The most common fitness goal that many people have is to lose fat once and for all, particularly when it comes to stubborn belly fat. This excess in the waistline has everything to do with visceral and subcutaneous fat. Not only is it frustrating to see extra weight accumulating in this area, but belly fat can also cause a plethora of chronic health issues, including fatty liver disease, heart disease, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, joint pain, high cholesterol, diabetes, and polycystic ovary syndrome. For all of these reasons, we’ve come up with the best exercises to lose belly fat for good as you age.
If you want to get lean and shed the fat that’s accumulating around your belly, then you have to focus on living a healthy lifestyle. Begin by focusing on three key elements: eating at a calorie deficit, planning regular resistance training, and getting in your cardio. According to Cleveland Clinic, if you’re a male and your waist measures 40 inches, you’re apparently at an increased risk for potential health issues. For females, 35 inches is the magic number to beware of. And you’re not going to like hearing this, but, the task of losing belly fat gets harder as you get older. The reason for this is hormonal changes that take place in your body. As you age, you lose muscle mass, your strength and energy decrease, and your metabolism will begin to drop if you don’t do anything to maintain it all. This is why it’s important to start training as early as you can, and continue to do so as you grow older.
If you’ve tried unsuccessfully to lose belly fat while nailing the exercise basics, you might need to change your workout choices and switch things up a bit. Shedding fat around your belly area does not mean you should do crunches several times each week. Rather, the movements you pick should consist of mostly compound movements over isolation ones such as curls and crunches. Compound movements involve more muscle groups and can help you burn more calories. You want to incorporate exercises that cover the four key movement patterns in your routine. This includes the squat, hinge, push, and pull. In fact, the majority of your workouts should consist of exercises covering these movement patterns.
Not sure which exercises to choose? I have you covered with one workout for each movement that you can easily incorporate into your routine. Get ready to lose belly fat for good, and next, be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.
Begin this exercise by holding one dumbbell in a vertical fashion in front of your chest. Keep your core tight, push your hips back, and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Drive through your heels and hips to stand back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Related: The 5 Best Floor Exercises To Increase Your Visceral Fat Burn, Trainer Says
Stand in front of the kettlebell with your feet outside of the weight. Push your hips back, and squat down low enough to grab the weight. Make sure your shoulders are in line with the handle and that your torso is straight. Keep your core tight and shoulders down, and pick up the kettlebell by pushing through your heels and hips. Stand tall, and flex your glutes at the top. Reverse the motion to put the weight down before performing another rep. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Related: Speed Up Belly Fat Loss In Your 50s With These Exercises, Trainer Says
Begin by lying on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold them straight up above you with your arms fully extended. Pull your shoulder blades back and down into the bench as you lower the weights down toward your chest. Get a good chest stretch at the bottom, then press the weights back up to the starting position, squeezing your upper pecs and triceps at the top. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
To perform the bodyweight row, grab the equipment that’s available to you. It can be rings (as I have demonstrated here), it can be a bar, or it can be a TRX/suspension strap—whatever you’ve got on hand. If you’re using a strap, make sure to use a neutral grip (palms facing you). If you have a bar, you can either use the pronated (palms overhand) or supinated (underhand) grip. Stick your feet forward, and lean back slightly to at least 45 degrees.
Keeping your core tight and hips high, pull yourself in by driving with your elbows towards your hips. Squeeze your lats and upper back hard to finish, then straighten your arms fully until your shoulder blades stretch at the bottom before performing another rep. Complete 3 sets of 15 reps.
Sign up for our newsletter!
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach based in Los AngelesRead more
