If you want to lose belly fat then you’ve likely heard that you should do some kind of strength or resistance training, right? Well, how many reps should you do to lose fat when training? This is a big question many ask…
For gaining muscle and strength my recommended rep range is 5-7 reps, because that’s when you can lift heavier and get close to “real muscular failure”, but for getting ripped abs and losing belly fat it is a little bit different.
Since the aim is not to build muscle specifically but to boost your metabolism through activating as many mucles as possible during exercise it is common to recommend a rep range of 8-12 for losing fat. Some even go as high as 15! The trick however is not so much in the rep range as it is in the particular exercise, weight used and rest between sets.
It’s important that you start out slow with bodyweight exercises to get used to weight training! Use proper lifting form and stick with a lighter weight and do 12 reps or so. Try to do more “full-body” and compound exercises that will use many muscles when you perform the exercise. This will give you the most overall muscle use.
Then rest as little as possible between sets. I sometimes rest about 3 seconds between sets, just to get my heart rate going and lactic acid pumping into the muscle. That’s what’s going to get you to lose the belly fat. A great program that explains all this in great detail and is PERFECT for beginners is Turbulence Training by Craig Ballantyne, certified personal trainer and nutrition expert.
Get over there and start with the beginner routines, then work your way up to more intense workouts later. The harder you train and with more intensity and less rest the faster you’ll lose belly fat through weight training!