Does Building Muscle Burn Belly Fat?
We Asked an Expert If Building Muscle Burns Belly Fat — Here's What He Said
3
Strength training can help you lose belly fat, but it isn't the only form of exercise you should do. Cardio can help you lose fat, but according to Rondel, you've got to choose the right cardio. Doing long, drawn-out cardio is OK, but it can potentially become catabolic and break down your muscle tissue. To circumvent this, Rondel recommends doing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) like cardio. "It gives you a hormonal response that's conducive to muscle growth, and it's more anabolic — where you're developing tissue, muscles, collagen, cartilage, things of that nature," he said in a previous interview.
If you like doing steady-state cardio, you don't have to give it up. In fact, you can do cardio every day. Rondel recommends doing HIIT (this is one of our favourite HIIT workouts) two to three days a week and steady-state cardio three to four days a week as long as each session isn't longer than 30-minutes. If you want, you can do cardio and strength on the same days. In this case, Rondel said to do 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength.
You can burn fat and build muscle with exercise, but you've also got to make nutritional changes. To lose fat, 50 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from carbs, 25 percent should come from fats, and the final 25 percent should come for protein, Nikki Jupe, MS, RD, LD, CSSD, senior sports dietitian at the University of Oregon told POPSUGAR in a previous interview. This is a general estimate and we recommend speaking with a registered dietitian to find what works best for you and your goals.