Americans are in a battle with belly fat, the causes of which include stress, poor diet, lack of exercise or genetics. The good news is you don't have to become a slave to the situp or spend thousands of dollars on ab sculpting equipment to have a slimmer waistline. Exercising your upper and lower body can actually help you lose belly fat, even if you prefer not to work tirelessly on your midsection.
Spot Training
Working out only certain parts of your body is commonly referred to as "spot training." Spot training is often used by body builders who want to bulk up their arms or other specific body parts. For the average person hoping to lose a few pounds and stay in shape, this type of training can be used in a more effective manner by spot training numerous muscles on the body. When examining the physiological effects of exercise, building muscle anywhere on your body will result in calories being burned overall. According to the Mayo Clinic, muscle tissue burns more calories than fat, and therefore muscle mass is key to weight loss. To break this down into simpler terms, the more muscle you have, the more fat your body will burn. This muscle can be on your arms, legs, midsection or all of the above.
Become a Fat Burning Machine
The National Council on Strength and Fitness states that each pound of muscle on a human body burns approximately 30 to 50 calories per day. Therefore, adding just 5 lbs. of muscle to the body through exercise will burn an additional 150 to 250 calories per day. It is irrelevant if these 5 lbs. are located on your legs, arms or midsection. A pound of muscle anywhere on the body provides the same benefits to fat loss. For this reason, it is especially important to use each muscle in the body to its full potential; building muscle on each part of your body can literally turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
Establish a Workout Plan
An effective plan of action to burn belly fat is to use a combination of upper and lower body spot training exercises in the course of your week. A sample workout plan might look like this:
Day One: Work your upper body. Use weight training to work your biceps, triceps, shoulders and upper back. Pushups are also a good way to tone your upper body while working other key muscles in your midsection.
Day Two: Focus on strengthening your leg and glute muscles with lunges or squats. If you have access to a gym, use the circuit training equipment to add some variety to your leg workout.
Day Three: Use this day to do a full body cardio workout, such as jogging or the elliptical machine.
Days Four and Five: Add some additional activities such as swimming, tennis, biking or a long brisk walk.
It doesn't matter how you arrange your weekly workouts, but it is important to get about 30 minutes of exercise each time. Keep your workouts interesting and fun. Don't get too concerned about which muscle you are working; getting exercise in any form will be beneficial for your entire body and your health.
Don't Forget Your Core
Although working your upper and lower body will effectively burn calories to help rid your body of fat, several key muscles within your core also should be strengthened. By working your abdominal muscles, your lower back will become stronger and your posture may improve. If you are unable to perform exercises on your midsection due to injury or disability, simply "tighten" your ab muscles as you perform upper and lower body workouts.
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