While using aerobic exercise to lose stomach fat is very important, weight training is much more valuable. Lifting weights will help you lose weight AND build muscle. Don't believe me? Read on.
According to an article in the Men’s Health Big Book of Exercise, Penn State University researchers put overweight people on a reduced calorie diet and divided them into three groups. One group didn’t exercise, another did aerobic exercise 3 days a week and the last group did both aerobic exercise and weight training 3 days a week. Each of the groups lost nearly the same amount of weight-around 21 pounds. The difference being those that lifted weights lost 6 more pounds of fat than those that didn’t. Why? Because the lifters’ weight loss was almost pure fat, while the other two groups lost just 15 pounds of fat and several pounds of muscle. That amounts to 40% greater fat loss. This isn’t a one time finding. According to the same article, research shows that 75% of non lifting dieters’ weight loss is from fat while 25% is from muscle. That 25% may reduce your scale weight but it doesn’t do a lot for your reflection in the mirror. It also makes you more likely to gain back the fat you lost. However, if you weight train as you diet, you’ll protect your hard-earned muscle and burn more fat instead. It’s like liposuction: The whole point is to remove unwanted fat, right? Ok. Then that’s exactly what you should demand from your workout.
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