Exercising before bed can help you to burn belly fat. The body slows down at night and does not require as much energy. Therefore, some of the nutrients taken in at evening meals get stored as body fat because of inactivity. Add some of these exercises to your routine before retiring, and you can burn your belly fat in no time.
Resistance Training Exercises
Whether at the gym or at home, you can burn fat by lifting weights before bed. Resistance training burns fat while you do it, but it also elevates your metabolic rate for up to 48 hours according to "The Abs Diet." If you do full body workouts every other day, you can burn more belly fat all week long. Resistance exercise directly targets belly fat by triggering production of fat burning hormones. If you do a workout at night, take some protein before you go to bed to help with muscle recovery. It will not inhibit your fat burning and may actually improve it.
Body Weight Exercises
For a quick workout before bed without expensive equipment, use body weight exercises. According to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson, they target muscle fat burning in a unique way due to the effect of fighting gravity. Examples of these exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, dips and body-weight squats. Try a power pyramid using body weight exercises. For example, you start with a cycle of 1-2-3 or one push-up, two pull-ups and three body weight squats. Next, do 2-4-6, 3-6-9, 4-8-12, 3-6-9, 2-4-6 and finish back at the bottom of the pyramid with 1-2-3. Rest 30 seconds to one minute between cycles, and add cycles and repetitions as needed.
Abs Exercises
While abdominal exercises do not flatten your midsection nearly as well as diet alone, they do directly target the area. According to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson, new research suggests that you may be able to spot reduce body fat from your abdomen. Choose an exercise for the upper abs, one for the lower portion of the muscle and another for the obliques (love handle areas). For example do a giant set of crunches, reverse crunches and side jackknifes. This means you do one set of as many crunches as you can, then do as many reverse crunches and follow that with side jackknifes. Repeat the cycle or giant set three times. (See Resources for Exercise Guide to learn more).
Cardiovascular Exercise
Adding cardiovascular exercise before bed can help you to burn belly fat. Cardio works even better if you do it immediately after resistance or body weight training. Doing your cardio after your abs workout may help to directly target this area for fat burning as well. Examples of cardio include walking around the neighborhood, walking or running up and down the stairs, jogging and/or riding an exercise bike.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "The Fat-Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
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