Shifting Belly Fat

[An Away Move]

Sign up to Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'The Pump Club'. It's an email list with some surprisingly brilliant, evidence based fitness tips. It's not all weights either.

I now do a 13 minute at home workout three times a week based on the first email and it's brilliant for strength and losing fat. I find that as soon as you start even a simple exercise regime you naturally want to eat cleaner. You can do so much in short workouts, which suits me as a 51 year old first time dad of a 16 month year old.

 

[ramboacdc]

It's all about calorie defecit. Put less in than you burn each day. You can achieve it by things like intermittent fasting, which is basically skipping 1 or 2 meals a day with a fancy name. Walk or move for at least 30 minutes a day. Elipticals are fantastic for not shaking your knees out of joint. Don't get a Peleton. Not worth it.

 

There is no magic pill that will solely shift belly fat. People lose weight in different places and you can't control it. You can do sit ups every day and you will just have a strong stomach muscle wall sitting behind the belly fat.  

 

I have issues with water weight due to medication so all the above is what I do daily. It's working and I have some water tablets to help shift the rest whilst I do run 3 times a week and intermittent fast. Taking gluten out your diet, or at least reducing it, really bought my stomach swell down. 

 

Best of luck! 

[Stevosevic]

Calorie deficit to lose weight. You can’t target a particular part of the body

[Tommy G]

1 hour ago, ramboacdc said:

It's all about calorie defecit. Put less in than you burn each day. You can achieve it by things like intermittent fasting, which is basically skipping 1 or 2 meals a day with a fancy name. Walk or move for at least 30 minutes a day. Elipticals are fantastic for not shaking your knees out of joint. Don't get a Peleton. Not worth it.

 

There is no magic pill that will solely shift belly fat. People lose weight in different places and you can't control it. You can do sit ups every day and you will just have a strong stomach muscle wall sitting behind the belly fat.  

 

I have issues with water weight due to medication so all the above is what I do daily. It's working and I have some water tablets to help shift the rest whilst I do run 3 times a week and intermittent fast. Taking gluten out your diet, or at least reducing it, really bought my stomach swell down. 

 

Best of luck! 

Why? Use mine in rain snow or sun, its upstairs so don't have to travel to the gym. I'd like to hear your argument, I think they have over 3m subscribers now 

[TJQuik]

Exercise alone is not very likely to cause you to lose weight, especially if you just have weights at home. It can help a little bit but you can eat through the calories you'll burn in a session in five minutes.

 

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to slowly change your dietary habits to ones that are both better and attainable. If you drink pint after pint or sugary coke, switch to spirits and diet coke for at least some of the time. If you constantly eat snacks try to eat fruit, etc. Then do exercise for its own benefits that are not related to appearance.

 

Overall unless your weight is at a level where you are going to run into health risks, I'd strongly discourage you from going down the route of trying to get a beach body - the risks to your mental health in doing so cannot be understated. Other people have posted some guides on the mechanics of losing weight without the full context of the emotional toll that maintaining that lifestyle for years can have.

 

Tracking your calories all the time and eating in a huge deficit is like a strong medication - it's necessary in a few cases where your health is at immediate risk but if you are already at a normal weight or just over, it's so easy to fall into the trap of disordered eating and body dysmorphia.

Edited 5 September 2023 by TJQuik

[TJQuik]

15 hours ago, MPH said:

 

just plenty of sit ups and  a high protein diet. I wouldn’t over do it with the exercise as being a type 1 you’d have to scrape yourself up off the floor a few times a week, I’d imagine. I’m sure you know the rescues aspect of carbs and sugars but what goes up quickly will also come down quickly. Proteins will slowly raise your sugar  to a more sensible level but is more likely to keep it stable..

Sit ups won't cause you to lose belly fat. They also aren't great for increased hypertrophy as you get stronger unless you add some kind of resistance somehow.

[MPH]

16 minutes ago, TJQuik said:

Sit ups won't cause you to lose belly fat. They also aren't great for increased hypertrophy as you get stronger unless you add some kind of resistance somehow.

 

he is stating that he had to be careful of exercise  due to how quickly his sugar can drop  . What can look like belly fat will be belly fat but it also could be partly due to muscle that isn’t toned allowing it all to protrude slightly more..

