What Burns Belly Flab for Up to Three Days?

A workout program that combines strength training with cardio burns fat -- starting with belly flab -- for up to three days or more after exercising. During both cardio and strength training, fat is burned for fuel. After strength training, your body burns more fat to fuel its work of rebuilding new tissues. As new muscle is built, total-body muscle increases and metabolism goes up. Regular cardio exercise also increases metabolism. This burns more belly flab as fuel for your body’s natural functions even when you are at rest.

  1. Belly Flab and How It Burns

    • The body's first source of fat to burn for fuel is belly flab.

      Fat is stored under the skin and in muscles as a source of energy that can be used by your body in time of need. When more fat is created than burned each day due to calorie intake, lack of exercise or both, excess fat is stored deep in the belly. This visceral fat has been shown to be a health risk. Exercise stimulates your body to release fat from storage into the bloodstream to be used as fuel. And belly flab is the first fat to burn.

    Burn Belly Fat During Exercise

    • Cardio burns the most fat during, but not after, exercise.

      During strength training, when you use weights or other types of resistance to tear and then rebuild muscle, ligaments, tendons and bones, your body burns fat as a fuel source. Running, biking, dancing and other cardio exercises that significantly increase your heart rate and oxygen intake will help you burn more fat during exercise than other activities that do not significantly increase your oxygen intake. Cardio also raises metabolism after exercise. A workout program that includes both cardio and strength training will burn more belly fat over time than cardio or strength training alone.

    Burn Fat for Up to a Week

    • Burn belly fat while you sleep with resistance training.

      After resistance-training exercise, your body can take between two days and a week to rebuild new muscles, bones and other tissues. This length of time can be up to a week for people over age 50 and those who are extreme bodybuilders. It is also influenced by diet, quality of sleep and genetics. In addition to protein, carbohydrates and water, this rebuilding process requires fuel in the form of fat. Once again, belly flab is burned first.

    More Muscle Equals Less Belly Fat

    • Use cardio and strength training to lose belly fat forever.

      The fat-burning benefits of strength training last beyond the tissue-rebuilding phase. A higher total body muscle percentage causes a higher metabolism. Trying to lose belly fat with just cardio exercise and dieting can be difficult and even unhealthy because it can result in weight loss including loss of muscle, which lowers metabolism. A balanced diet including protein, carbohydrates, hydration and some healthy fats like olive oil and nuts will build muscle and give your body the energy it needs to burn belly fat. A balanced exercise program that includes both cardio and strength-training exercise will build -- instead of tear down -- a fit, toned body.

    Multiple-Joint Muscle Building

    • Bench presses build muscle while releasing fat-burning hormones.

      Multiple-joint resistance exercises release more of the hormones that increase metabolism than single-joint exercises. Bench presses simultaneously work the chest muscles and the shoulder and elbow joints. Use enough weight to offer resistance but not cause pain after six repetitions. Lie on a bench with your knees bent and your feet flat. Hold a bar or a dumbbell in each hand with your elbows bent straight out at your sides. Squeeze your stomach muscles in toward the bench, and contract your chest muscles while pushing the weight straight up. Lower your arms to the starting position. Complete three sets of six repetitions, increasing to 16 as you build strength.