Can doing situps and other mildly strenuous body resistance exercises help lose fat?
June 8, 2010 Categories: Question Answer
I want to lose fat. I’m running, exercising, and intake right, but want to do more. If I do say, fifty situps and twenty pushups a day will I lose fat? Or will I acquire muscle? I’m not going to be doing any other weight training, and I’m not using dumbells or anything at all. Also, should I try high reps, in a short time to lose the most fat?
No. Strength training exercises are an important part of a weight-loss regimen to prevent you from losing muscle mass and also to increase your metabolism, but they will not burn fat the way that you want them to.
Instead, you need to do cardio exercise like running, biking, or playing a sport. You need to get your heart rate up to at least 70% of your maximum (220-age) and keep it there for a good 30 minutes at a time.
Light to moderate calisthenics (sit-ups/push-ups/etc) will burn about 300 to 350 calories per hour. A brisk walk for the same time would burn more and running would burn 2 to 3 times as many calories. You need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat.
Push-ups and sit-ups are great to help tone your body and to help build your core. This will help with other activities that you do and can reduce the risk of back problems as you get older.
Good Luck!