Exercises to Lose Belly Fat
No one likes to be overweight, with excess fat on their body. While carrying extra weight at some places on your body can be pretty effectively hidden, belly fat is pretty hard to hide. Unfortunately, this is the very place that many people gain their weight.
Belly Fat is Unhealthy
Not only is belly fat unsightly, but it has also been proven that it can be very unhealthy. People who carry lots of excess weight around their middle, often referred to as an “apple shaped” body, are more at risk for certain medical conditions, including high blood pressure and heart disease.
Whether you have just a little more fat around your middle than you want, or have a lot of extra belly fat, it is important to work to reduce it.
The following abdominal exercises, when combined with healthy eating, can help you trim down around your middle.
Abdominal Exercises Can Help Reduce Belly Fat
This set of exercises is basic, and almost anyone can do them. If you are really out of shape, or haven’t exercised in a long time, it is best to start slowly and work your way up.
By performing these exercises three times a week as part of your overall workout routine, you should begin to see results in your abdominal muscles after a few weeks. You should also see less belly fat, which means you are on the path to a healthier you.
If you have any questions or concerns about your ability to perform these exercises, consult with your doctor before beginning an exercise routine.
Abdominal Exercises
Exercise 1: Lie flat on your back on the floor, placing your arms at your sides. Lift your legs to about a 45-degree angle. Now move your legs in a pedaling motion as if you are riding a bicycle. Continue this motion for 15 to 30 seconds. Lower your legs and rest. This is considered one set. Repeat for three sets.
This exercise targets your lower abdominal muscles. With repetition you will strengthen those muscles, as well as burn belly fat. As you get stronger, you can extend the length of time that you bicycle in each set, or increase the number of sets that you perform.
Exercise 2: Lie flat on your back on the floor, placing your arms at your sides with your hands resting on the floor. Raise your legs into the air with your feet pointing towards the ceiling. Your legs should be perpendicular, or at a 90-degree angle to the floor. Keep your legs at this angle and lift your hips enough to slightly raise your buttocks off the ground.
Hold this position for up to 10 seconds and then lower your hips and buttocks. Repeat the lift 15 times to form one set. Repeat for three to five sets. You will feel this in your abdominal muscles, which have to engage to lift your hips.
This exercise targets your side abdominal muscles. It is hard at first, so you may need to start with fewer repetitions or fewer sets until you build strength. As you get stronger, you can increase the length of time that you hold your hips in the air, working your abdominal muscles harder to help burn belly fat.
Exercise 3: Lie flat on your back on the floor. Place your hands behind your head. Slowly raise both legs to about a 45-degree angle. Holding your legs in the air, slowly raise your upper body towards your legs. Do not use your hands to pull your body up.
Hold your position for 3 to 5 seconds and then return your upper body to the floor. Keeping your legs in the air, repeat raising your upper body towards your legs 15 times. This forms one set. Lower your legs and rest. Repeat for three to five sets.
This exercise targets your upper abdominal muscles. You will feel your abs engaging as you raise your body towards your legs if you are doing this exercise correctly.
Exercise 4: Lie flat on your back on the floor, with your legs on a chair or bench that allows your thighs to be perpendicular to the floor. You could also do this exercise near a wall, where you place your feet on the wall with your knees bent to get your thighs at the correct angle.
Place your hands behind your head. Slowly raise your head toward your thighs while contracting your abdominal muscles. Hold this position for several seconds, remembering to breathe normally. Lower your head. Repeat 15 times to form one set. Complete three sets.
This exercise targets your side, middle and lower abdominal muscles. You have to engage your abdominals in order to raise your head and hold it to your thighs. As you strengthen your abdominals through repetition of this exercise you will also be burning belly fat.
Exercise 5: Lie on your right side on the floor. Use your right hand to support your head and rest your left hand at your waist or on the floor in front of you. Lift your left leg to about a 45-degree angle and hold it there for three to five seconds. Lower your leg, and then repeat the lift and hold 15 times.
Turn onto your left side and do the same exercise with your right leg. Lift and hold the right leg 15 times. You have completed one set when each leg has been lifted 15 times. Complete three sets of this exercise.
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It is important to move slowly as you lift and lower your leg. Make sure you are controlling the movement, and that your abdominal muscles are engaged. You are working your side abdominal muscles with this exercise.
This series of exercises allows you to engage and work the various abdominal muscles, from top to bottom and side to side. In order to get the most out of these exercises, it is important to remember the following:
- Move slowly and in a controlled manner when doing these exercises.
- Breathe normally throughout. Do not hold your breath as you are moving.
- Engage your abdominals to assist in the movements, making them work.
Doing this series of exercises on a regular basis, in conjunction with a regular exercise routine and a healthy diet, is one effective way to reduce your belly fat. You might surprise yourself with the results you can achieve with persistence.
