Your body generally burns fat in a pattern that is predetermined by your age, sex and genetics. Losing belly fat may require overall body fat loss in addition to abdominal training, which helps tone muscles under your belly fat. Combining abdominal work with exercises that reduce overall body fat may help you lose belly. Strategically timing exercise around your sleeping and eating schedule may also help you lose belly fat.
Fasted Exercise
Lower insulin levels, which occur when you are in a fasted state, may increase your ability to burn fat. Therefore, exercising in a fasted state, such as before eating anything in the morning, may help you lose more belly fat. In a January 2011 T-Nation article, Chris Shugart says that you may burn three times the amount of fat that you burn while at rest if you perform light aerobic exercise while in a fasted state. He recommends light exercise, such as walking on a treadmill, for an hour while keeping your pulse within 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
Warm Belly Fat
Cold fat may not mobilize as well as warm fat, and increasing blood flow to your abdominal area may help you lose more belly fat. A February 2011 article by Dr. Lonnie Lowery suggests warming your belly fat by wearing your weightlifting belt backward, or a tummy belt that makes your abs sweat. Keeping your belly fat warm while performing other exercise may help you lose belly fat. For example, you may wear a belt over you abdomen while lifting weights or walking on the treadmill.
Aerobic Abdominal Exercise
Combining aerobic exercise with abdominal work may help you lose more belly fat, because muscular activity near a fatty area increases the breakdown of fat in that area. Lowery recommends losing belly fat by performing two sets of abdominal crunches halfway through, and again after an aerobic exercise session. You may start out performing around 30 repetitions per set, and progress up to 50 before adding another set. You may also perform use abdominal exercises, such as, planks, twists, situps and hanging leg raises.
Reduce Cortisol
Reducing your cortisol levels may help you lose more belly fat, because cortisol is a stress hormone that stimulates fat storage around your midsection. You can reduce your cortisol levels by producing more growth hormone. John Romaniello's March 2011 IronMagazine.com article says that getting enough sleep and lactic acid training allow your body to produce more growth hormone. Lactic acid is a byproduct of muscle contractions that produces a burning sensation during weightlifting exercises. Your muscles produce lactic acid during the concentric, or positive, phase of weightlifting exercises. Therefore, extending the concentric phase and decreasing the eccentric phase may help reduce cortisol levels. For example, you may extend the concentric phase of a squat by descending to the bottom of a squat quickly, but lift back up over a period of four to six seconds.
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