At Saratoga Health and Wellness, we are often asked, “What is the best exercise I can do to lose weight or tone up my abdomen?” To understand which exercise is best, first you must understand how weight loss occurs.
In order to lose weight you must create a negative caloric balance. Extra weight, specifically around the abdomen, is merely stored energy, or energy you have consumed but have not yet expended. In order to lose weight or reduce belly fat we need to find the right exercise that will expend the highest amount of energy or calories within a given period of time.
So, what is the best exercise for losing weight? Although all types of exercise expend calories and energy, cardiovascular exercise (treadmill, elliptical, cycling, rowing, etc.) is the best type of exercise for expending the highest amount of energy within a given period of time. The more time you are able to devote to cardiovascular exercise, the more calories you will expend.
Next time you visit the gym, and weight loss or toning your abdomen is your goal, you might be better off skipping your sets on the abdominal machine and spending that extra time on the treadmill to improve your outcome.