Sit Ups and other core work may be the reason you’re not losing weight and getting your abs to pop…
Sit ups may be making you fat.
I know it sounds crazy. But it’s true.
Get this…
A 2011 study out of Southern Illinois University found that after after 6 weeks of daily ab exercises, not one person’s physique changed.¹
Body fat percentage didn’t drop the slightest!
Not a single inch lost from the waistline. Or anywhere else!
Nothing.
Zero.
Zilch.
And remember, that’s after six weeks of ab exercises.
All that time, work, and effort. Yet, nothing but a sore back to show for it.
How many sits up do I need to get a flat stomach and visible abs?
Knowing that 6 weeks of ab exercises doesn’t make an impact on seeing your abs, you may wonder how many sit ups does it take to lose weight and get your abs to show.
Why Sit Ups Will Never Give You a Flat Stomach
There are a few reasons why popular ab exercises like sit-ups won’t flatten your stomach or give you a 6 pack and have you looking like an athlete.
The biggest reason is because of the metabolic demands of the exercise.
The reason why the belly didn’t budge is because sit ups are not metabolic demanding. Think about it. How hard are you breathing after a set or two of sit ups? Unless you’re working out in a sauna, not even a trickle of sweat drips off your brow.
Of course they work the abs, though not the most effective method. But they don’t have any effect on belly fat. You may develop a killer 6-pack, but unless the fat gets burned off, no one will ever see it.
If you had the time and patients to do enough sit ups to make a dent in belly fat it would take you roughly 10 thousand sit ups. Current research says that’s how many it takes to burn enough calories to melt away one pound of fat.
To put that into perspective…
If your were to break up your sit-ups into 5 sets of 20 reps, you’d end up with 100 reps. If you could find time to do that plus another 5 sets of 20 every single day…
it would take you 7 weeks to burn just 1 pound of flab.
If you haven’t cut calories you’ll actually get fatter. The amount of work put in only burnt about 70 calories.
Less than a handful of these and you blow through those 70 calories.
I can’t think of a more miserable way to get results.
Talk about throwing salt into your wounds.
Who wants to wait 7 weeks and suffer through hours of sit-ups for 1 measly pound?
I don’t imagine you do!
Especially when there are better ways to get results that can make an old school washboard envious.
There are better ways to get results
The key to quicker weight loss and a nice midsection is to sprinkle core work in with more metabolically demanding exercises like sprints, kettlebell swings, and strength training.
I’ve put together a special program specifically designed to help you firm up fast and get your abs to pop.
- There are over 20 different mini routines to chose from. This gives you plenty of variety so you never get bored.
- They’re simple, quick, yet effective routines that you can easily tack on to the end your regular workout for fast results.
If you’re not following a regular program each routine can stand on its own so you can still get your sexy on.
There are even routines that don’t need a lick of equipment. So you can do them anytime, anywhere. Perfect for when you’re traveling or in a time crunch.
If you want to continue to do crunches and other ab workouts, go ahead.
But if you want real results in less time I suggest you check out this free resource…
Body Transformation Quick-Start Guide
Instant Access
Transform your body with free cheat sheet designed with your goal in mind. To get started click the button below that matches your gender.
Guys, click the button below.
I’m Male
Ladies click the button below.
I’m Female
Why sit ups make you Fat
We’ve seen why sit ups don’t work. Now let me explain why they make you fat.
Time is limited. So, you have to decide what to do with it.
If you’ve dedicated 30 minutes a day to exercise and spin 10 – 15 minutes doing ab work, you’re missing out.
We’ve see how little the metabolic demands are for sit ups and other core exercises. The 15 minutes of ab work could be spent doing more effective exercises. The sit ups are cutting your weight loss efforts in half. That drastically reduces the effectiveness of your program and contributes to an expanding waist line.
Ditch the sit ups. Train like an athlete. And the abs will come.
References:
- J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Sep;25(9):2559-64. dos: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181fb4a46. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat.