Instead, an expert recommends focusing on getting your heart rate up with full body workouts, specifically HIIT (high intensity interval training).
"Only doing abdominal-focused workouts, like crunches, won’t help you banish the bulge," Bupa UK's Dr Luke James told Cosmopolitan UK.
"Belly fat is simply where your body stores energy, so you need to take a whole-body approach to tackle it."
"Squats, burpees and treadmill sprints are all examples to try," James suggested.
HIIT is the best workout of the bunch because it can have a positive effect on your hormones - "especially those that are responsible for the process of lowering fat from areas like the belly."
But all those crunches haven't gone to waste: when that bulge goes, you'll have a brilliant six-pack to show for it.
We're coming for you, Kayla Itsines.
