Belly fat exercises: Consistent training and a low-calorie diet regime needs to be followed if you want flat abs.
Abs are surely one of the most difficult body parts to train. It takes weeks, sometimes even months of regular exercise and diet control to get flat or toned abs. If you too have been struggling to get your desired kind of abs, then here’s a workout routine that you can bank on.
When many people think of losing weight, one of the first things that comes to mind is getting a toned and taut tummy. We hate to break it to you, but doing hundreds of crunches every day isn’t the best way to lose belly fat. In fact, exercises that promote spot reduction just don’t exist.
Belly fat: Abs workout you can try at home
The workout includes a total of six exercises and can be completed within six to 12 minutes. Yes that’s right! You need to take out just 10 minutes from your schedule to do this workout which can help you melt belly fat and have flat abs.
- Kneeling Ab
- Wheel – 10 eps
- Side Plank Hip
- Lifts – 20 reps (10 per side)
- Leg Raises – 10 reps
- Russian Twists – 20 reps (10 per side)
- McGill Sit-Up – 20 reps (10 per side)
- Plank – Hold for as long as possible
Set a timer for 12 minutes and see how many laps you can do. Work towards doing 2-4 rounds of the workout for effective results. You can pair this workout along with your usual cardio or weight training routine. Half an hour or running, cycling, brisk-walking, jogging, etc can be done along with this abs workout.
Russian Twists
The Russian twist is a core exercise that improves oblique strength and definition, explains DiVecchio. The move, typically performed with a medicine ball or plate, involves rotating your torso from side to side while holding a sit-up position with your feet off the ground.
How to do Russian twists: Sit up tall on the floor with your knees bent and feet off the ground. Hold a medicine ball with your hands at chest height. Lean backward with a long, tall spine, holding your torso at a 45-degree angle and keeping your arms a few inches away from your chest. From here, turn your torso to the right, pause and squeeze your right oblique muscles, then turn your torso to the left and pause to squeeze your left oblique muscles. The movement should come from your ribs and not your arms.
Sprawls
The sprawl is basically a burpee on steroids—a full body exercise that works as many muscles as possible and burns calories while shaping and toning upper- and lower-body, especially your abs. “It takes the traditional burpee to the next level by having you touch your chest to the ground, then push-up to plank as you continue the move,” explains Braganza.
How to do a sprawl: Standing with your feet shoulder-distance apart, squat down and place your hands on the ground. Jump your feet back to a plank and lower your body to touch the ground. Push yourself up to a plank and then jump your feet outside of your hands into a squat. Stand back up. That’s one rep. “If you want to burn even more calories, add a jump between each sprawl,” Braganza adds.
Mountain Climbers
Like burpees, Michaels is a fan of this moving plank exercise because it works your core, in addition to a slew of other body muscles.
How to do mountain climbers: Get into a high-plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders. Keep your core tight, drawing your belly button in toward your spine. Drive your right knee toward your chest and then bring it back to plank. Then, drive your left knee toward your chest and bring it back. Continue to alternate sides.
Burpees
This exercise works your core, as well as your chest, shoulders, lats, triceps and quads, explains Michaels. Since burpees involve explosive plyometric movement, they’ll get your heart pumping too.
How to do burpees: Stand with your feet shoulder-distance apart and send your hips back as you lower your body toward the ground in a low squat. Then, place your hands right outside of your feet and hop your feet back, allowing your chest to touch the floor. Push your hands against the floor to lift your body up into a plank and then jump your feet just outside of your hands. With your weight in your heels, jump explosively into the air with your arms overhead.
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Running On an Incline
Running at an incline rather than on a flat surface has been shown to increase total calorie burn by as much as 50 percent, says Jill Penfold, a Los Angeles-based personal trainer. Whether you’re outside on a hill or at the gym on an inclined treadmill, start out walking for five to 10 minutes, suggests Penfold. “Your heart rate should elevate pretty quickly as you pick up your pace,” she says.
Try this treadmill workout: Walk or jog on an incline for five to 10 minutes. Maintain a jog for another five to 10 minutes, then pick your pace up again and start running. “This doesn’t have to be an all-out sprint,” says Penfold, but you should be working hard enough that you can’t carry a conversation. Spend five minutes running, then drop your pace back down to a jog. Continue alternating with five to 10 minutes of jogging and five to 10 minutes of running for 30 to 45 minutes.
Walking
Yes, you read that right. Simply walking can go a long way toward helping you shed belly fat, says Sahmura Gonzalez, a personal trainer based in New York City.
“It seems so simple, but 45 to 60 minutes of brisk walking every day can do wonders for your metabolism,” says Gonzalez. “Plus, it ensures that you don’t over-train, which can lead to an over-production of cortisol—a stress hormone that’s been shown to contribute to belly fat.”
If your walking workout helps you unwind after a stressful day or work through emotions that might otherwise stress you out, there’s a chance it’ll help you lower cortisol levels, which in turn can keep belly fat in check, says Gonzalez. And brisk walking is an effective way to drop pounds—including the belly fat that’s hiding your abdominal muscles. “One hour of rapid walking a day can lead to one pound of fat loss a week,” says Gonzalez.
Diet tips to get flat abs
For losing belly fat and weight in general, your total calorie intake needs to be less than the calories you burn in a day. You need to focus on consuming all food groups and not starve yourself.
1. Make sure your diet includes plenty of fibre and protein-rich foods. Protein-rich foods help in building muscles and can aid weight loss. Fibre-rich foods are filling in nature and can reduce your appetite.
2. Limit your intake of refined carbs. Processed food, junk food and deep fried-food are a big no-no if you want to have flat abs.
3. Drink sufficient water and keep yourself well-hydrated at all times.
4. Do not forget to include foods rich in good fat like ghee, olive oil, mustard oil, coconut oil, avocado etc in your diet.
