Belly fat is the most unhealthy, stubborn fat. The AARP warns that people with belly fat are at a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers (1). That is why you must change your lifestyle and start exercising. Listed below are a few things you can start doing to reduce and manage belly fat.
15 Best Exercises To Get A Flat Belly
*Warm up for 10 minutes before starting these exercises. After your muscles are warmed up, take a 10-second break and start with the following exercises:
1. Lying Leg Raises
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not place your feet completely on the floor or push your hips up with your hands to lift your legs.
2. Leg In And Out
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not place your hands too wide apart at the back.
3. Scissor Kicks
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not do this exercise quickly or hold your breath while doing it.
4. Crunches
Target –Lower and upper abs.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not tuck your chin in.
5. Bicycle Crunches
Target –Upper abs, lower abs, obliques, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not hasten to complete the sets, and do not tuck your chin in.
6. Half Seated Reverse Crunch
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, and glutes.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not scrunch your shoulders or curve your lower back too much.
7. Sit-ups
Target – Lower and upper abs.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not get confused between sit-ups and crunches. You need to literally sit up and go back down to the starting position to do sit-ups. Do not bring your elbows close while sitting up.
8. Heel Touch
Target – Obliques and upper abs.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not place your feet too close to your hips.
9. Jackknife Crunch
Target –Lower abs, upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not rest your head on the floor completely between repetitions.
10. Russian Twist
Target – Obliques, upper abs, lower abs, and glutes.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not hold your breath while doing this exercise.
11. Lying Alternate Toe Taps
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, obliques, and glutes
How To Do
What Not To Do – Don’t worry if you are not able to touch your foot. Try reaching beyond the knee and as close to the foot as possible.
12. Crossbody Mountain Climbers
Target – Lower abs, upper abs, glutes, hamstrings, and quads.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not place your palms too far away from your body, and do not droop your neck or lower back.
13. Burpees
Target – Full body workout that also targets your abs.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not set unachievable goals. Burpees are tough to do. The number of burpees you do does not matter. What matters is how many you do while maintaining correct posture.
14. Plank
Target – Upper abs, lower abs, shoulders, biceps, and glutes.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not place your palms far away from your shoulders. Do not droop your lower back or pike it up.
15. Side Plank
Target – Abs, shoulders, biceps, and glutes.
How To Do
What Not To Do – Do not droop your pelvis.
To make it more effective and quick for you, here’s advice from 8 fitness experts. Scroll down!
Helpful Advice By 8 Fitness Experts
Sarah
Doing ab crunches and following a crash diet is not the right way to lose belly fat. If you really want to flaunt a well-toned belly, you have to eat a balanced diet with all the good fats rather than starving yourself.
You should also exercise three to five times a week. Do burpees, side planks, and bicycle crunches.
Sarah: tabatalive.com
Laura London
To lose belly flab, your go-to exercises should be V-ups, planks, and bicycle crunches.
Laura London: lauralondonfitness.com
Lori L. Shemek
HIIT is highly effective for all over weight loss, particularly removing stubborn belly fat. If you are not eating right, you have reached menopause, or you are not losing weight, you should do these exercises. Don’t let the name scare you as it is you who determines the intensity. It is your perceived exertion that counts.
Lori L. Shemek: drlorishemek.com
Kelly Rennie
Practice plank, leg raises, and cross body mountain climbers.
Kelly rennie: busymumfitness.com/
Anthony Trucks
Practice hanging bicycles, decline bench sit-ups, and prone slider toe-ins.
Anthony Trucks: truckstraining.com
Lee Brogan
HIIT sprints work wonders. Also, boxing and Tabata are great for shedding belly fat.
Lee Brogan: gymfreetrainers.com
Doonya
Nothing beats Flick step, sweep, and twist exercises when it comes to losing belly fat.
Doonya: www.doonya.com
Kerry P. Taylor
Try half Turkish get up, ab wheel rollouts, and standing band rotations to get a flat belly you always dreamed of.
Kerry P. Taylor: www.212healthandperformance.com
Last, but not the least, here are some other ways/tips that you may follow to reduce belly fat.
Lifestyle Tips To Reduce Belly Fat
Reducing abdominal fat is 80% about eating the right food. Follow a healthy and balanced diet with adequate macro and micronutrients. Most importantly, skip takeaways and fast foods. Eat food prepared at home (2) .
Always carry a water bottle, and make sure you keep sipping water throughout the day (3).
According to recent studies, instead of working out for hours or running a few miles, doing short bursts of active exercises is very helpful in reducing stubborn fat (2), (4) .
Cut down on sugar to reduce belly fat (5). Use honey or jaggery instead.
Consuming a lot of salt causes water retention in the body (6), (7). Reduce your sodium intake to see a difference in your belly fat.
Vitamin C is important for the secretion of carnitine, a compound that helps the body convert fat into energy. It also helps block cortisol, a hormone that is secreted by the body under stress (8). A study conducted at Yale University suggests a potential link between spikes in cortisol levels and abdominal fat (9).
You can consume the following foods to burn fat by boosting metabolism.:
Include polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) into your diet. PUFA help reduce inflammation in the body (14), thereby lowering the chances of accumulating abdominal fat.
Many people think that skipping breakfast helps with quick weight loss. On the contrary, skipping breakfast is a major blunder. It increases bloating and pushes your body into starvation mode, a key for abdominal fat gain (15).
Adequate sleep is very important for weight management. Everyone needs six to eight hours of sleep. According to a recent study, too much sleep or a lack of it can lead to weight gain (16).
Conclusion
Hope you now have a clear idea on what you need to do to reduce belly fat at home. It is tough but not impossible. Follow the experts’ advice, do the exercises, eat right, and you will see a difference in your waistline. Cheers!
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