Many gym exercises can help you lose belly fat. Targeting the abdominal muscles helps shape the what lies beneath the skin but may not do too much for defining the area. Combine abdominal training with weight-lifting exercises that directly target the abdomen and properly timed cardiovascular workouts to get the most out of your belly fat loss exercises.
Decline Crunches
Locking your ankles into the footpads of a decline abs bench, lie back with your feet higher than your head. Either cross your arms on your chest or put your hands behind your head and crunch upward, lifting your shoulders off the bench and contracting the abs at the top position. Do not use momentum to do this. Slowly lower yourself back to the start. Add resistance by holding a dumbbell or weighted plate in your hands.
Hanging Knee-ups
Hang from a pull-up bar in a fully extended position with a shoulder-width or slightly wider grip, palms facing away from the body. Start by bringing your knees toward your chest slowly without swinging or using momentum. The pelvis should slightly curl at the top when you contract and hold for one second. Make these harder by keeping your legs straight throughout the movement.
Side Bends
For side bends, position your body sideways on a hyperextension apparatus. This locks your legs into place, while allowing the torso to move freely at the hips. Allowing your body to descend sideways as far as possible, crunch back upward, feeling a contracting in your side obliques or the "love handle" area. Switch sides and repeat. Hold a weighted plate or dumbbell to add resistance.
Squats
Squats work the entire body with emphasis on the core or abdominal muscles for stabilization. Moreover, squats cause the body to produce a surge of potent fat-burning hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, according to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson. Start with a barbell across your shoulder blades, with a shoulder-width grip on the bar. Bending at the knees and keeping your lower back arched, you squat as if sitting on a chair until your upper legs are parallel to the ground or just below. Then press through your heels to reach the starting position.
Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise provides a way to burn more body fat. However, you may find that the belly fat does not seem to want to come off no matter how much cardio you do. "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson recommends doing cardio immediately after your resistance training and abs training. Since resistance and abs training burns up all of your muscle-stored carbohydrate fuel or glycogen, your body is forced to turn to fatty acid stores as a source of energy during your cardio workout.
References
- Muscle & Performance; "Chisel Your Middle"; Eric Velasquez, April 2010
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2009
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