio. The LIE cardio workouts not only lasted for a longer period of time but they were also shown to be a less effective way to burn belly fat. Why would you want to do something for 40 to 60 minutes (LIE) when there are other more effective methods that require a much shorter period of time? LIE is not an effective technique.
Belly Fat Myth #2 - You must do cardio in the morning, on an empty stomach to burn belly fat.
This is also false. You can exercise any time of the day, with food in your system and still burn belly fat. There is no requirement about doing it in the morning or that you starve while you do it.
Belly Fat Myth #3 - You must do cardio everyday to burn belly fat.
Although some die-hard people may choose to do cardio every day, it is not a requirement to allowing your body to lose excess fat in your belly. Three to five days a week of cardiovascular training is more than enough to increase your metabolism so that you can burn off those extra pounds. This takes into consideration that you are not eating more calories than you are burning. The most effective training programs strictly monitor the number of calories coming in, versus the number of calories being burned. In addition, it is important to remember that every cell of muscle that you add to your body; is like a little fat-burning factory that helps to boost your natural "resting" metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat does and the more muscle you can gain, the faster your natural metabolism will be. For this reason, doing cardiovascular everyday is not a requirement for effectively losing belly fat. There are many other techniques that should be used in combination with cardiovascular.
Belly Fat Myth #4 - You must do cardio in the "fat burning zone."
The fat burning zone is a myth from the 1980's. It is based on having an upper and lower range for your target heart rate. The lower rate is the minimally required heart rate required to provide cardiovascular benefits while the upper threshold is there to prevent your body from beginning to burn muscle, instead of fat. The myth assumes that if the heart rate gets too high, that muscle will then be burned, while fat tissue is overlooked. This is completely false. The most effective cardiovascular workouts are obtained by getting good and sweaty and pushing yourself to raise your heartbeat to a high level which is still safe for your body. A doctor can tell you what level this might be for your particular body type.
Bely Fat Myth #5 - Cardio is better than resistance training for burning belly fat.
New research is showing that this, in fact, is not true. Studies have very clearly shown that people of all ages can burn belly fat, while gaining muscle at the same time, with resistance training. Men and women lost an average of 4 pounds of fat, without doing any cardiovascular exercise or changing their diet, in a 12-week resistance training program. Resistance training focuses on replacing fat with muscle and it is a very effective tool against fighting belly fat.
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