What Exercise Machines Will Help You Burn Tummy Fat & Get a Six Pack?

With so many exercise machines designed to target your abdominal muscles, it's hard to know which one is most effective. But if you have extra tummy fat to burn, you may not find the most effective machine in the ab training area of your gym. In order to unearth that six pack, you'll need to do some cardio.

  1. Anatomy of a Six Pack

    • The primary muscles that influence the shape and appearance of your midsection include the rectus abdominis, which is the long ripply muscle that defines your six pack, and the internal and external oblique muscles that define your waistline. The primary function of your abdominal muscles is to stabilize your spine while standing or moving. They also serve to flex your trunk forward and side to side, and to rotate your trunk – for example, when swinging a tennis racquet or hitting a baseball. Exercises that build up the rectus abdominis muscle to define a six pack are geared more to cosmetic appearance than to improved function.

    Abdominal Fat and Exercise

    • Fat accumulated in the abdominal region, known as visceral fat, has been linked to metabolic disease, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and Type 2 diabetes. According to the Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide, spot exercises like crunches and situps can tighten abdominal muscles, but they won’t burn visceral fat. A study of overweight women with Type 2 diabetes published in the "Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism" in 2005 found that a program of walking, even without weight loss, was effective for decreasing visceral fat. A study of obese women published in "Medical Science in Sports and Exercise" in 2008 found that women who exercised at a higher intensity by jogging lost more abdominal fat than those who walked, or combined walking and jogging.

    Abdominal Fat and Nutrition

    • Nutrition plays an important role in reducing tummy fat. The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide recommends you stay away from sugary drinks and breads and pastas made from refined grains. Consume a diet of fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. Avoid saturated and trans fats, replacing them with polyunsaturated fats. Portion control is also important. Decreasing the total number of calories you take in each day while increasing the number of calories you burn during exercise will result in a caloric deficit that translates to a decrease in total body fat.

    Training for a Six Pack

    • To design an effective abdominal workout, exercise scientist Len Kravitz, Ph.D., from the University of New Mexico recommends choosing between five and 10 exercises that combine trunk flexion and rotation, and lateral flexion. Crunches, reverse curl-ups, cross-over crunches and dumbbell side bends are all exercises that will fit the bill. You may also want to employ some of the abdominal equipment available at your gym. Perform eight repetitions of each exercise before going on to the next exercise. Modify your workout with new exercises every two to three weeks.