[ramboacdc]

38 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Why? Use mine in rain snow or sun, its upstairs so don't have to travel to the gym. I'd like to hear your argument, I think they have over 3m subscribers now 

It's too expensive, is not easily stored if you live somewhere without an extra room or garage and on top of that unreal price for the kit itself you then have to pay up to £25 a month for membership to do the classes. 

 

If you can afford a Peleton you can afford a membership at your local centre/gym that will do spin classes or if you delve deeper you can make your own program using a few different apps and save yourself a lot of money. It's a fanstasticly large expense, but I know people who have invested are die hards for it. 

[Tommy G]

4 minutes ago, ramboacdc said:

It's too expensive, is not easily stored if you live somewhere without an extra room or garage and on top of that unreal price for the kit itself you then have to pay up to £25 a month for membership to do the classes. 

 

If you can afford a Peleton you can afford a membership at your local centre/gym that will do spin classes or if you delve deeper you can make your own program using a few different apps and save yourself a lot of money. It's a fanstasticly large expense, but I know people who have invested are die hards for it. 

You could say the same about Gym Memberships, you could go for a no frills option at £25 a month or over £100 for David Lloyd etc. If your gym is 5 miles away you also have to factor in time and travel costs - fuel, car depreciation etc, so infact it becomes much more expensive than a Peloton. I think a fantastically large expensive is way OTT 

[TJQuik]

13 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

he is stating that he had to be careful of exercise  due to how quickly his sugar can drop  . What can look like belly fat will be belly fat but it also could be partly due to muscle that isn’t toned allowing it all to protrude slightly more..

You don't need to do sit ups to see a six pack or abs, either they are visible or there is belly fat covering it all. If you train your abs but there is fat covering it, it won't cause anything to protrude less.

[Bryn]

30 minutes ago, MPH said:

 

he is stating that he had to be careful of exercise  due to how quickly his sugar can drop  . What can look like belly fat will be belly fat but it also could be partly due to muscle that isn’t toned allowing it all to protrude slightly more..

 

I'm really sorry but "muscle that isn't toned" is an example of the misinformation around regarding this kind of thing.

[fox_up_north]

A lot of this can just come down to genetics, unfortunately. 

 

I've been running and doing the gym for 2 years now. Coupled with gradual change in diet by cutting out sugary drinks midweek, veggie 2 days a week, eat as much fresh as possible and fast.

 

Gone from 13.5 stone to 12 stone flat and creeping under. I've got above average arm muscles (but not "gym big"), lost loads of fat off my legs, bulked out my shoulders and neck and notably shifted my body fat percentage...

 

...but that belly is hard to shift. Yes, I've lost about 2-3 inches off my waist and dropped from 36 to around 33 waist size, but it's just one of those things. Try to think of positives.

[MPH]

54 minutes ago, TJQuik said:

You don't need to do sit ups to see a six pack or abs, either they are visible or there is belly fat covering it all. If you train your abs but there is fat covering it, it won't cause anything to protrude less.

 

 

I can confirm from personal experience that what i have said is true. :-)

[MPH]

1 hour ago, Bryn said:

 

I'm really sorry but "muscle that isn't toned" is an example of the misinformation around regarding this kind of thing.

 

 

Dude. I work in a hospital and connect with physical therapists and Occupational therapists daily. daily. i can confirm is true from personal experience and from information they have shared.

 

 

This isnt info from my hospitals website but from a simple google search it is showing up on another hospital systems website:

 

Sit ups, crunches or any other abdominal specific exercise do not directly burn belly fat. However, abdominal exercises can help to tone the belly. Sit-ups are particularly effective for strengthening the core and toning the rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, and oblique muscles.

 

Abdominal exercises such as crunches or sit-ups do not specifically burn belly fat, but they can help the belly appear flatter and more toned. Other exercises that can help whittle the waistline and tone up the belly include bicycles, planks, and side planks. Pilates and yoga can work the core muscles – the muscles around your trunk and pelvis – and can also help the belly appear flatter.

Edited 5 September 2023 by MPH

[CosbehFox]

Always felt myself at the lowest bloat since I’ve been doing weights over the last six months and the Pilates/yoga. Particularly floor exercises like bicycles 

[Bourbon Fox]

On 04/09/2023 at 11:38, filbertway said:

Calorie Calc (seancaseyfitness.com)

 

Work out your maintenance calories over a week. Figure out how much weight you want to drop per week.

