It’s a new month, so I wanted to share a common misconception about fitness.

And it comes from a couple of questions I got recently during training sessions. One was from a new client, and one was from someone who’s been training with me for years.

So, it goes to show you that you don’t have to be a newbie to mess this stuff up :-)

The question from the new client was, “What foods should I be eating if I want a flatter stomach?”

The question from the longtime client was, “What exercises should I be doing to lose my belly fat?”

If you know me well enough by now, you can probably guess how I answered both questions.

“Squats.”

Doing endless amounts of situps and crunches is not going to burn belly fat. It’s just going to make your belly sore. Consistently doing strength training – particularly multi-joint exercises like squats and deadlifts – will burn lots of calories and add lean mass to your frame, increasing your ability to burn fat.

Eating a certain type of food is not going to melt your belly fat, either. (Though there are plenty of people on the internet who will be happy to sell you such nonsense.) Eating whole, minimally processed foods and being in a calorie deficit will cause that stubborn belly fat to disappear.

So as we begin a new month together, I thought it would be a good time to dispel this myth.

Remember, keep it simple and do the basics consistently.

Coach Aaron