Who does not hate doing sit-ups and other boring abdominal exercises? Good news is, if you want to lose belly fat, those exercises are useless.

And here comes the shocker. The real “secret” to losing belly fat is focusing on your legs and certain compound movements.

The reason is simple – leg muscles are the largest muscles in your body – which means they require a lot of energy to exercise. Where do you think all this energy will come from? It will come from your body fat, including that belly fat you want to lose.

Abdominal exercises are inefficient at burning fat because these muscles are relatively small. They just do not use much energy.

By training your legs with weights and adding some compound exercises to your workout, you force large muscle groups to burn a lot more calories, which helps increase your metabolism. In addition, the more muscle mass you have, the easier it is to burn fat.

Front Barbell Squat Place the bar in a squat rack at about chest level, then position yourself so that it rests across the upper part of your pecs and front delts. Place your hands on the bar slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, palms up; bend your wrists back so that your elbows point straight ahead.

Walk out of the rack and plant your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly. Take a deep breath, then descend by sitting back while keeping your back upright.

From the squat position, explode back up, holding your breath until you pass through the sticking point. If you find yourself leaning forward, or the bar starts to slip, raise your elbows higher.

Tip: When rising, focus on driving your elbows high and keeping your back straight. Also, be careful to start slowly with this exercise, giving your wrists a chance to get used to the position.

Barbell Squat With a barbell across your traps, stand erect and grasp the bar knurls near the plates for better balance. Place your heels 15-20 inches apart, toes angled slightly outward. Fix your eyes on a point in front of you slightly above eye level and keep them there throughout the movement.

Slowly unlock your hips, then bend your knees and lower your body into a full squat, being sure to keep your back flat and head straight ahead throughout the movement. Once your thighs have gone past parallel, rise up to the starting position. Keep your feet flat on the floor.

Remember: These movements don’t come easily. Have an experienced friend or personal trainer guide you. You also might want to use the Smith machine before doing free-bar squats. [source: M&F training guide]