 

1lb is approx 3500 calories.

 

So if you want to lose a lb of fat you need to eat your maintenance minus 3500 calories over the week.

 

In terms of training, resistance is probably best for weight loss as the muscle you gain will help increase your metabolism. 

 

For weight loss, the exercise is nowhere near as important as getting the calorie intake right though. 

F me, I wasn't expecting to find genuine good advice here!

 

@SecretPro the good news is, most of the work you need to do to shift your unwanted fat is in the kitchen.

 

Get Cronometer or MyFitnessPal and find out what you're actually eating, in terms of calories.

 

For a couple of weeks actually weigh your food, scan your barcodes and find out where you are. Then make adjustments to your food and drink intake based off that and the results of the calorie calculator.

 

A couple of myths: you can't 'target' body fat in any specific area, you can just reduce your total body fat.

 

Running, cycling, cardio are all great for health and fitness but they're not great for burning calories. Running takes about 100 calories per mile, so you're talking a half marathon to outweigh a large quarter pounder meal from McDonald's.

 

Eating fat doesn't make you fat, no more than any other kind of food. Eating sugar, as sweets or piles of pasta, will spike your insulin (which triggers your body to store fat) and provide a load of easy fuel for your body, which it will use instead of digging into the fat reserves. The better thing to be aware of is calories in vs calories out. You don't need to start eating reduced fat stuff or avoiding butter if you're within your numbers.

 

Strength training will build muscle, which increases the number of calories you burn just sitting on your arse, and the 'afterburn' effect of a strength workout will do more - building and repairing muscle uses energy too.

 

Get a handle on your diet and do some strength stuff. I hate the gym too so I have a pull-up bar, a kettle bell and a TRX at home. Press-ups are probably the most valuable single exercise that anyone can do. One month of this type of stuff and you'll see a difference in the mirror.

 

Edit: just seen about the diabetes. This will require a little more thought than just hammering the weights.

 

There's some great evidence to support high-fat, low-carb diets really helping diabetics in terms of insulin sensitivity and production. Tim Ferris and Ivor Cummins have some interesting work in this area. Bonus - I followed Ferris' Slow Carb diet (from the book The 4-Hour Body) and lost an inch off my waist in a week, then continued to lose 10kg over the following months. Best cut I ever did.

 

But yeah, I had to caveat my advice as I have no medical knowledge about all this in relation to Type 1 diabetics.

Edited 6 September 2023 by Bourbon Fox

[Bourbon Fox]

On 05/09/2023 at 14:47, MPH said:

 

 

Dude. I work in a hospital and connect with physical therapists and Occupational therapists daily. daily. i can confirm is true from personal experience and from information they have shared.

 

 

This isnt info from my hospitals website but from a simple google search it is showing up on another hospital systems website:

 

Sit ups, crunches or any other abdominal specific exercise do not directly burn belly fat. However, abdominal exercises can help to tone the belly. Sit-ups are particularly effective for strengthening the core and toning the rectus abdominus, transverse abdominus, and oblique muscles.

 

Abdominal exercises such as crunches or sit-ups do not specifically burn belly fat, but they can help the belly appear flatter and more toned. Other exercises that can help whittle the waistline and tone up the belly include bicycles, planks, and side planks. Pilates and yoga can work the core muscles – the muscles around your trunk and pelvis – and can also help the belly appear flatter.

Sorry mate, the word 'toned' is useless. It's building muscle. Toned is just a word for muscle that isn't built very much.

 

There's nothing special about abs or obliques that makes them different to any other muscle. Crunches are crap if your goal is to provoke hypertrophy, compared to properly-weighted exercises that take you close to failure within a decent rep range.

 

Talking to physios and grabbing the first thing you see on Google doesn't stop @Bryn being correct about your poor information.

 

Physical and occupational therapists are specialists, just not in this area. There is a lot of misinformation around diet and strength within the healthcare industry.

Edited 6 September 2023 by Bourbon Fox

[Bourbon Fox]

On 04/09/2023 at 21:11, Tommy G said:

Follow and listen to Andrew Huberman, Tim Spector. You can go around the houses with diets but In my opinion just try and eat whole foods where possible, I don’t think you will see many overweight or unhealthy people that have a low processed diet. I have tried to eat more, although I still like a bag of crisps, sweets, takeaway where possible I eat more whole foods. Easy to follow and feel 10 times better. 

