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Now that so many American adults are in the overweight and obese categories, it is time to apply what really works to reduce belly fat. But along with losing the fat, you want to preserve muscle mass. Muscles waste away when they are not used. Use them or lose them. Therefore, your challenge is to lose fat without losing muscle.

The point of weight loss is not to lose weight, but to change your body composition so that you have less fat. You must lose fat. Of particular interest is visceral fat, which is the active abdominal fat that gives you that fat belly look. Yes, it is an issue of vanity, but it is also an issue of health. Belly fat has been linked to higher risks of heart disease, hypertension, insulin resistance, and diabetes. So while you want to lose belly fat to look good, you also want to lose it to feel good.

Some recent scientific studies have suggested that adding strength training to your regimen will result in greater fat loss than diet and steady state cardio alone. A 2005 study found that two sessions per week of progressive resistance training, without an accompanying weight loss diet, significantly improves insulin sensitivity and fasting glycemia and decreases abdominal fat in older men with type 2 diabetes.

Results of a 2003 study of men with coronary artery disease suggest that a long-term combined aerobic and strength training program is more effective than an aerobic program alone in producing changes in body composition.

There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that strength training is superior to steady state cardio training for reducing fat. Furthermore, this anecdotal evidence indicates that you do not have to devote a lot of time to achieve significant results. As little as forty minutes of strength training, three times per week can reduce your body fat significantly; and it is more likely that you can keep this kind of training schedule. Running for an hour can be quite boring, and while it will improve your fitness level, it will do little to preserve your lean muscle mass. You will lose fat doing cardio, but you may also lose muscle. To preserve and build your muscle mass, you must do strength training.

There are many strength training programs available, so if you are trying to lose fat, especially if you are on a fat loss diet, then you should incorporate strength training into your fat loss plan. The Truth About Abs program is a fat loss and fitness program that includes a nutritional component and a strength training component. The strength training component uses multi-joint exercises to build strength and burn fat quickly. If you don’t have access to a gym or don’t have time to go to a gym, you can design a strength training program that requires only dumbbells and body weight exercises. In fact, you can do strength training with body weight alone.

Strength training has other benefits besides fat loss. By stressing your bones it increases bone density. Strengthening your muscles protects your joints. Strength training increases stamina and also can help you sleep better. So in addition to losing fat, you will improve your health in other ways by doing strength training.

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