Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

I am sure whenever we think of losing belly fat and having a flat stomach, the common things that come to our mind are doing lots of crunches and some stomach exercises. Though stomach exercises are good for toning stomach muscles, alone they are not very effective in losing belly fat. To get a flat stomach, you require to lose the fat covering the stomach muscles, hence, a combination of regular exercise and a low calorie diet is one of the best ways to lose belly fat. These exercises are highly effective in reducing belly fat, burning calories, and gaining strong stomach muscles.

How to Lose Belly Fat

There are different types of exercises like cardiovascular exercises, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and abdominal exercises that will help you burn belly fat by raising the body's metabolism. Swimming, dancing, biking, playing sports, etc. are some of the most important cardio exercises that a person can do to get a flat stomach. HIIT is a high intensity form of cardio in which with every few minutes you vary the intensity of exercise to force your body to burn more calories in a short span of time. Abdominal exercises such as crunches or leg lifts work well on the ab muscles and should be performed along with cardio exercises and HIIT to lose belly fat and have a toned stomach. Following are some exercises to lose belly fat:

Upper Abs Exercise: The Basic Crunch
To perform a basic crunch, your hands should be to the side of your chest or crossed on your chest. Bend your knees at an angle of 90 degrees with your feet touching the ground. Lift your shoulder blades in such a manner that you touch your knees with your chest without moving the legs. When you reach at the top of the movement, i.e. when you knees are touching your chest, contract your ab muscles intensely and then slowly lower your body down. Touch your shoulder blades to the ground and repeat the procedure about 15-30 times. Also concentrate on your breathing, breathe out on the way up, and breathe in on the way down. Take rest for a few minutes and repeat the exercise doing at least 3-4 sets.

Lower Abs Exercise : The Reverse Crunch
Lie on your back with your hands behind your head or on the ground next to your hips. Bend your knees with your feet six inches above the ground. Slowly bring your knees toward your chest and raise the buttocks. Focus while contracting your abs so that you can feel your lower abs working after a few repetitions. Now slowly lower your legs to the starting position and repeat the procedure about 15-30 times. Breathe in and out in the same way as mentioned above, take rest for a few minutes and repeat the exercise doing at least 3-4 sets.

Oblique Exercise: The Oblique Crunch
Lie on your back with your knees bent so that your left foot should be resting flat on the ground. With your right knee bent, position your right foot across your left knee. Put your left hand at the side of your head and your right hand on the left side of your abdominals or on the ground next to your thigh. Curl your body up with a twisting move and take your left shoulder towards your right knee. Now slowly lower your body to the ground and repeat about 15-30 times. Breathe in and out in the same way and repeat the exercise, again doing a minimum of 3-4 sets.

Bonus: The Bicycle Exercise
This is a simple and extremely effective exercise that benefits all three areas of the stomach simultaneously. Lie on your back on the ground with your hands behind your head. Raise your shoulder blades off the ground and slightly bend your knees by bringing them in toward your chest. Stretch your left leg out at an angle of 45 degree and at the same time turn your upper body to the right, taking the left elbow towards the right knee. Switch sides by taking the right elbow towards the left knee. Keep on alternating sides in a pedaling motion about 15-30 times doing 3-4 sets.

Along with these exercises to lose belly fat, following a healthy diet plan which comprises of food items low in fat and high in nutrition will help your body store less fat after every meal, and will increase your metabolism to burn more calories and lose weight and fat all over your body.