Losing belly fat takes discipline and a change in lifestyle habits. For example, any time you want to lose weight, you must cut calories, giving up certain foods and beverages. Once you have done that, any exercises that involve the abdomen are good, provided you use proper form.
Fat-Burning Exercise
Running, stair climbing, elliptical training, rowing, brisk walking, and group indoor cycling all have something in common: They burn fat throughout your whole body, including your belly. Perform your preferred cardiovascular exercise for 60 to 90 minutes three to four days per week. If you are easily bored easy, perform multiple forms of cardio in the same workout, or alternate with each workout.
Strength Training
Strength training involves lifting weights to build muscle. This type of exercise will raise your metabolism and burn extra calories. To boost your efforts, perform exercises that force you to contract your abs to remain stable, such as stability ball push-ups, standing shoulder presses, pull-ups, stability ball triceps extensions, and deadlifts.
Yoga Exercises
Yoga is a form of mind and body exercise that involves holding your body in fixed positions for extended periods of time, while breathing deeply into your stomach. These are called poses, or postures. Poses such as the plank, side plank, and full boat all tighten and tone the stomach.
To do a plank, lie on your stomach with your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor, and your feet together behind you. Steadily push yourself up until your arms are fully extended, and lift your hips to form a straight back. As you do this, contract your abs, and hold the position until you feel fatigued.
The side plank targets the obliques, found on the sides of the stomach. Perform this the same way as the regular plank, but place just one hand on the floor, stack your legs, and rotate your body so it is perpendicular to the floor.
A full boat pose works the upper and lower abs, and is done from an upright position on the floor. While sitting on your butt with your knees bent and feet flat, lift your legs in the air, and extend your arms forward on the sides of your knees; hold this position. Your body should be in a "V" shape.
Pilates
Pilates is an exercise form that causes constant contraction of the abdominal muscles. Exercises like leg circles, double leg stretches, and spinal twists all tone and tighten the belly.
To do leg circles, lie on your back with your right leg lifted in the air, and left leg straight in front of you. Slowly draw imaginary circles in the air, then switch directions. After doing a set of repetitions in both directions, switch legs. When doing these, make your circles one to two feet in diameter.
Double leg stretches work your upper and lower abs simultaneously, and are done from a curled-up position. After lying on your back, lift your shoulders and legs off the floor, tuck your knees into your chest, and grasp your lower shins with your hands. In a steady motion, kick your legs out in the air as you extend your arms in the air behind you. Steadily move back to the starting point and repeat. When extending your arms and legs, do not let them touch the floor.
Spinal twists place a specific focus on the obliques. While sitting on the floor with your legs together and in front of you, extend your arms out to your sides so they are parallel to the floor. Keeping your back straight, steadily rotate your torso from side to side.
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