When trying to tone and sculpt your body, belly fat is often one of the hardest parts to lose. You cannot specifically target fat loss in your belly, but you can strengthen and tone the muscles in that region to help your midsection appear smaller. Cardio and core exercises -- such as situps, crunches and pushups -- can help strengthen your abs. A healthy and balanced diet, routine exercise, consistency and patience can help you achieve a flatter stomach.
Running
Running works major muscle groups throughout the body with auxiliary benefits to the abdominal region. Abdominal workouts can help strengthen your abs, but routine cardio exercise is required to burn the layer of fat, which covers the muscles in this region. Running can help you burn anywhere from 500 to 800 calories per hour, helping to promote efficient fat burning, leading to lean and toned abs.
Kickboxing
Kickboxing is a high-endurance cardio routine that combines boxing, martial arts and aerobics to strengthen muscles in the legs, buttocks, arms and abs. Kickboxing can help you burn anywhere from 350 to 450 calories per hour while toning muscles in these regions. Kickboxing combines a series of kicks, jumps and punches in a routine that gets your heart rate pumping to maximize your fat-burning potential. Mixing kickboxing into your weekly cardio routine can better help you target different muscle groups in the abdominal region.
Core Exercises
Core exercises will not help you get rid of all your belly fat, but they help support muscle toning and definition in the abdominal region. Core exercises target muscles like the rectus abdominus, obliques and the tough-to-reach transverse abdominus. Doing five reps of 20 situps or crunches can help you burn belly fat over time. Other helpful core exercises include the bridge and plank poses.
Diet
Your diet plays an essential role when it comes to achieving a flatter, leaner stomach. You must burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. Reduce the number of calories you consume while burning fat through exercise. There are no specific foods to eat that burn fat or help target fat burning in the belly region, but a diet low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins can help you achieve your fitness goals.
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