If you want to lose belly fat, you're certainly not alone. For most of us, getting rid of that excess fat is something we've worked for, maybe for years, only to find it's not as simple as doing some crunches or regular cardio.
There are different types of belly fat we have to deal with: visceral fat and subcutaneous fat. Visceral fat lies around the organs and is underneath the abdominal muscles, but it's the fat we can pinch that most of us are concerned with. This is the subcutaneous belly fat that hangs over the waist and, for some, often resembles the dreaded "muffin top."
You've probably heard that abs are made in the kitchen and, to some extent, that's true. However, exercise is a crucial component to any belly fat routine and there are three things you can start doing right now that will help target that annoying belly fat:
Incorporating all three of these into your workout program will give you that extra edge when it comes to belly fat and the workout below has all three components.
Here's what you need to know before you get started.
HIIT workouts, by definition, are designed to send your heart rate soaring, pushing you out of your comfort zone where your body has to work much harder to get oxygen to the muscles.
By working very hard for short intervals you shake up your metabolism and force your body to use more energy to find fuel for the body. Not only that, you use even more energy after the workout to bring your body back to its pre-existing state.
All of that means more calorie burn overall but, even better, HIIT training seems to target belly fat specifically.
In one study, published in Kinesiology, experts compared one group of women who followed a HIIT protocol workout for 12 weeks to women who did moderate-intensity cardio. The HIIT group experienced a greater reduction of subcutaneous belly fat by the end of the study.
With HIIT training you want to make sure that, first, you only do this type of training a few times a week. Too much can actually backfire, causing burnout, overtraining, or even an injury.
Second, you should have some exercise experience before trying HIIT. If you haven't tried interval training, start with a beginner program and slowly work your way up to more intense workouts.
Traditional strength training exercises like the biceps curls are important in their own way, but if you really want to burn more calories and target belly fat, compound moves are a must.
Compound exercises involve working more than one muscle group at the same time. For example, a squat or a squat with an overhead press involves many more muscle fibers than either one of those moves alone. Not only does this burn more calories because you're using more muscle groups, it elevates your heart rate as well, which also burns more calories.
The more muscle tissue you involve, the harder your heart has to work to pump blood and oxygen to the muscles. That's where the calorie-burn happens. As a bonus, compound exercises also improve your balance and coordination as well as flexibility.
Compound vs. Isolation Exercises for Building StrengthCompound moves are important for elevating heart rate and burning calories, but strength training exercises have a different effect on the body. With both HIIT training and compound exercises, you burn more calories during the workout and, of course, after the workout as your body works through the afterburn.
Strength training doesn't necessarily burn as many calories during your workout session, but adding lean muscle tissue has a more long-term impact on the body.
Lifting weights not only helps you build strength in your muscles and bones, it can increase your metabolism. Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, so the more you have, the more calories your body burns overall.
And, even better, lifting weights can actually help prevent more weight gain around the belly as you get older.
In one study by the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found that healthy men who did at least 20 minutes of weight training gained less weight around the abdominal area than men who spent the same amount of time doing cardio.
You now have these three tools in your exercise toolbox, and this workout combines all three to give you the most comprehensive belly fat workout. Do this 2 to 3 times a week, watch your diet, and you're on the right track.
For this workout, there are 3 rounds. Each round includes a 4-minute HIIT series, a series of compound exercises that target multiple muscle groups and traditional strength moves that emphasize individual muscle groups.
For your first round, your cardio intervals will be 40 seconds long followed by 20 seconds of rest. As the title suggests, the moves you'll do are all a version of jumping jacks.
Work as hard as you can during the work segments and take advantage of the 20-second rest periods. Take a moment to catch your breath before moving on to the Part 2.
For the second part, you'll focus on combination moves with an emphasis on the shoulders and back, followed by more targeted exercises for those muscle groups. Go as heavy as you can for the strength exercises, rest briefly and move on to the next round.
For round 2, we're mixing things up with some new intervals and a variety of burpees.
If these don't work for you, feel free to substitute other cardio moves. The idea is just to get your heart rate up and work as hard as you can. Your intervals are 30/30, so an equal work-to-rest ratio. By the end, you should feel breathless.
Your strength and combination exercises emphasize the arms, the biceps, and triceps. For the strength moves, pick up a heavy weight to really work the arms.
Your cardio involves side-to-side exercises to target the muscles of the glutes, hips, and outer thighs. You'll also work on speed, stability, and agility.
Your last strength and compound combo focuses on the chest and the lower body with a variety of moves. Again, try to lift as heavy as you can for the strength moves and rest if you need to between exercises.
To sum it up, your workout will look like this:
Round One: Jack It Out
Round 2: All Burpees All the Time
Round Three: Take It to the Side
Total Workout Time: Approximately 35 Minutes
End your workout with a stretch.