Walking is a low-impact exercise that helps fight belly fat, keeps your bones strong and maintains cardiovascular health. Walking outdoors in scenic surroundings can boost your mood and oxygen intake. Add plyometrics, interval training and hills to your walking routine to become stronger and slimmer around the middle. Check with your doctor about starting a new exercise program.
Interval Training
As you walk, more fat and calories are burned in a shorter period of time with interval training, according to personal trainer David Grisaffi, author of "Firm and Flatten Your Abs." Walk at your normal pace for a few minutes, then increase your speed for 30 to 60 seconds and then resume your normal speed. Continue these intervals during a 30-minute walk.
Plyometrics
You can burn significantly more belly fat and twice as many calories per minute with plyometrics, according to personal trainer Joy Prouty. These jumping, skipping and bounding moves engage different muscle fibers than those used in your normal walking pattern. This plyometric workout can be done outside or on a treadmill. Step off the treadmill for the plyometrics moves. Walk 15 minutes at a moderate pace and then take 30 high-knee steps forward, alternating legs. Skip for 30 seconds and then walk at a moderate pace for one minute. Do 15 traveling lateral squats --- turn and move sideways as you squat --- in slow motion, followed by five squat jumps --- squat slightly, then swing your arms up as you jump. If you have knee problems, lift up on your toes instead of jumping. Now walk at a moderate pace for 10 minutes, followed by 30 high-knee steps forward again, then walk for five minutes at a slow pace to cool down.
Walking On Hills
You can burn tons of fat and triple your calorie burn with uphill walking, according to Prouty. Incorporate hills into your walking routine by changing 25 percent of your flat route to short or gradual hills. After two weeks, gradually add more climbing to your walks until you're doing one-half to two-thirds of your workout on hills. If there are no hills where you live, you can substitute a treadmill climb. Warm up for 10 minutes, then slowly increase the treadmill's incline to 2 percent for five to 10 minutes. Then gradually decrease the incline and finish with five to 10 minutes of flat walking. Every week or two, increase your incline by 1 percent.
Stress and Your Belly
When you are overly stressed, your level of the hormone cortisol increases and in turn, more of your calories are converted to fat which is deposited around the abdomen. A bulging belly is not only unflattering, but may be a sign of insulin resistance --- a precursor to type 2 diabetes --- and heart disease, according to Dr. Timothy McCall. By taking action to manage your stress, you can prevent an increase in belly fat. Walking and other exercises are healthy ways to alleviate stress.
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