Huberman?!

 

We don't want him getting sunburn on his balls!

[MPH]

3 hours ago, Bourbon Fox said:

Sorry mate, the word 'toned' is useless. It's building muscle. Toned is just a word for muscle that isn't built very much.

 

There's nothing special about abs or obliques that makes them different to any other muscle. Crunches are crap if your goal is to provoke hypertrophy, compared to properly-weighted exercises that take you close to failure within a decent rep range.

 

Talking to physios and grabbing the first thing you see on Google doesn't stop @Bryn being correct about your poor information.

 

Physical and occupational therapists are specialists, just not in this area. There is a lot of misinformation around diet and strength within the healthcare industry.

 

 what does this even mean in the context of what we are talking about?

 

regular stomach exercises can help tone the stomach up. That’s not even up for discussion at all.  That not misinformation, that’s factual. And it’s not ‘ grabbing the first thing I see ‘ like it’s from ‘ Billy’s  blog’ that is medical information from medical websites.   For clarification, any amount of regular exercise is going to  increase your metabolism which over time will along with a lesser calorie intake  will reduce your body fat and if that’s around your belly ( which the opening poster said was) then it’s going to tone things up and reduce the fat too. I may have been too busy for a detailed explanation previously but it doesn’t make anything I said less true..

[HarryDee8]

Gym 3 times a week

 

Day 1 = legs and shoulders

Day 2 = chest and back

Day 3 = biceps and triceps

 

 

[Bourbon Fox]

1 minute ago, MPH said:

'There's nothing special about abs or obliques that makes them different to any other muscle'
 

 what does this even mean in the context of what we are talking about?

 

 

Your point was that sit-ups and crunches would develop the abs and obliques, which could improve the look of the belly because it would help with your stated problem of 'muscle that isn't toned allowing it all to protrude a little more'.

 

My point, in the context of what we are talking about, is that

 

1. 'love handles' are mostly subcutaneous fat which is under the skin and over the muscle, so 'toning' ie getting bigger muscles isn't going to stop that fat from protruding and may actually make the handles look bigger, and

 

2. even if you were trying to 'tone' the abs and obliques, high-volume sit-ups and crunches would not be the best way to do it, in the same way that waving your arms up and down wouldn't be the best way to build big arms.

 

The simplest way to lose body fat is, as you've quite rightly said, to plan your calorie intake and to increase basal metabolic rate by building muscle through strength training.

 

Concentrating on bigger muscle groups and using compound movements like kettle bell swings, pull-ups, press-ups, dips, Turkish get-ups, overhead presses and the like, reaching the point of failure (of maintaining proper form, not complete failure) in the 8-20 rep range is a very effective strategy for hypertrophy, particularly in those who haven't got years of strength training under their belt.

 

For people who are in an established training routine body recompsition (simultaneously losing fat whilst gaining mass) is notoriously difficult, but detrained individuals and those new to strength training will often be able to do both if they follow the basic principles.

 

Telling someone to do situps and crunches to lose belly fat is poor advice.

 

[MPH]

8 minutes ago, Bourbon Fox said:

Your point was that sit-ups and crunches would develop the abs and obliques, which could improve the look of the belly because it would help with your stated problem of 'muscle that isn't toned allowing it all to protrude a little more'.

 

My point, in the context of what we are talking about, is that

 

1. 'love handles' are mostly subcutaneous fat which is under the skin and over the muscle, so 'toning' ie getting bigger muscles isn't going to stop that fat from protruding and may actually make the handles look bigger, and

 

2. even if you were trying to 'tone' the abs and obliques, high-volume sit-ups and crunches would not be the best way to do it, in the same way that waving your arms up and down wouldn't be the best way to build big arms.

 

The simplest way to lose body fat is, as you've quite rightly said, to plan your calorie intake and to increase basal metabolic rate by building muscle through strength training.

 

Concentrating on bigger muscle groups and using compound movements like kettle bell swings, pull-ups, press-ups, dips, Turkish get-ups, overhead presses and the like, reaching the point of failure (of maintaining proper form, not complete failure) in the 8-20 rep range is a very effective strategy for hypertrophy, particularly in those who haven't got years of strength training under their belt.

