is it true that you can't lose weight around waist by doing sit-ups?

Question

i heard many people say this is a myth and that to effectively lose your spare tire or to build abs is to run/do cardio.

can anyone confirm this? ad details if you can. thanks!

Answer 1

thats cuz all the people who say that dont do it right and probably are quiters and big old babies

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Well, I have never been the sit uptype, BUT, a few years back, I used an ab Roller, which, is like sit ups. I went down a few sizes. I was also walking and eating better as well. But if you think about it, walking a lone wouldnt have helped the belly area..just legs and thighs. So I would say YES it does help, and wherever you heard that rumor..tell them to get their facts straight. Why else would you see numerous gadgets on television that help you get a thinner waistline by mimmicking situps? Also, another think that I have tried that worked, is just sitting or standing, I hold my gut in to the count of 20, do that about 20 times, it helps tighten the muscles. I lost about 2 inches doing that..problly would have lost more, but I got lazy.

Answer 4

SouthC,

You have to do both.

Fat doesn't turn into muscle. Fat has to be burned off, and the way to do that is by doing cardiovascular exercises (do a physical activity that makes you sweat for 30 minutes).

Sit ups either lengthen (tone) or build (using heavy weights) muscle in the front of the stomach.

To reduce love handles, you need to work the obliques.

If you don't do the cardio, you will have the muscle on top of fat, or visa versa.

Answer 5

No, The spare tire around your waist is fat. Your whole body is covered with fat, I'm not being mean, actually everybody's body is covered with a layer of fat.

You can't get rid of fat without surgery, you can only reduce or increase the size of your fat cells. Fat is stored energy, when you eat more than you excercise your body stores it up in your fat cells just in case you run out of food, so you won't die right away that is.

You need to excercise more than you eat to work off the fat. It is impossible to reduce fat in one small area without reducing the size of all of your fat cells. No matter what the TV tells you.

IF you do just a few situps alone you can actually make the muscles in your stomach area larger and make your stomach stick out farther. Do a lot of many different excercises, watch what you eat and all of your fat cells will shrink.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO SHRINK SOME OF YOUR FAT CELLS

Easy right?

Answer 6

Like WWD said, doing situps (or crunches) will tighten up the muscles around your midsection. Sooo...if your just trying to get rid of a moderate spare tire, situps will help you loose a few inches around the midsection. Keep in mind, you might not loose weight, you'll just be tightening those muscles, so your tire doesn't look as large. And I speak from experience!

Answer 7

Any exercise helps, cardio keeps burning fat long after you stopped. Sit ups will help straighten and tone your abdominal muscles but the fat will still cover them up. You got the "spare tire," the same old way, and have lose it the same old way, diet and exercising. Best of luck

Answer 8

NO NO NO!!!! You cannot lose weight around your stomach by doing situps. In order to lose weight you have to burn calories. You cannot spot burn calories. Meaning if you ride a bike for hours you are not going to have a big huge gut and skinny little legs. The same applies to this situation. You would need to do plenty of cardio to develop visible abb muscles.

Answer 9

yes, its true. by doing sit ups you only build muscle and your belly looks even bigger since all the muscle is underneath the fat.
cardio 4-6 times a week for 30-50min plus light weight training and 5-6 small meals a day is what makes you lose weight.

Answer 10

Well speaking as a former high school track athlete, I can safely say that you can lose weight around the middle by doing situps AND running....they both contribute to burning fat cells in the abdominal region.

Answer 11

It's neither true nor false. There is no such thing as spot reduction, but the exercise does burn calories, and the tighter abdominal muscles hide the fat better. Of course, you have to factor in that if you're really overweight (or even if you're not), sit-ups have a fairly high associated injury risk.