Fat in the stomach comes in two forms: subcutaneous or visceral. Subcutaneous fat is the jiggly stuff you can see and pinch with your fingers. Visceral fat is the type found deep inside the stomach. This builds up around the organs, increasing your risk for type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, breast cancer and prostate cancer, according to Reader's Digest. By creating a flat stomach through exercise, you can reduce your risk of these unwanted consequences. The exercises involve more than just your stomach. Consult your doctor before beginning this or any exercise regimen.
Misconceptions
A common misconception is that you can develop a flat stomach by performing ab exercises multiple times in a row. This is called spot reduction. Although they are effective at toning the abdominals, specific ab exercises do not burn much fat. Your best bet is to use cardiovascular exercise.
Types
When you do cardiovascular exercises, you move in a repetitive motion that burns calories. This leads to weight loss throughout your entire body. The best types are the ones that you enjoy and will stick with for an extended period of time. Fast-paced walking, running, indoor cycling, elliptical training, stair climbing, kickboxing and jumping rope are all effective.
Time Frame
The amount of time you devote to your exercises is an important part of getting a flat stomach. To lose weight, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity, performed five days a week. If you do not have time to do cardio sessions for this time frame, it is fine to work out in multiple bouts during the day.
Effects
To get the best results from your cardiovascular training, you need to exercise at a high enough intensity. Interval training is a good option. This causes you to burn a high amount of calories, and it also increases the work on your abs. Interval training is performed by alternating bouts of all-out effort and light effort. When you go all out, you are forced to contract your abs forcefully. This is the case, especially with running and indoor cycling.
Considerations
You might not think of weight training when it comes to getting a flat stomach and abs, but it can be very helpful. When you lift weights, you build muscle which increases your resting metabolic rate and causes you to burn more calories throughout the day. If you add 3 pounds of muscle, you will burn an extra 630 to 1,050 calories a week, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Perform exercises on a stability ball, which will cause you to contract your abs. Push-ups, seated shoulder presses, back extensions, lying triceps extensions, seated biceps curls and wall squats are exercises that target your entire body.
Ab Exercises
The goal with abdominal exercises is to target the entire stomach instead of one part. This is achieved by doing exercises with multiple movement patterns. Leg raises, reverse crunches, side crunches, bicycle maneuvers and stability ball sit-ups are examples.
Tips
If you truly want to lose your stomach fat, then you need to make adjustments to your diet in addition to exercising. Exercise only goes so far when you eat junk food all day long. For the best results, reduce your calories and eat foods that are high in nutrients like fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, beans, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.
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