 

For people who are in an established training routine body recompsition (simultaneously losing fat whilst gaining mass) is notoriously difficult, but detrained individuals and those new to strength training will often be able to do both if they follow the basic principles.

 

Telling someone to do situps and crunches to lose belly fat is poor advice.

 

 

 He’s at home and doesn’t want to  go to a gymn so what I have suggested would help. he’s said what he does must be doable at home we don’t all have the bars for  pull ups at home.  He’s also said it has to be low impact on his knees.. also he’s said he’s trim everywhere else so if the gut is the only place he has fat to lose, regular toning that happens to be the abs, ect WILL help with their body fat through the increased metabolism.
 

Waving your arms about  wouldn’t be supporting much weight at all to tone those muscles, doing stomach exercises is moving and supporting  and shifting  much more body weight - your whole upper body , so this is a poor example you made here

[Bourbon Fox]

1 minute ago, MPH said:

 

 He’s at home and doesn’t want to  go to a gymn so what I have suggested would help. he’s said what he does must be doable at home we don’t all have the bars for  pull ups at home.  He’s also said it has to be low impact on his knees.. also he’s said he’s trim everywhere else so if the gut is the only place he has fat to lose, regular toning that happens to be the abs, ect WILL help with their body fat through the increased metabolism.
 

Waving your arms about  wouldn’t be supporting much weight at all to tone those muscles, doing stomach exercises is moving and supporting  and shifting  much more body weight - your whole upper body , so this is a poor example you made here

My pull-up bar fits in a door frame and cost £20. My kettle bell came from Argos. My suspension trainer fits to a door without screws. I can't be arsed to go to the gym either, so my entire setup fits in a box and can be assembled/disassembled in minutes. I work out three times a week, for less than half an hour a time.

 

We don't all have this stuff at home, but those of us who choose to keep fit can find a way to get everything we need for less than a hundred quid - if a person can't make that happen, then their love handles are going to stay because they're not really committed to losing them. Love handles appear when you don't do anything about them. Exercise equipment doesn't.

 

Training the abs is a poor strategy for increasing metabolism because they're small, stabilising muscles. Better muscles for that goal would be the glutes, quads, lats because they're bigger. A percentage increase of a bigger muscle means more muscle tissue means higher basal metabolic rate means faster fat loss. To use another tortured analogy, if I want to increase the horsepower in my car I'd be better off buying a bigger turbo than a better air filter 

 

Sit-ups and crunches are less effective than weighted alternatives because the weighted alternatives offer higher volume - weight X reps. 

 

This meta analysis published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning isn't about fat loss exclusively but it is about losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, which we agree is the best goal for our love handle-averse subject. It supports my advice:

 

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2020/10000/body_recomposition__can_trained_individuals_build.3.aspx

 

The literature demonstrating a body recomposition effect consist of a highly heterogeneous set of designs, methods, and outcomes. These discrepancies in methodology make specific guidelines to optimize body recomposition difficult to reconcile. Nevertheless, the following recommendations can be drawn from the methods used and results reported within the studies discussed in this review.

• Implement a progressive RT regimen with a minimum of 3 sessions per week.
• Tracking rate of progress, and paying attention to performance and recovery can be important tools to appropriately adjust training over time.
• Consuming 2.6–3.5 g/kg of [protein per] FFM may increase the likelihood or magnitude of recomposition (^3,25,28,61).
• Protein supplements (i.e., whey and casein) may be used as a means to increase daily dietary protein intake as well as a tool to maximize muscle protein synthesis. This may be of greater importance postworkout as a means to maximize the recomposition effect (²¹).
• Prioritizing sleep quality and quantity may be an additional variable that can significantly impact changes in performance, recovery, and body composition (^41,46,53,71).

As I said:

 

- Resistance training should be the focus rather than cardio, although cardio is complementary

 

- A diet high in protein and fat, with minimal sugars/fast-acting carbs to keep insulin response in check

 

- Managing calories to maintenance or slight deficit

 

- Compound movements using the biggest muscles, especially kettle bell swings, pull-ups, Turkish get-ups, press-ups

 

- Choose a weight that causes you to fail betwen 8-20 reps (pull-ups this will be the case, a 20kg kettle bell would be about right, no need to worry if you can bang out more press-ups than that)

 

- 3 workouts a week

 

- Sleep plenty

 

A month of that and you'll be pleased in front of the mirror. 2 months and you'll look like a different man.

