Dr. Ahmed Visceral fat, often called ‘active fat,’ is the hidden type of fat that builds up deep inside your belly, wrapping around key organs like the liver, stomach, and intestines.
Unlike the fat you can see and pinch under your skin, visceral fat is harder to notice but far more dangerous.
It raises your risk of serious health issues like heart disease, type 2 DM, stroke, and high blood pressure.
While healthy eating, stress management, and good sleep are all important, exercise is a key tool for cutting visceral fat. So, which workouts work best?
Let’s explore the evidence, focusing on High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and resistance training.
Why target visceral fat?
Before we get into the ‘how, it is important to know the ‘why.’ Visceral fat is active in the body, and it releases hormones and chemicals that cause inflammation and interfere with normal body functions. Losing it can lead to many health improvements
- Less visceral fat leads to better artery function and a reduced risk of heart disease.
- It significantly decreases insulin resistance, helping to prevent or manage type 2 diabetes.
- Excess belly fat can contribute to musculoskeletal pain, and shedding it can offer relief.
- A substantial amount of visceral fat is a major risk factor for hypertension.
The good news is that visceral fat is often easier to lose than subcutaneous fat, responding more readily to lifestyle changes.
HIIT vs. Resistance Training
When it comes to torching visceral fat, both High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and resistance training have emerged as highly effective, research-backed approaches.
They each offer unique advantages, and incorporating both into your routine might just be the ultimate strategy.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):
HIIT means doing short, hard workouts with quick breaks in between. For example, sprinting then walking, or fast cycling followed by slower pedaling. It’s popular because it saves time and burns a lot of calories.
How HIIT works:
HIIT workouts are popular for their ‘afterburn effect,’ called Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).
This means your body keeps burning calories at a higher rate even after the workout ends, as it recovers and refuels. This ongoing calorie burn helps a lot with overall fat loss, especially deep belly fat.
Research insights:
Studies have consistently shown that HIIT is effective in reducing both total body fat and abdominal visceral fat [ref].
Some research even suggests that HIIT can yield similar or even superior fat reduction results to longer, moderate-intensity cardio sessions, but in significantly less time [ref].
A study on overweight young women showed that HIIT reduced belly fat as much as longer steady workouts, even though HIIT took less time [ref].
This is partly because intense exercise boosts fat-burning hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and growth hormone.
Examples:
- Running sprints: Sprint for 30-60 secs, then walk or jog for 60-120 secs. Repeat 5-10 times.
- Cycling intervals: Cycle as fast as possible for 1-2 mins, then slow down to a recovery pace for 2-3 mins. Repeat.
- Bodyweight circuits: Perform exercises like burpees, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers intensely for 45 seconds, followed by 15-second rests. Cycle through 3-4 exercises for several rounds.
Resistance training:
This is also called strength training or weightlifting, and it means using resistance like dumbbells, bands, or your own body weight to make your muscles work.
It is usually linked to muscle building, but its powerful effect on burning fat, especially deep belly fat, is often overlooked.
How resistance training works:
Resistance training helps burn visceral fat mainly by building muscle. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat, so having more muscle boosts your resting metabolism.
This means your body burns more calories all day, even when you are not active. Also, resistance training creates an ‘afterburn effect’ like HIIT, where your body keeps burning extra calories even after you finish working out.
Research insights:
Many studies show that resistance training is effective in lowering visceral fat. A review of multiple studies found that lifting weights can significantly reduce body fat percentage, total fat, and visceral fat in healthy adults [ref] [ref].
Experts believe resistance training improves body composition by increasing muscle and reducing fat, even without cutting calories. This happens because it boosts your resting metabolism and helps your body burn more fat.
Examples:
- Compound exercises: Focus on movements that work multiple muscle groups simultaneously, such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, and rows. These are highly efficient for building overall strength and muscle.
- Weightlifting with free weights: Using dumbbells, barbells, or kettlebells for exercises like overhead presses, bench presses, and bicep curls.
- Bodyweight exercises: Incorporate exercises like planks, pull-ups (if accessible), dips, and glute bridges.
Combining HIIT and Resistance Training
HIIT and resistance training each help reduce visceral fat on their own, but doing both together works even better.
HIIT burns lots of calories and boosts your metabolism, while resistance training builds muscle and increases how many calories you burn at rest.
A balanced weekly plan might look like this:
- 2-3 days of RT: Focus on full-body workouts or split routines (e.g., upper body/lower body).
- 1-2 days of HIIT: Add cardio-based HIIT sessions or bodyweight HIIT circuits.
- 1-2 days of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise: Activities like brisk walking, jogging, or swimming for longer durations can complement your intense workouts and support overall cardiovascular health.
- Rest and recovery: Allow your body some good time to recover and rebuild.
Beyond exercise: a holistic approach
While exercise is paramount, remember that it is one piece of a larger puzzle. To truly tackle visceral fat, consider these complementary strategies:
- Healthy diet: Go for whole foods, lean meat, fruits, veggies, and soluble fiber. Limit processed foods, white sugars, trans fats, and too much alcohol.
- Adequate sleep: Aim for 7-9 hrs of quality sleep per night. Poor sleep can increase cortisol, which is a stress hormone linked to visceral fat storage.
- Stress management: Chronic stress can contribute to visceral fat accumulation, so you must practice yoga, meditation, and spend time in nature.
Conclusion:
There is not just one ‘best’ workout to burn belly fat, and both HIIT and strength training have great benefits.
The most effective method usually combines both, along with a healthy lifestyle that includes good nutrition, enough sleep, and managing stress.
What matters most is staying consistent. These changes do not just slim your waist as they boost your overall health and energy too.
Before starting any new workout routine, especially if you have health issues, it is best to check with a doctor.
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