Does intense exercise cause belly bulge?

I read a fascinating article about how a fitness trainer by the name of Michelle Lovitt was finally able to get one of her over-40 female clients to lose her stubborn belly fat. Since intense exercise causes cortisol to increase, and extra cortisol increases body fat, Lovitt changed the routines from fairly consistent intense training sessions to intervals where the client’s heart rate was between “85-90% of her maximum heart rate when running and 60-70% of MHR when walking.” She also told her client to take two days off from training instead of just one. This new program allowed the woman to finally lose the extra flab.

If you eat clean, are 40 or over, and exercise plenty but you cannot flatten your abs, see if cutting back on intensity and taking an extra day or two off from exercise will make the difference. To ensure your workouts don’t push your heart rate over 90% of your maximum for your age, buy a heart rate monitor and use the following site to calculate your numbers: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calculator_target.asp   Flat abs after 40? Definitely!

Source: July 2014 Prevention magazine article (no title found) written by Bari Lieberman. pg. 66-68

Photo: I took this photo in San Diego, CA while taking a leisurely hike.