“Question: Getting to the gym on a regular basis with long hours of work and lots of other responsibilities can be tricky. The days I do go to the gym I’d much rather lift weights than do cardio. Can I lose belly fat with core-strengthening exercises only or do I have to incorporate cardio, too? “
The short answer: No, you don’t have to do a separate cardio session.
“A full-body strength training program with shorter rest periods including core-strengthening exercises is actually the most effective workout you can do to lose belly fat if you only have one to three hours a week to dedicate to exercise,” says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness in Southern California.
Combining movements that target your upper and lower body such as planks, bent-over dumbbell rows, and lunges with bicep curls with short rest periods still delivers all of the benefits of cardio because you increase your heart rate with each set along with boosting your metabolism to burn fat.
A version of this article originally appeared on MensHealth.
