Friday, February 21, 2014

16 Simple Exercises To Reduce Belly Fat

154799_730034140348060_1177511195_nHave you got flab around the belly? If yes, it can be a source of constant embarrassment no matter what your age is. Nobody wants their tummy to protrude out and make the clothes they are wearing, appear weird. Moreover, your belly is the hardest part of the body to lose weight from! In this article, you will find the answers on how to fat from stomach through exercises. But before we tell you how, let us tell you why this happens in the first place.

Why do you get belly fat?

There are a number of reasons for the occurrence of belly fat in teenage girls:
  • Your genes may be responsible for your tummy pouch. Yes, it’s true. Genetics is a determinant of how the fat is distributed all over your body. Thus, you may be either apple-shaped or pear-shaped. For those who are pear-shaped, the fat tends to accumulate in the lower portion of the body like the buttocks etc. But for those who are apple-shaped, your body tends to store fat around its middle section, thus resulting in accumulation of fat around the belly.
  • Weak metabolism is yet another reason. You must have noticed that some of your friends eat a lot of sugary foods, fried foods or cold drinks and still manage to keep a flat stomach. The reason being, these girls have a very good metabolism. If your metabolism is not good, you may have a bloated stomach. Thyroid conditions, diabetes etc can be the reasons behind slow metabolism.
  • If the muscles around your abdominal area are saggy, they may lead to a fat belly.
  • Learn to sit straight from your very childhood. Sitting with a curved back may result in all the fat accumulating around your stomach area.
  • A sedentary lifestyle is one of the major causes behind the occurrence of belly fat. If you are not giving your body enough movement and spend most of the time sitting, watching T.V., reading etc, it is known as a sedentary lifestyle. Basically, lack of regular exercise or not exercising at all can lead to fat storage around the belly area.
  • If you eat too much, that can also lead to weight gain and belly fat. Coupled with a sedentary lifestyle, it can have major consequences.
Belly fat is in fact the colloquial term for abdominal obesity. According to medical experts, belly fat can be potentially dangerous. Excess of it can lead to a number of health problems including heart diseases, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, a decrease in the level of HDL or good cholesterol, and can even lead to strokes or sleep apnea. Hence, you have to take a decision of doing everything in your power to combat this problem before it gets too late. And now we shall tell you how to lose stomach fat.

How to Reduce your Tummy?

Dieting and exercise go hand in hand. If you had thought that only dieting will burn your belly fat, you are wrong. Working out can be quite painful and tiring. Hence, many of you think of skipping it. Some even start going to the gym but ultimately give up, and then all of what you had lost comes right back! The best way to deal with this is to incorporate a simple exercise routine in your schedule. If you really want to lose weight, you need to include an hour of exercise in your daily routine for targeting and reducing belly fat. Here are a few exercises to reduce belly fat! Check them out.

How to Lose Stomach Fat? Best Stomach Weight Loss Exercises

1. Crunches:

This is the first exercise that comes to mind if you are thinking how to reduce belly fat! Crunches occupy the number 1 position when it comes to fat-burning exercises. You may have read in magazines and seen on television that crunches are just magical when it comes to cutting down belly fat. Now, it’s time that you start with this abs crunching exercise. Follow the steps mentioned below.  
  1. Lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Alternatively, you can also lift your legs off the floor at a 90 degrees angle. (See picture).
  2. Now lift your hands and place them behind your head or keep them crossed on your chest.
  3. Inhale deeply and as you lift your upper torso off the floor, exhale.
  4. Again inhale as you get back down and exhale as you come up.
  5. Do this for 10 times as a beginner.
  6. Repeat another 2-3 sets.

One small tip for you:

As you lift your torso, do not just sit up straight. You should be at a 30-40 degrees angle off the ground. Thus, you’ll feel pressure on your abdominal muscles.

2. Twist crunches:

Once you get used to the regular crunches, modify the basic crunch to get an even more effective tummy exercise!
  1. Lie down on the floor with your hands behind your head.
  2. Now bend your knees as you would do in crunches, keeping your feet on the floor.
  3. As in a crunch, you would have lifted your upper torso; in twist crunches you just have to lift your right shoulder towards the left, keeping your left torso on the ground.
  4. Again alternatively, lift your left shoulder towards the right, keeping your right torso on the ground.
  5. Repeat for another 10 times.

