August 29, 2025, 2:00 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

Losing Belly Fat – Why Abdominal Muscles Aren’t Particularly Helpful

Want to lose belly fat? What seems more logical than tackling the rolls in the middle of your body with daily sit-ups, crunches, and other exercises? A misconception! To lose belly fat, it’s much more effective to target a level lower.

“To lose weight, you must primarily lose fat,” explains sports scientist and personal coach Felix Klemme. This is achieved by burning as many calories as possible. Training larger muscles consumes more energy. The leg muscles, which include the glutes, are the largest muscle group in the entire body. “To lose weight, it’s definitely sensible to target this area,” says Klemme. The abdominal muscles are only somewhat helpful in this regard.

Why Belly Fat Is Still Particularly Stubborn

To understand why targeted abdominal training is ineffective, it’s worth looking at the different types of fat the body stores—and their functions.

Two Types of Fat Tissue in the Abdominal Area

The body stores excess energy as fat—a survival strategy that was evolutionarily sensible. Particularly in the abdomen, two forms of these fat reserves appear, which differ significantly from each other:

Subcutaneous Fat:
This fat is located directly under the skin surface and is usually visible as a soft cushion. It serves, among other things, as protection against the cold and as an energy reserve. From a medical perspective, it poses only a minor risk—hence it is not the focus of further consideration.

Visceral Fat:
Much more problematic is the so-called visceral fat. It sits deep inside the abdomen and surrounds organs like the stomach, liver, and intestines. In moderation, it protects sensitive structures, but in excessive amounts, it can even deposit in organs, muscles, and bones—without being visible from the outside. Even slim people can be affected.

The problem: Visceral fat is particularly sensitive to a consistently high calorie intake and is closely linked to metabolic disorders and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.¹

More on the topic

Consulting an Expert Can You Target Weight Loss in Arms, Stomach, Buttocks, or Legs?

Fitness Sit-ups to Combat Belly Fat? Expert Explains if It Works

Focus on the Large Muscle Groups in the Legs and Glutes

Even beyond the training situation, muscles consume energy. Even when you’re not moving at all. And this extra effort adds to the daily resting energy expenditure of a person. Typically, this ranges from 1,800 to about 2,200 calories. However, the actual value varies greatly and depends on various factors—such as gender, age, life circumstances, and, not least, physical condition.

1 Kilogram of Muscle Increases Energy Expenditure by About 100 Calories

For example, a 1.80-meter-tall, 80-kilogram man around 30 years old burns an estimated 75 calories per hour without exertion, which is slightly less than one calorie per kilogram of body weight. If the man had well-developed muscles, his hourly consumption would increase. Just one kilogram of muscle can boost daily energy expenditure by about 100 calories, which is roughly five percent. Building muscle is very worthwhile if you want to lose weight!

Also interesting: These Are the Benefits of Training with Resistance Bands

Where You Lose Weight Can’t Be Controlled

As Felix Klemme explains, it’s generally not effective to focus on a specific body part during training to lose fat and weight there. Depending on predisposition, some people lose weight first in the belly, others first in the glutes, and others in the arms. The unwanted fat pads only reliably disappear when overall body fat is reduced. And that’s the right time to focus on the abdominal muscles and tackle the six-pack project. But: This goal requires perseverance and discipline in another respect: eating. A six-pack requires longer, ambitious training combined with a sensible dietary change.