You must find the best exercises for melting belly fat to achieve your goals. The best workouts will help you get healthier and improve your fitness. Some of them require gym equipment, but there are many exercises you can do at home without workout machines.
Many people believe they can use exercises for spot reduction to tone their stomachs, but it won’t work. Spot reduction exercises don’t exist because you must reduce belly fat all over your body to notice a difference in one area.
Exercise alone won’t work, as melting belly fat requires burning more calories than you consume each day. Reducing your calorie intake, exercising more, or implementing a little of both are beneficial ways to make it happen. It requires tracking calories to avoid consuming more than you can burn daily.
Now that you know what it takes to melt your belly fat, it’s time to begin. Choose from exercises that focus on your core while also doing cardio and strength training for the best results. Understanding the dangers of belly fat can help if you need more motivation.
The Dangers of Belly Fat
While you might not like how belly fat looks, that’s not the worst part. Excess belly fat can negatively impact your health, leading to high blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart diseases. It can also increase your risk of developing diabetes, pancreatitis, fatty liver disease, and other health conditions.
These dangers of belly fat make it essential to address the issue and begin living healthier. You can’t exercise a bad diet away, so it’s also necessary to make healthy food and drink choices. A well-balanced diet and regular exercise routine can help you achieve your desired body while improving your overall health.
Ten Exercises to Melt Belly Fat
Some exercises work better for reducing fat than others. The best workouts include the following:
1 – Running at an Incline Burns Belly Fat and Strengthens Your Legs
Running at an incline burns calories and increases your heart rate more than on a flat surface. You can do it at the gym or outside on a hill, making it possible anywhere you go. Another benefit is that you can increase the incline and your pace as you get stronger.
Consider the following running routine:
1 – walk (or jog) on an incline for ten minutes
2 – jog for another five to ten minutes
3 – pick up your pace more and start running
4 – run for five minutes, then reduce your speed to a jog
5 – every five to ten minutes, alternate between running and jogging
6 – continue the alternation for 30 to 45 minutes
You don’t have to sprint during your run, but you should move quickly enough that you can’t talk to someone.
2 – Rowing to Melt Belly Fat
You don’t have to be on open water to embrace the benefits of rowing. You can use the rowing machine at your local gym to melt belly fat.
This cardio exercise increases your heart rate, burning tons of calories and fat. It also strengthens your core muscles, legs, shoulders, arms, and back.
You can increase the speed and intensity of your workout as you go along. Challenge yourself to beat your previous record, ensuring you step it up a little each time. Here’s how you can do it:
1 – row for twenty seconds and rest for ten seconds without letting go of the handle on your machine
2 – make a mental note of how many meters you went, and then try to beat your distance
3 – repeat the challenge eight times
4 – after those eight, row as fast as you can until you reach 500 meters
5 – use the time from your 500-meter row as a challenge next time
Using a rowing machine requires understanding how to do it. You’ll want a firm grip on the handle without gripping it too hard. It also requires using your legs and pushing yourself straight back.
3 – BOSU Ball Planks
You can do this planking exercise at home, but it requires a BOSU ball. This cardio exercise works your abdominal muscles and burns fat. It tests your balance, unlike a regular plank, working all the muscles in your core, increasing your metabolism, and promoting calorie and fat burning.
BOSU ball planks are easy, and here’s how you do them:
1 – put the BOSU ball on the rubber side with the flat side facing up
2 – hold onto the edges with both hands, keeping them shoulder-width apart
3 – keep your feet tucked together, your core tight, and your hips level
4 – maintain your plank for at least thirty seconds
5 – increase the time you hold the plank as you get stronger
4 – Mountain Climbers
This exercise is similar to a plank because it works your core and other muscles. You start in a high plank position and do the following:
1 – keep your wrists directly beneath your shoulders, core tight, and draw your belly button toward your spine
2 – bring your right knee toward your chest and then back to the plank position
3 – do the same with your left knee
4 – continue alternating sides
5 – Russian Twists
This exercise improves core strength and definition in your oblique muscles. It requires using a medicine ball or plate, but you can do it at home. Here’s how to melt belly fat and sculpt your mid-section:
1 – sit up straight on the floor, bending your knees and lifting your feet off the ground
2 – hold a medicine ball or plate at chest height
3 – lean backward at a 45-degree angle without bending your spine
4 – turn your torso to the right, keeping the medicine ball a few inches from your chest
5 – hold the position and squeeze your right oblique muscles for a few seconds
6 – turn your torso to the left and repeat what you did for the right
6 – Tai Chi
Studies show that Tai Chi can help you lose more weight than traditional exercise. It helps burn calories but doesn’t put much stress on joints, ligaments, and muscles.
You can use it in addition to other exercises without worrying about injury or overuse. Or you can use it when you want to exercise but need a break from stressful workouts.
7 – Burpees
This exercise strengthens your core, chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, and more. Burpees get your heart pumping and can burn more than ten calories a minute. Here’s how to do it:
1 – start with your feet shoulder-width apart
2 – drive your hips back and lower your body to a low squat
3 – put your hands on the outside of your feet and hop backward until your chest touches the floor
4 – use your hands to lift yourself into a plank
5 – jump your feet outside of your hands
6 – using your heels, jump into the air with your arms over your head
8 – HIIT Will Melt Belly Fat
The most effective way to do cardio is in short, intense bursts of fast-paced movement. It’s also more effective if you do exercises that alternate between muscle groups. HIIT is high-intensity interval training, and here’s how you can do it:
1 – Warm up for ten minutes
2 – choose from squats, push-ups, kettlebell swings, or single-arm rows and do it for 30 seconds
3 – rest for thirty seconds
4 – choose another exercise to do for thirty more seconds
5 – do this for ten rounds
The exercises you choose should alternate and target different muscle groups. That way, other muscle groups can recover while you work on separate ones.
9 – Stair Climbing
If you don’t want to pay for a gym membership or invest in exercise equipment, stair climbing can help melt belly fat. Stair climbing not only burns fat but also improves your cardiovascular health, increases your metabolism, and strengthens your leg muscles.
10 – Medicine Ball Slams
This exercise can strengthen your core and increase your heart rate. You have two options to choose from, including the overhead medicine ball slam or side-to-side. The overhead version is best for beginners, and here’s how you do it:
1 – stand with your feet hip-width apart and hold the medicine ball with both hands
2 – extend your arms overhead, making sure your entire body stretches
3 – moving your arms toward the ground and hinging over, slam the ball on the ground
4 – you can also bend your knees as you slam the ball
5 – lower into a squat as you pick up the ball and stand up
Once you’ve become comfortable with the overhead medicine ball slam, you can try side-to-side. It uses nearly every muscle, allowing you to work your entire body. Here’s how you do it:
1 – stand as you did in the overhead, but hold the medicine ball on one side of your body
2 – rotate your body, slamming the ball on the outside of your foot
3 – lower yourself into a split squat position to catch the ball as it bounces back up
4 – slam the ball on the other side of your body and repeat until you’re tired
Keep your core tight during this exercise, strengthening your muscles as much as possible. This exercise allows you to break a sweat without overdoing it.
Final Thoughts on Exercises to Melt Belly Fat
Reducing belly fat will help you feel better and become more confident in your appearance. It also improves overall health and reduces your risk of health complications. Implement stretches after your workout to reduce the risk of injury.
Whether you work out at a gym or prefer exercising at home, there’s something here for everyone. Try one or two exercises, switching up each day to see what you like best.