3. Side Crunch:

Image: shutterstock
This is the same as the twist crunch exercise. The only thing that you need to do is tilt your legs to the same side simultaneously with your shoulders. The side crunch focuses on the muscles on your sides.

4. Reverse crunches:

Now it’s time to do reverse crunches. This is another best exercise to lose stomach fat. This is the same as the twist crunch exercise. The only thing that you need to do is tilt your legs to the same side simultaneously with your shoulders. The side crunch focuses on the muscles on your sides.

4. Reverse crunches:

Now it’s time to do reverse crunches.  
  1. Lie flat on the floor with your hands by your side and palms facing the ground.
  2. Lift your legs bent at the knees and keep them suspended in the air at a 90 degrees angle.
  3. Now lift your hips so as to bring your legs close to your chest. (See picture)
  4. You have to lift your hips while applying pressure on your abdomen.
  5. Loosen your legs and again bring them to your chest.

5. Vertical leg crunch:

  1. Lie flat on the floor or on the mat with your legs extended upwards towards the ceiling and one knee crossed over the other.
  2. Now that you have positioned your body perfectly, do the same as you would have done in case of crunches. That is, breathe in and lift your upper body from the floor towards the pelvis. Now breathe out slowly. As you bring yourself down, breathe in again and exhale as you go up.
  3. Do 12-16 crunches for up to 3 sets at a go.

6. Bicycle exercise:

No, you don’t need a bicycle for this. Thinking how? We’ll tell you.
  1. Lie on the floor and keep your hands either by your side or behind your head as we do in crunches.
  2. Now lift both your legs off the ground and bend them at the knees.
  3. Bring your right knee close to your chest, keeping your left leg out.
  4. Now take your right leg out and bring your left leg close to your chest.
  5. Alternate bending your knees this way as if you are paddling a bicycle.

7. Lunge Twist:

This is a beginners’ workout for starters who want to reduce belly fat fast.  
  • Stand with your legs hip width apart. Keep your knees slightly bent.
  • Lift both your hands in front of you keeping them straight with your shoulders and parallel to the ground.
  • Lunge forward as shown in the picture. Take a big step forward with your right leg and sit yourself down as if on a chair so that your knees are at a 90 degrees angle from the floor. The left leg should be backwards supported by the toes.
  • The spine should be kept straight. Don’t bend your spine forward. That is a very wrong way of performing lunges.
  • First twist your torso to the right and then to the left. Twist just the torso, not your legs.
  • Continue repeating this for 16 times.
8. Rolling Plank exercise: This exercise is useful for training the muscles around your abdomen, hip and lower back.
  1. Position yourself on the floor with your knees and elbows resting on the ground.
  2. Keep your neck aligned with your spine. Look forwards.
  3. Lift the knees upwards and support your legs on the toes.
  4. Contract your knees and keep breathing normally. This is the plank pose. Stay in this posture for 30 seconds.
  5. Now start moving to and fro for the next 30 seconds. This is the rolling plank exercise.

9. Side Plank:

  • Lie down on the floor sideways.
  • Support yourself on your right elbow and right leg. Your elbow should be perpendicular to the shoulder and the left leg should be above the right leg, keeping them together.
  • Keep your knees straight. Your hips should not be touching the ground.
  • Hold this position for 30 seconds. Once you get comfortable, you may hold this for 1-2 minutes.
  • Repeat with your other side too.
While in this position you may also lift the leg placed on top and bring it back again. This makes the exercise more effective. In that case, it works not only for your abs but also for the thighs and hips.

