A flat stomach is a common goal, but belly fat can be tricky to rid yourself of. Although many gimmicks and diet pills claim to target belly fat, the best way to burn off your pot belly is to incorporate regular moderate exercise into your routine.
Exercises such as sprawls, half-burpees and a plank can help you strengthen your core and improve posture while burning calories. Aim for 20-30 seconds of each exercise, followed by 30 seconds of rest.
Cycling
Cycling is an aerobic exercise that helps you burn fat. It also strengthens your leg and core muscles. In addition, it helps improve your balance. The workout is easy on your joints, and it’s ideal for beginners. It is also a great way to get around town. According to a health study, riding your bike to work can be just as effective as going to the gym five days a week.
The workout targets the legs, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings and hip-flexors. Pedalling requires you to use these’slow-twitch’ muscles that are needed for endurance activities. You can also tone your arms and stomach with regular cycling.
A brisk 30-minute ride at 80 percent of your maximum heart rate can burn about 400 calories. However, high-intensity training can burn more calories in less time. Try alternating between low- and high-intensity routines. It is also recommended to practice fasted cycling, which involves exercising on an empty stomach. This will help you lose belly fat more quickly and effectively.
High-Intensity Aerobic Workouts
While all fat isn’t created equal, the type of fat found in your abdomen, called visceral fat, is more difficult to get rid of. To help slim this particular area, it’s recommended that you focus on high-intensity aerobic exercise workouts. These routines combine short bursts of intense exercise with moderate intensity movements and rest periods to increase the calorie-burning benefits of your cardio sessions. Cycling, which you can do on a stationary machine at the gym or outdoors, is one such aerobic activity that can burn a lot of calories and reduce stomach fat. Try adding in some interval training with this activity to maximize the calorie-burning effects.
Leg Raise
Leg raises are a solid addition to any workout routine. They provide a great top-down ab workout and strengthen the trunk muscles, which improves posture and helps protect your back during other exercises like squats or deadlifts. They also help to strengthen the core muscles without loading the thighs as much as other, lower-body-focused movements.
To perform the traditional leg raise, lie on your back and support yourself with your hands by your sides or underneath your buttocks. Raise your legs straight up in front of you and slowly lower them back down again. To make this exercise more difficult you can remove your hands or bend your legs at the knees, but be careful not to arch your back.
Try adding variations to the basic leg lift to increase its challenge as you get stronger. For example, you can lift your legs and hips together into a plank position or spread them wide to do a windmill — or, you can do a corkscrew by lifting one leg up and lowering it on either side of your body.
Abdominal Exercises
Stimulating the abdominal muscles helps in burning belly fat. Having a flat stomach also improves body posture and reduces back problems. The abdominal muscles also help to control the flow of blood, allow movement, protect internal organs and are in charge of postural support and balance.
Having strong core muscles is important for every sport. These muscles also provide strength to bear weight which allows people to lift heavy objects without causing strain on their backs. Abdominal exercises also help in keeping the body metabolism high to burn more calories and fats.
There are many different ways to work the core muscles but a new study has found that v sit-ups might be more effective than crunches and planks. To perform this exercise lie on the floor and then raise your legs, forming a v shape with your upper and lower body. Do 15 repetitions of this exercise. You can increase the intensity as you progress.