What's The Fastest Way To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Fat?

The lower abdominals are a problem area for many people. This is partially because the upper abs are targeted in common abdominal exercises such as the crunch. The lower abdominals are better worked doing captain's chairs, reverse crunches, and bicycle crunch exercises, though it is impossible to separate the lower and upper abdominals completely. The bicycle crunch and captain's chair were the two exercises that produced the most muscle activity in the abdominals during exercise, according to an article on AceFitness.org titled "New Study Puts the Crunch on Ineffective Ab Exercises." The reverse crunch was also listed as one of the top exercises for the abs. Just doing ab exercises won't spot reduce, but doing these three lower-ab tightening exercises as part of a weight-loss program that includes cardio and dieting will get the fastest results.

Step 1

Eat less junk food. The Surgeon General says that weight loss is best accomplished with diet and exercise. Give up sodas, fast foods and sweets. There are about 150 calories in a 12 oz. can of soda, 1,500 calories in a fast food cheeseburger meal and 300 calories in a jelly doughnut, according to the Surgeon General's "Overweight and Obesity: What You Can Do" article. Eliminating these foods will help shrink your stomach.

Step 2

Include moderate-intensity exercise activities into your daily schedule. Wash and wax your car, rake leaves, shovel snow or walk at about 4 mph for 30 or more minutes a day, as recommended by the Surgeon General. Exercise for three 10-minute mini-sessions if is easier for you.

Step 3

Use a Captain's Chair, also called a Roman Chair, to do the captain's chair exercise. Sit on the chair with your forearms on the arm rests and your back against the backrest. Straighten your legs and let them hang down toward the floor. Bend your knees and raise your legs up toward your chest. Straighten your legs again down toward the floor.

Step 4

Lie on the floor to do bicycle crunches. Put your hands behind your head and crunch your shoulders off the floor. Straighten your left leg and hold it an inch from the floor. Bend your right knee and pull it toward your stomach. Rotate your shoulders to the left. Straighten your right leg and bend your left leg. Rotate your shoulders to the right at the same time you switch leg positions. Keep your shoulders lifted and lower back pressed into the floor throughout the exercise.

Step 5

Stay lying on the floor to do reverse crunches. Bend your knees and raise your legs so that your knees are positioned above your hips. Cross your ankles. Your knees should be at right angles. Push your lower back flat into the floor. Squeeze your abs and lift your hips toward the ceiling. Lower your hips back to the floor to finish one reverse crunch. Do two sets of 12 to 20 reps per exercise three days a week, as recommended by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.