10. The Stomach Vacuum:

Stomach vacuum exercises are low-impact exercises that place greater emphasis on breathing instead of getting your heart rate up. a. This is similar to what we call the cat stretch pose. This is also known as the four-point, transverse-abdominal stomach vacuum. Follow the steps mentioned below to do this exercise for reducing belly fat:
  • Come down on the ground to sit on all fours, supporting your body on your hands and knees.
  • Now inhale deeply and loosen your abdomen.
  • As you exhale the breath, tighten the abdomen muscles.
  • Hold this abdomen contraction for 15-30 seconds.
  • Repeat the process again.
b. Another type of stomach vacuum exercise is elevators. Here’s how to do it:
  • Sit on a chair. Imagine your belly to be an elevator that’s moving up.
  • Now inhale deeply using only your nose and think that it’s the 1st floor.
  • Breathe out using your mouth and simultaneously push your belly towards your spine, imagining that you are going up to the 5th floor.
  • Breathe out fast 5 more times, squeezing your abs every time you exhale the air.
  • Repeat the same steps another 5 times.
c. You can try standing pelvic tilts. This is another form of stomach vacuum exercise.
  • Stand with your legs hip width apart and bend your knees slightly.
  • Inhale deeply through your nose and push your belly inwards towards your spine, and at the same time roll your hips out in front.
  • Do 5-6 sets of this exercise.

11. Captain’s chair:

All you need to do this exercise is a chair.
  • Sit on the chair with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
  • Keep both hands beside you with your palms by the side of your hips, facing downward.
  • Inhale deeply.
  • Now as you exhale, bring both your legs upwards such that your knees are close to your chest. Hold for 5 seconds. Don’t bend forward and arch your back.
  • Bring down your leg slowly and repeat again.

12. Bending side to side:

This is the best workout to slim down your waist. This is yet another perfect exercise for reducing belly fat!
  • Stand erect with your feet together. Raise your hands above your head as in a ‘namaste’.
  • Now keeping your legs grounded, bend your body to the right as much as possible till you feel a strain on your left waist. Stay for 15 seconds.
  • Return back to the original position.
  • Now bend left. Retain this position for another 15 seconds.
  • Slowly, you may increase the holding time to 30 seconds.

Cardio exercises:

  Cardio is one of the most effective ways to burn calories and shed unwanted flab from your body. Cardio exercises are immensely helpful for reducing belly fat. At the same time, doing cardio on a regular basis will offer you with other health benefits such as reduction of stress, an increase in your lung capacity, better sleep and a sense of overall well-being.

13. Walking:

One of the very first cardio exercises to reduce belly fat is walking. Are you surprised to know this? Do you think it’s too simple to be effective? Well then, know that walking is a great and effective way to burn away that ugly belly fat. In fact, it is an excellent fat burner for your entire body. If you follow a healthy diet along with walking at a steady pace for 30-45 minutes for at least 4-5 days every week, you will witness a gradual change in your weight. This low-impact exercise increases your metabolism as well as your heart rate. A heightened metabolic rate will burn away calories at a faster pace, thus helping to eliminate the fat accumulated around your belly. In fact, walking has a decreased risk of injuries and is considered to be a good workout for beginners.

14. Running:

You have to prevent your body from getting used to any fixed workout routine. Hence, you can switch occasionally. Try running for a change. It is an effective way to keep your heart rate up, burn calories and lose belly fat.

Jogging:

If you don’t like running, try jogging instead. Research suggests that jogging is more effective at breaking down unwanted fat when compared to weightlifting. This is a form of aerobic exercise that is extremely useful for fighting against obesity and staying fit.

15. Cycling:

This is another kind of effective cardio exercise that helps you to shed belly fat by burning calories. Ensure that your heart rate goes up while you are cycling.

16. Swimming:

Swimming is a great way to exercise your entire body. The strokes that you choose should be up-tempo and strenuous in order to help you burn more calories. You can start with swimming 1-2 times every week. These are the some of the effective and simple exercises to reduce belly fat. You can easily do most of these exercises at home without the help of any machinery. All you need is determination and a lot of stamina. How to reduce tummy fat is no longer a big question mark! Source:-http://www.stylecraze.com

1 comment :

  1. This was among the best posts and episode from your team it let me learn many new things.
    EFFECTIVE YOGA TO REDUCE BELLY FAT

    ReplyDelete