 

2 bits of equipment, 90 minutes a week, and a bit of faffing with a food tracker app until you understand your portions.

[MPH]

8 minutes ago, Bourbon Fox said:

My pull-up bar fits in a door frame and cost £20. My kettle bell came from Argos. My suspension trainer fits to a door without screws. I can't be arsed to go to the gym either, so my entire setup fits in a box and can be assembled/disassembled in minutes. I work out three times a week, for less than half an hour a time.

 

We don't all have this stuff at home, but those of us who choose to keep fit can find a way to get everything we need for less than a hundred quid - if a person can't make that happen, then their love handles are going to stay because they're not really committed to losing them. Love handles appear when you don't do anything about them. Exercise equipment doesn't.

 

Training the abs is a poor strategy for increasing metabolism because they're small, stabilising muscles. Better muscles for that goal would be the glutes, quads, lats because they're bigger. A percentage increase of a bigger muscle means more muscle tissue means higher basal metabolic rate means faster fat loss. To use another tortured analogy, if I want to increase the horsepower in my car I'd be better off buying a bigger turbo than a better air filter 

 

Sit-ups and crunches are less effective than weighted alternatives because the weighted alternatives offer higher volume - weight X reps. 

 

This meta analysis published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning isn't about fat loss exclusively but it is about losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, which we agree is the best goal for our love handle-averse subject. It supports my advice:

 

https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/fulltext/2020/10000/body_recomposition__can_trained_individuals_build.3.aspx

 

The literature demonstrating a body recomposition effect consist of a highly heterogeneous set of designs, methods, and outcomes. These discrepancies in methodology make specific guidelines to optimize body recomposition difficult to reconcile. Nevertheless, the following recommendations can be drawn from the methods used and results reported within the studies discussed in this review.

• Implement a progressive RT regimen with a minimum of 3 sessions per week.
• Tracking rate of progress, and paying attention to performance and recovery can be important tools to appropriately adjust training over time.
• Consuming 2.6–3.5 g/kg of [protein per] FFM may increase the likelihood or magnitude of recomposition (^3,25,28,61).
• Protein supplements (i.e., whey and casein) may be used as a means to increase daily dietary protein intake as well as a tool to maximize muscle protein synthesis. This may be of greater importance postworkout as a means to maximize the recomposition effect (²¹).
• Prioritizing sleep quality and quantity may be an additional variable that can significantly impact changes in performance, recovery, and body composition (^41,46,53,71).

As I said:

 

- Resistance training should be the focus rather than cardio, although cardio is complementary

 

- A diet high in protein and fat, with minimal sugars/fast-acting carbs to keep insulin response in check

 

- Managing calories to maintenance or slight deficit

 

- Compound movements using the biggest muscles, especially kettle bell swings, pull-ups, Turkish get-ups, press-ups

 

- Choose a weight that causes you to fail betwen 8-20 reps (pull-ups this will be the case, a 20kg kettle bell would be about right, no need to worry if you can bang out more press-ups than that)

 

- 3 workouts a week

 

- Sleep plenty

 

A month of that and you'll be pleased in front of the mirror. 2 months and you'll look like a different man.

 

2 bits of equipment, 90 minutes a week, and a bit of faffing with a food tracker app until you understand your portions.

 

im not suggesting it as a go to strategy at all.  I’m suggesting based on information shared. He’s pretty fit and lean, needs low impact excersises  because of his knees and we don’t know his situation and why he does or doesn’t have X equipment. Sometimes you need to give advice based on the information shared not based on wether you think would give optimum  results.

Edited 6 September 2023 by MPH

[Costock_Fox]

1 hour ago, HarryDee8 said:

Gym 3 times a week

 

Day 1 = legs and shoulders

Day 2 = chest and back

Day 3 = biceps and triceps

 

 

I’m there 5 times a week on this routine plus a cardio day and I play football once a week and I still have belly fat.

 

It’s a balance between exercise and diet and ultimately a calorie deficit. Booze is bad.