Ready to Burn Belly Fat? This Is the Type of Workout You Need to Be Doing

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, is the darling of the workout world. It's easy to see why: it's quick by definition, usually lasting no longer than 30 minutes; easily done with bodyweight moves and home workout-ready; and it's crazy effective at burning calories and getting you into shape.

If losing belly fat is your goal, hearing all the hype about HIIT might make you wonder if it's a good option for targeting fat around your midsection. The answer? While you can't spot reduce fat anywhere on your body, you certainly can reduce overall body fat through workouts, and our experts agreed that HIIT is one of the most effective ways to do it.

When you're doing HIIT, "the idea is that you're pushing your cardiovascular system and your metabolic system at a much higher rate than you normally would," explained Michael Fredericson, MD, professor and director of physical medicine and sports medicine at Stanford University. That gives you a number of weight loss benefits.

You Burn Calories After Your Workout

The high-intensity nature of a HIIT workout means you're torching a significant number of calories as you're working out — but both experts agreed that the calorie burn continues after the workout as well, thanks to post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This is the phenomenon that occurs as your body returns to a normal metabolic rate following a workout. To do that, your body pulls in more oxygen than it usually would while you're at rest; to process that excess oxygen, your body needs to burn more calories, even when you've stopped working out.

It's processing at a very high rate, and it takes a while for that to calm down." According to the American Council on Exercise, HIIT is the most effective way to get this afterburn effect, which Fredericson said can last for up to six hours.

HIIT Targets Belly Fat Specifically

there is some evidence to suggest that HIIT may reduce abdominal fat in particular. A 2018 meta-analysis by French researchers showed that "HIIT significantly reduced total, abdominal, and visceral fat mass" (the fat stored around your abdominal organs), confirming findings from a smaller Italian study from 2016 that a combination of HIIT and steady-state workouts were the most effective in reducing fat around the midsection.

How Often Should You Do HIIT to Burn Belly Fat?

"If you haven't tried HIIT before, ease into it, and see what your body can handle. Working up to two or three HIIT workouts a week, each 20-30 minutes in duration. Try this 20-minute beginner's HIIT workout to get started.