Are you over 40? Do you want to lose belly fat? You'll frequently get the advice to do crunches and other exercises targeting the abdominal muscles.

At first sight, that's logical. You're working out a body part, so the fat on this body part is getting less. Unfortunately our metabolism doesn t work that way:

It is not possible to burn fat in just one part of your body. It's genetically programmed where you increase weight and where you lose it first. And: Over 40 this genetic program is getting more prevalent.

"I want to lose belly fat" is something I hear very often- but, unfortunately, it is not possible to lose fat on a body part. But we can accomplish something much better: We can get an overall thin body.

If you want to make the muscles around your midsection stronger, then crunches are a great way to do it. If you want to shape your figure, exercises like the reverse bicycle really assist to tone up your body. I recommend to do some exercises for the lower back muscles as well, to make the whole midsection strong. This will improve posture and prevent lower back pain. For many over 40 back pain is rather common- our desk-bound lifestyle contributes to that greatly.

Crunches are- comparably- a waste of time when it comes to losing weight. The belly muscles are relatively small, so if you spend 15 minutes on crunches you burn much less calories as if you'd spend 15 minutes exercising your leg muscles. In the same amount of time, you leg muscles will burn more calories.

So: Don't do crunches to lose belly fat over 40, do crunches to tone up your core.