Abdominal fat: It is perhaps the biggest curse of anyone who wants to work on his/her body. On the rest of your body you often quickly see results when you start eating healthier. You fall off or quickly become more muscular when you have started exercising. But on your stomach ... It does not seem to matter how faithfully you work on that belly muscle, that annoying lobe continues to bulge above your belt.
Here, I'm discussing what, in my honest opinion, are the best exercises to burn belly fat.
Why is burning belly fat difficult?
For many people, belly fat is said to be the last fat that begins to disappear. The reason for this is that your body is strongly inclined to hold the fat just like stock in this place. Certainly in women, this effect can be clearly seen, this has to do with fertility. But men can also develop a good beer belly.
One reason for this may be that they produce a lot of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol is the chemical responsible for the ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that all animals use for their own self-preservation or survival. As part of the survival mechanism, the hormone defensively 'sends' fat to the belly. All in all, your fat percentage as a whole must be quite low to get a flatter stomach. For men this is from about 15%, for women slightly higher, about 20%.
As I go through this topic I have to bust a few of the biggest myths about belly fat-loss.
Myth #1 - Burn belly fat can be burnt locally
Many people go against that belly fat by doing a lot of abdominal exercises. They assume that the fat on the stomach will disappear by itself. Unfortunately, that kind of 'local fat burning ' is basically impossible. Your body does not necessarily get its energy from the same place where the effort is delivered.
Instead, fat is used evenly from all over the body. After all, it is also stored: neatly distributed over your various limbs. Only certain hormones can ensure that certain places are assigned more or less fat. And with many people, these hormones have the effect that the fat on your stomach is more persistent!
Myth #2 - Strong abdominal muscles = 6 pack Abs
Abdominal exercises are not the best exercises to burn belly fat, however illogical that may sound. You can continue to do sit-ups and crunches until you drop, but that does not automatically kill that fat off your waist! The only thing you can achieve with it is that your abs will certainly become a lot stronger.
Unfortunately, that will not be very visible until you have done something about that nasty lobes. Your six pack in the making remains hidden under that 'blanket' of fat. In short: if you really want to get that flat stomach of your dreams, you can temporarily shift your focus away from abdominal muscle-building.
So How DO you lose belly fat?
Very simple: you want the fat to disappear as much as possible everywhere on your body. If you continue to burn excess fat for long enough, sooner or later that belly fat will really come into play. You will mainly have to get your fat percentage below the limits mentioned above.
To lose fat, it is important to 'consume more calories than your calorie intake'. The best exercises to burn belly fat are exercises that burn as many calories as possible.That way you create the easiest calorie deficit .
Myth #3 - Cardio is the best way to burn belly fat
When it comes to burning calories, many people think of cardio first. That is not very strange: cardio has indeed been promoted for years as the training method with which you use energy. And in a sense, it is true that during the training you lose more calories than during a strength training, for example.
Unfortunately cardio does not do anything 'structural' to accelerate fat burning .You only lose the few hundred calories during running. When you consider what you actually need to lose, which is 7,777 calories for a kilo of fat, cardio is actually a very inefficient sports method. Strength training, on the other hand, ensures more muscle building. And more muscle means that you burn more calories all day long!
Exercises to burn belly fat
The best exercises to burn belly fat are therefore strength training exercises. More specifically, these are exercises that you use to create as much new muscle tissue as possible or strength exercises that you consume a lot of calories with.
In this way you profit optimally from the acceleration in your metabolism that can stimulate muscles. For this reason, you can choose the best for training large muscle groups. Your abs are only relatively small; More effective are, for example, the leg muscles, back muscles and chest and shoulder muscles.
Go especially for large, compound exercises. These are exercises that make multiple muscles move simultaneously. This allows you to grow as much new muscle mass as possible in as little time and effort as possible. And so you burn more calories in the end! Some good exercises to burn belly fat:
- Squats (Click here to learn the best technique)
- Lunges
- Deadlifts
- Barbell rows
- Pull ups
- Kettlebell exercises
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| Bent Barbell Rows |
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| Pull-ups or Chin-ups. Shown here are the two extended positions |
HIIT against abdominal fat
Are you not completely comfortable with the cardio completely omitted? Or would you like to work on your fitness for example? Of course it is certainly an option to add some cardio to your strength training. However, you do not have to go running fast for hours. It is more useful to choose High Intensity Interval Training .
This form of cardio revolves around short, explosive efforts combined with rest periods. You achieve quicker results, without losing a lot of time.
Eating to lose belly fat
Finally, there is of course another factor besides movement: your food. After all, you determine how many calories you get. This is also very important. The statement "abs are made in the kitchen" finally comes from somewhere! Please note, however, that reducing your calories does not immediately lead to a complete crash diet.
First of all, it is just incredibly unhealthy, because you will deny your body all the necessary nutrients for a longer period of time. In addition, however, it also has little effect. You will lose so many muscles that your metabolism will slow down tremendously. As soon as you start to eat normally again, you immediately regain your lost weight. Eat healthy and balanced, that's the best way to burn belly fat in the long term!
I would urge you to check out my blogpost on eating to build muscle mass. Just to keep you updated on the latest methods, please DO NOT miss out watching the video at the link below. It shows an effective science-based and completely healthy alternate to loose weight without the need for any 'Crash Dieting'!
This one is specially for All you Ladies..
