Top 5 Exercises To Lose Belly Fat
June 4, 2014
For many of us having a flat tummy feels like a dream, the quest to lose belly fat can be the most frustrating effort on our fitness journey. We at ShapeWell are aware of this and have isolated the top 5 exercises for a flat belly.
When you want to lose belly fat, there is more to it than exercise. You must control what you are eating, ensuring that you are burning more calories than you are consuming. Without cutting your calories and eating low-fat nutrient packed foods you can exercise until the cows come home and see no results.
There are many exercises which claim to get rid of belly fat, but the fundamentals are still the exercises of choice when it comes to belly fat reduction. These are 5 tried and true exercises which you are probably aware of but hadn’t realized how effective they are.
Top 5 Exercises To Lose Belly Fat
The Bicycle
Targets the six pack muscles & obliques
Lie flat on your back with your hands at the back of your head without locking your fingers together, this will ensure you aren’t pulling your head forward. Use your abdominal muscles to lift your shoulders off the ground as you would when performing a crunch.
Bend your knees and bring them upwards until your calves are parallel to the floor. Slowly begin to pedal your legs as if you are riding a bicycle and bring your opposite elbow toward the incoming knee. Do 1 to 3 sets with 10 to 15 repetitions.
Crunches
Targets the six pack muscles & obliques
Lie on the floor with your legs slightly bent at the knee with your feet flat on the floor. Cross your hands over your chest or place them behind your head without locking them together.
Contract your abdominal muscles and lift your shoulders towards the ceiling, until your shoulder blades are off the floor. Pause and hold for 1 second and slowly return to the floor. Do 1 to 3 sets with 10 to 15 repetitions.
Vertical Crunches
Targets lower abs
Lie on the floor with your legs straight up. Cross your knees and place your hands beneath your head for support without locking your fingers together, again this will ensure you aren’t pulling your head forward.
Contract your abs while lifting the shoulders off the floor and keep your legs in a fixed position to crunch. Do 1 to 3 sets with 10 to 15 repetitions.
L-Sit Crunches
Targets over all abs
Lie on the floor and lift your legs until they are perpendicular to the floor, your body will be in an L shaped position. Extend your arms straight above you on the floor, keeping them close to your ears. Slowly contract abs and lift shoulders off the floor and bring your hands in front of you carefully to keep the arms straight.
You can increase difficulty by holding a weighted workout bar in your hands. Do 1 to 3 sets with 10 to 15 repetitions.
Flutter Kicks
Targets ab muscles, back muscles and stamina
Lie on the floor with your legs straight out. Place your hands under the outsides of your gluts to support your lower back and raise your legs off the ground approximately 8-12”. Begin by raising one leg up to about 18-20” while lowering the other leg slightly then alternate the legs.
Continue alternating this flutter movement as long as you can. There is no set number of repetitions for this exercise, the goal is to get to the point where you simply can’t continue. As you repeat this exercise your stamina will increase.