Reducing belly fat is one of the most common fitness goals out there, but in addition to being an aesthetic goal, losing belly fat is a good way to improve your overall health: research has linked larger waist sizes to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, as well as some cancers.
That said, doing hundreds of crunches every single day won’t get you the abs of your dreams, and there aren’t specific exercises that can spot-reduce belly fat. Instead, losing fat from your mid-section comes down to factors like diet, sleep, regular exercise, hormones, and managing your stress levels. Here’s everything you need to know about body fat percentage, and how to calculate yours.
So, rather than spending hours doing sit-ups and crunches in the gym, it’s better to focus on exercises that include cardio and strength work, as well as targeting your core. Not sure where to start? We’ve found 10 of the best exercises for banishing belly fat here. We’ll get these out the way first, as it’ll only get better from here. Sure, you probably hate them, but burpees are a brilliant plyometric movement, which targets your core, chest, shoulders, lats, triceps, and quadriceps. They’ll also raise your heart rate and burn calories. (Not a fan of burpees? Here’s a full-body exercise you can do instead. Learn how to do a burpee properly here.
Start standing with your feet hip-width or shoulder-width apart
Place your hands on the ground, then jump both feet back into a high plank position Lower your chest to the floor into a bodyweight push-up
Explosively push the ground away and straighten your arms, lifting your hips and chest as one unit. Try to avoid arching your lower back
Jump your feet forward just behind your arms, then explode back to standing, raising your arms above your head and jumping into the air.
Another one that looks easy on paper, but delivers a serious burn, Russian twists target your obliques as well as your abdominal muscles. As they require you to do rotational movements, they are super beneficial for many athletes, including tennis and baseball players. To make the exercise harder, hold a dumbbell. Another full-body exercise that mixes cardio with strength training, the kettlebell swing targets most of the major muscle groups in the body. If you don’t have a kettlebell, a milk carton filled with water (and the cap screwed securely on!) or a dumbbell will work fine.
