For many women in midlife, stubborn belly fat is one of the most frustrating body concerns—and one that can prove particularly difficult to shift.
Search Instagram or TikTok for fitness resolutions and you will find countless videos of toned influencers performing punishing abdominal routines, often promising a flatter stomach within weeks.
However, leading fitness researchers increasingly suggest that conventional core workouts may do little to reduce abdominal fat and, in some cases, could contribute to serious spinal injuries.
In 2022, an international team of researchers reviewed data from 13 studies examining whether training a specific muscle group could reduce fat in that particular part of the body.
The conclusion was clear: targeting muscles such as the abdominals, glutes or biceps has virtually no effect on the amount of fat stored in the surrounding area.
So, what strategies can actually help?
Personal trainer and online fitness star Lucy Wyndham-Read shares the exercises and lifestyle changes that can help tackle belly fat over the course of several weeks.
Fitness experts warn that sit-ups may contribute to severe back and neck pain
Why sit-ups and planks don’t work
There is substantial evidence that sit-ups alone will not eliminate belly fat.
In 2011, researchers from several US universities, including Brigham Young University in Utah, monitored 24 adults as they completed intensive abdominal exercises for six weeks.
At the end of the study, participants had experienced little to no reduction in abdominal fat.
More recently, researchers at the University of Aberdeen found that resistance exercises, including planks and crunches, were less effective at reducing midsection fat than activities such as running and cycling.
Ms Wyndham-Read explains that the main weakness of so-called “spot training” is that it works only a relatively small group of muscles in one area.
That approach is not only inefficient for burning fat, but is also likely to produce only “minimal” improvements in overall muscle tone and strength, says the trainer, whose fitness YouTube channel has nearly three million subscribers.
She also warns that sit-ups and planks may carry risks for some people.
“You can end up doing more damage than good,” she says. “Sit-ups compress the discs in the spine and can create tension in the neck, sometimes resulting in significant pain.”
The exercises may be particularly unsuitable for women who have given birth relatively recently, she adds.
Pregnancy and childbirth can raise the risk of diastasis recti, a condition in which the connective tissue running down the centre of the abdomen becomes stretched and thin. It can cause discomfort and a noticeable bulge in the stomach.
According to Ms Wyndham-Read, sit-ups and other lying-down movements that contract the abdominal muscles can worsen the condition.
Exercise standing up for a flat stomach
The most effective approach to reducing belly fat, she says, combines a balanced, calorie-controlled diet with what she describes as “standing cardio”.
‘Jump off the floor, forget doing sit-ups and planks,’ she says. ‘I’ve been teaching for 30 years and I’ve tried all kinds of floor abs exercises, but the ones that get the best results are the ones where people are standing up.
Jennifer Aniston, 57, credits exercises that build ‘functional strength’ throughout her entire body for her enviable defined abdominal muscles, rather than ‘training abs in isolation’
‘Here, there’s a greater challenge for the abdominals because you’re engaging more muscle groups, so toning while also increasing calorie burn at the same time, which is vital for fat loss.
‘Plus it provides other benefits like balance, and flexibility.’
Ideally, these standing movements should be paired with another regular cardiovascular exercise, such as running or cycling.
‘An activity that gets the heart rate up is really going to help,’ she says.
As for specific standing cardio exercises, she recommends ‘pretend boxing’.
‘Stand in a split stance and imagine you’re boxing, punching from one side with one arm to the other.
‘Twist through the waist, but keep your hip still so your lower body is solid. This will engage external and internal oblique muscles.’
She advises alternating between punches and knee lifts. ‘After one minute you’ll start to feel your tummy muscles working,’ she says.
‘Another great standing exercise is doing straight leg kicks – you’re using your legs, but you’re also really engaging your core.’
Choose five standing cardio exercises and repeat them for five minutes daily, she advises.
‘As long as you’re consistent, you’ll definitely see a difference after a few weeks.’
Don’t underestimate the power of a daily walk
‘People don’t realise that walking is one of the best ways to really work the abs,’ says Ms Wyndham-Read.
‘A ten minute walk in the morning, five-minute standing abs workout at lunchtime, and another ten minute walk in the evening, is far more effective than doing a 45 minute floor workout involving sit-ups and planks.’
Beyond exercising, another crucial element in the quest for a toned tummy is, of course, diet.
‘It’s just balance,’ she says. ‘The right sized portions, and trying to prepare your own food so you know what the ingredients are.
‘Don’t deny yourself anything – make healthier choices 80 per cent of the time, and eat what you want for the other 20 per cent.
‘It’s far more realistic to have a plan that you know is doable – the most important thing is to find something that you can be consistent with.’
