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Contrary to popular belief, ab exercises will not give you a toned tum.

Q: Are abdominal exercises effective if I want to lose weight around my stomach area?
A: Unfortunately not.

Abdominal exercises, such as partial curl-ups (crunches) are great for muscular strength and muscular endurance increases in your "stomach muscles." Exercises such as the plank are good to increase muscular endurance in the muscles in your core, including your back. However, there is no such thing as spot-reducing fat.

That being said, increasing your physical activity (moving more) is effective for fat loss throughout the entire body. To experience fat loss, the volume (amount) of your physical activity is often more important than the intensity (how hard you work). Try to include biking, walking, jogging, running, swimming or stairs into your everyday life.

Submitted by: Luke Hare, Rachel Wallace, Karlyn Gilchrist, Maisha Barron, Joel Wright, Leslie Pelerine