Men tend to accumulate excess fat in the midsection, specifically the belly area, according to the Mayo Clinic. A healthy diet and consistent exercise plan which includes aerobic and resistance training workouts will help men lose weight.
Build Muscle, Lose Fat
It doesn't take hours a day of treadmill work to get the weight loss results you desire. In fact, you can lose body fat by simply building muscle mass. Resistance training efficiently burns calories, increases muscle mass and boosts metabolism, according to MayoClinic.com. A higher metabolism means that your body will burn more calories even while you're at rest. Beginners should start by hitting the gym 2 to 3 days per week with at least one day of rest in between each workout. Focus your efforts on compound exercise machines that work multiple muscle groups at once, such as bench press, squats and rows. Try to target 2 or 3 different muscle groups for each workout so that you exercise each muscle once per week. Aim for 4 to 8 sets per muscle group. For instance, to work the chest area, you could do four sets of 10 repetitions on the bench press followed by three sets of 10 reps on the fly machine. As you begin to increase your muscle mass, your body fat levels will continue to decrease week after week.
HIIT
A versatile weight loss workout for men is called high intensity interval training, or HIIT. This workout can be completed with or without a treadmill, bike, weights or a pool. HIIT uses short "rest" and short "work" intervals completed consecutively to help boost your metabolism for maximum calorie burn. The most basic form of HIIT consists of a jogging and sprinting interval. For instance, you would jog for 60 seconds and then sprint for an additional 60 seconds. You then repeat this cycle five to 10 times with no rest in between. According to several studies mentioned at preventdisease.com, HIIT has been proven to increase cardiovascular health, burn a relatively high number of calories and target deep belly fat known as visceral fat, which is an especially big problem area for men. So, not only does HIIT help to directly burn fat from the midsection of men, but it also helps increase their metabolism for a long term weight loss effect.
Twenty Minute Circuit Training Workout
Circuit training is an exercise program that combines aerobic activity with resistance training. Former Navy SEAL, Stew Smith, offers a quick and effective way for men to burn fat and build muscle in the weight room. This 13-step circuit training workout takes just 20 minutes to complete. The key to any circuit training workout is that you do not rest in between each set---you must move from one exercise to the next in order to keep your heart rate up. Smith's workout can be found at military.com. It consists of the following exercises: bench press, squats, pull-ups, bike/jog, military press, lunges, bicep curls, bike/jog, tricep extensions, leg extensions, leg curls, sit-ups and crunches---in that order. Use light weight for this workout to achieve a high number of repetitions. Instead of targeting a specific number of repetitions for each exercise, Smith recommends doing each exercise for one to three minutes to ensure you are focusing on proper form rather than number of reps.
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