Oh, TikTok! It seems like every day the app throws up a new health 'hack', be it dry scooping your pre-workout energy powder (FYI: don't) or vaginal, err, splinting... This time around, it's a new 'magic' fitness move designed to blitz away fat concentrated around the belly area. And personal trainer Courtney Black is really *not* into it.

Posting a couple of the TikTok videos currently doing the rounds on her own Instagram page, Courtney quickly shut them down in front of her 850,000 followers. The clips show various women attempting a bizarre-looking standing crunch type-move (honestly, it's a little hard to describe?), which is being promoted as the perfect way to achieve a flat stomach.

"Another questionable video I’ve seen nearly every day on my explore page which angers me so much 😡," the trainer, who has her own workout plan, wrote as a caption. "I know so many people who would be influenced by these videos!"

She then went on to note that if your current fitness goal is to lose weight, that there's no 'quick fix' solution and that consuming a healthy amount of calories and moving more, in order to be in a calorie deficit, is the best approach. It's also not possible to burn fat from just one concentrated area of the body.

"If your aim is to loose belly fat please do not believe these videos… eat less, move more, a combination of both is the perfect mix to be in a calorie deficit," says Courtney. "This is no quick fix! ❤️"

Courtney also overlaid a clip of herself copying the move and added that "diet culture is toxic" – which we fully agree with – and pointed to a few short, sharp sentences: 'How to lose belly fat', 'Eat less', 'Move more' and 'Calorie deficit'.

Everyone's clicking on...

Also, on that note, can we just take a quick moment to add in that while losing weight can be a positive step and be beneficial to some, it's not always the right choice - or advisable - for others. All body shapes and sizes are beautiful and it's never okay to feel pressured to look a 'certain' way, or to 'less than' if you don't have abs of steel.

The post has already garnered over 19,000 likes and hundreds of comments - and while the majority of them are laughing emojis, there are some social media users saying they've seen their friends or neighbours copying the original TikTok videos that Courtney has parodied. Meaning, it was certainly a good idea for her to clear up the myth that hunching over and breathing in and out is time well spent.

Thanks, Courtney!

Headshot of Jennifer Savin
Jennifer Savin
Features Editor

 Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.