The 7 Worst Exercises for Fat Loss (and What to Do Instead)

A Threads post by @romelloduke. Core thesis: lift heavy + walk daily + diet beats cardio/classes for fat loss.

1. Running — long runs burn muscle alongside fat and spike hunger; you get lighter with no shape. → Walk 8,000–10,000 steps/day and lift heavy.
2. Endless ab workouts — crunches build the muscle but don’t move the fat on top. → Get lean via diet + lifting; abs show when body fat drops.
3. Daily HIIT — every day just raises stress and hunger → burnout, sugar cravings, retained belly fat. → Two short sessions a week at most.
4. Sweaty cardio classes — lots of sweat, little muscle, eat it all back. → Lift weights to build shape. Sweat ≠ fat loss.
5. The elliptical — low-effort steady cardio burns little, builds nothing. → Walk outside; put the energy into lifting.
6. Bootcamp circuits — jumping around with light weights spikes heart rate, builds nothing; soreness ≠ progress. → Run a real lifting plan, add weight over time.
7. Long steady-state cardio — body adapts fast, burns less and less. → Build muscle with lifting, burn fat with daily walking.

Through-line: muscle (from progressive-overload lifting) gives shape; a calorie deficit + daily walking burns the fat. Cardio and classes do neither well.