What I’m about to tell you will seem counterintuitive. But, if you want to do some exercises to get rid of a belly, don’t exercise your belly at all. Look, I told you. But let me explain.

Many people spend a lot of time doing sit-ups to get rid of their belly. However, the truth of the matter is that you cannot reduce fat. And, even if you could do stomach exercises, you won’t burn enough calories to see results. It takes 3,500 calories to burn a single pound of fat. That’s a lot of calories when you consider that the average person only burns 2,000 in an average day.

Most people, myself included, until I found out the truth, do a ton of cardio. Have you ever spent an hour straight on the stair master? I have, and it’s not fun. Don’t get me wrong, cardio is good. You can burn around 400 to 500 calories in an hour on the stair climber. But that’s not a good thing when you remember that a single pound of fat has 3,500 calories.

What we want is some exercise that increases our resting metabolic rate so that we burn calories even after we’re done exercising. They are exercises like the deadlift, the clean and jerk, the bench press and others. These are compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups. By doing that, they throw your body into a state of metabolic shock that increases your metabolism rate for days to come. Oh, even though they don’t directly target your abs, you’ll also get a firmer midsection.