If you are carrying extra weight around your middle, you will need to establish a sensible program to help reduce your weight. A large stomach is not only about how you look. It may indicate that you are at a higher risk for heart disease. People who carry extra weight around the belly seem to have a greater risk of heart disease than those who carry extra weight in other areas of the body. To rid yourself of the belly fat, you will need to combine cardiovascular and toning exercises.
Step 1
Participate in aerobic exercise. You cannot spot reduce through exercise. If you weigh more then you should, no matter how many sit-ups you do, you will not develop a flatter stomach. You can make your stomach muscles stronger without losing weight, but to make the stomach smaller, you need to shed the extra pounds. To do this you need aerobic or cardiovascular exercise. This involves activities such as biking, walking, swimming and dancing. The Centers for Disease Control states that to maintain weight, every week you need to participate in "...150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week." If you want to lose weight you need to do more, especially if no changes are made to the number of calories you are eating. If you reduce your caloric intake as well, you may be able to cut back on the amount of exercise you need. Visit the CDC website for tools to help you get started.
Step 2
Add some abdominal toning exercises. According to the Mayo Clinic "Sit-ups help make your abdominal muscles stronger, but spot exercises alone won't specifically reduce belly fat. The best way to shrink your waist size is to lower your total body fat through healthy eating and exercise." However as you are working to lose the weight, you can do exercises to shape and tone the stomach muscles. There are many variations on sit-ups. However, to be effective you need to do them right. If you do sit-ups too fast or without control, you may develop neck and/or back pain. If you are new to exercise, find a local trainer who can show you how to do them correctly and effectively.
Step 3
Vary your routine. The best way to get results is to cross train. This means doing a variety of exercises. If you continue to do the same exercise over and over, such as doing one hundred basic crunches every day, your body will eventually become accustomed to the exercise, and you will no longer get the results you want. Shake up your routine by adding resistance, using a physio ball or a bench to work your abdominal muscles in a different way each time. This will prevent your muscles from getting accustomed to the exercise and you will get better results. In addition, every variation you do will work the muscles a little differently. By mixing up your routine you will really tone and shape your stomach.
Step 4
Be consistent. You will not reduce your stomach by exercising once in a while, or just on the weekend. You should do a full abdominal exercise routine on at least three days per week, every week. Combining this with aerobic exercise on most days of the week will help you to reduce your belly fat and to improve your overall health.
Tips and Warnings
- If you are new to exercise, start slowly and build up gradually. Remember, exercising to reduce belly fat is not something you will do for six or eight weeks and then stop. To maintain your fitness level you will need to formulate a plan that you can stay with for the rest of your life.
- Abdominal exercises should be felt in your stomach, not your neck or back. If this happens, have a trainer check your form. Minor adjustments to the way you are doing the exercise can make a big difference.
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