14 Exercise tips to Burn Belly Fat

In this post I will give you 14 recommendations on how to use exercises to burn belly fat using a holistic approach. I will also discuss the evidence why belly fat can be more than a problem of self image and physical appearance. So if you want motivation to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle to burn belly fat, then look no further.

Diseases associated with Belly fat:

Belly fat is associated with all sorts of nasties, from diabetes to metabolic syndrome, hypertension and cardiovascular disease to name a few. There are numerous reasons some of us are more prone to belly fat than others.

Some causes for accumulation of belly fat:

There is genetic predisposition, body shape/type, stressful lifestyle, childbearing for women and the list goes on. So I am going to talk about exercises that are recommended to target fat around your middle section and some steps to help to tackle this problem and take back control of your health and your figure.

So there are ways that you can fight back. Remember the saying; genetics loads the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger. So what exercises are supposed to be good for this problem and what are some simples ways to reduce belly fat that you can incorporate into your lifestyle?

A look at exercises as an option;

Lets talk about the exercises first and then I will share some small changes that will support your goal to have a flat healthy stomach. The good thing is that exercise is good for your overall physical and mental health. And when you decide to take steps to keep within a healthy weight for height ratio popularly referred to as you BMI (body mass index) you have taken the first step to improve you fitness level and prevent diseases related to being over weight.

Well done on taking the first step to tackle Belly fat;

So congratulation on the bold move. Talking about “move” or movement, is important as we are becoming more aware of the importance of movement for physical health and wellbeing. Keeping active is a must for staying well. So the first exercise I want to look at is situps or crunches.

Sit ups or crunches;

Crunches are exercises that tighten you abdominal wall muscles, and are performed by raising your body from a supine position to a sitting position. Usually with your legs bent at the knees and keeping your hands behind your head as you sit up. These exercises support core strength and good posture. Strong abdominal muscles also support your back by reducing the pressure caused by the weight of loose abdominal muscles especially if you are carrying excess fat on your abdomen.

Planks to Strengthen the Upper Body

Planks are exercises that improve upper body strength and by engaging the core muscles while performing this exercise you also strengthen your abdominal muscles. This exercise is usually done by starting in a prone position (lying face down) and then while keeping the body in a straight line from head to toe, the arms are used to raised the body from the floor, as far as your out stretched hands will go, or resting on your elbows as shown in the picture above, then hold and repeat. Below I will discuss how this affects the abdominal fat problem.

Are squats useful for fitness and to burn belly fat?

Squats are exercises that mainly work the leg muscles, such as the calves, hamstring and hips, glutes and quadriceps. But they also have benefits for the core abdominal muscles and obliques abdominal muscles. They are good for lower body strength and stability. So they support core muscle strength, but whether there is evidence that they burn abdominal fat will be discussed below.

High Intensity Interval Training:

Another set of exercises that have gained prominence recently are high intensity interval training or HIIT exercises. These workouts are a combination of various short duration but fast and intense exercises that ideally should target different muscle groups. These are proven to burn calories more effectively that a low to moderate intensity workout sustained for a longer duration. So they are good for overall fat burn in your body.

Spot exercises (alone) to burn belly fat are not effective;

So while there are many different approaches to exercise (including crunches) and workouts for a leaner body it is not advised that you target one area of your body for fat loss using exercises. This may strengthen and tighten abdominal muscles but according to the experts evidence does not support targeting one specific area of the body in this way. The approach to a flat and toned abdomen requires a holistic approach. And brisk walking for between 30-60 minutes a day is surprisingly simple and effective to trim your body and keep excess weight at bay.

Some important things to consider when targeting belly fat are:

Spot slimming exercises are considered a fallacy by the experts in the business. But according to Harvard Medical School; while crunches or sit-ups tighten the abdominal muscles, it is aerobic exercises coupled with strength training that really burn visceral fat (the kind that sits around the organs within the abdominal cavity) that cause diseases. This is more dangerous than the subcutaneous fat that is just under the first layers of the skin.

Visceral fat versus subcutaneous fat;

So it’s good to identify the type of fat you are struggling with and know the risk posed by each type. Neither of them should be tolerated but its important to monitor your health for signs of chronic disease when visceral fat starts threatening your health.

Because many type two diabetics and people with high blood pressure, fatty liver disease (that can lead to cirrhosis) high cholesterol and certain type of cancers (breast cancer and colorectal cancer) that are associated with the accumulation of visceral fat, are undiagnosed until they are at an advanced stage, and more difficult to treat.

So here are 14 recommendations for tackling both types of belly fat:

1. First identify which type it is, whether subcutaneous fat, or visceral fat or both.

2. For visceral fat (not obvious from pinching the skin on the waist and abdomen) that is most likely when your waist measures more than 35 inches in circumference;

3. Treat this seriously and enlist support from a friend or partner to exercise with and help to hold you accountable.

4. And/or if possible enlist the help of a personal trainer. Evidence shows that getting support with lifestyle changes such as exercising and quitting unhealthy habits improves your chances of success.

5. If you decide to go it with a friend/family member/support group, you still need a plan of action that is realistic and sustainable.

6. Aim to have fun and incorporate it into your life style. A personal trainer is able to discuss your goals and agree a plan with you around both exercise and diet /lifestyle.

7. Your doctor or family nurse may also help you with your baseline assessment and referral to a dietician if needed.

8. A thorough assessment around the factors that contributed to the accumulation of visceral fat (and may cause health complications) should ideally include:

9. Discussion and assessment of stress levels (may contribute to accumulation of visceral fat). Because long term stress increases circulating cortisol levels and this also contribute to weight gain in the abdominal region of the body.

10. Sleep apnea and other sleep problems, may contribute to visceral fat gain, as poor sleep and especially sleep apnea or sleep deprivation has been shown to increase the hunger hormone, increasing craving for calorific foods and also lack of satiety. Apparently the body is also more resistant to weight loss when sleep quality is poor, according to one study in which the control group lost more weight than the sleep deprived group.

11. Overall activity levels; as a sedentary life style is unhealthy for people, but may even be dangerous for someone with high levels of fat around the abdominal organs. Activity is a sign of life and the lower one’s activity level the greater their risk for disease and morbidity.

12. Hydration and fluid and electrolyte balance should also be assessed; chronic dehydration tends to mimic hunger and leads to more concentrated blood that increase the risk for blood clots. Electrolyte and mineral levels play an important role in metabolic processes and therefore have an impact on how well the body burns fat to aid weight loss.

13. Fibre intake (each day); it is important to have dark green leafy vegetables everyday. These provide many minerals and vitamins that the body needs to function optimally. And may be used in an exciting way when incorporated in tasty dishes instead of just served on the side. For example, I enjoy a lovely savour pancake ( nice on pancake days) with some steamed (cooled) spinach added to the pancake batter before cooking. Yummy! You should try this sometimes. Pulses, nuts and seeds also add healthy fats and fibre while packing in fat soluble vitamins A, E and K.

14. Other lifestyle factors that may complicate the problem include cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, lack of sunshine and fresh air. A closer look will show that these issues play a really big role (maybe just as important as exercise) in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.

So to summarise:

Exercises are a must for a healthy body and flat sculpted abdomen. But this requires a holistic approach and should be incorporated into your life style. Its not an easy fix, but it will be worth it when we consider the risks posed by having belly fat that sets the stage for diseases. When what we really want is a beautiful, sexy body with none of the nasties.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and look forward to hearing your comments. Please feel free to leave a comment or question, or to request more information about this topic.