The abdomen is one of your body’s most obvious fat zones, and, not surprisingly there are a plethora of workouts targeting this area. The prospect of losing stomach fat is what drives many of us to start working out in the first place, so it’s no surprise that so many belly-targeting workouts, diets, and pills have been developed as a means of addressing this concern. The array can seem overwhelming, but here are a few tried-and-true methods that seem the most reliable exercises to lose stomach fat.
As you’re probably aware, a stable low-fat diet should be your first priority, and will go a long ways toward making sure your exercises pay off. That said, the following exercises to lose stomach fat are the next step on the road to a leaner abdomen.
Hip Lift
1 – Lie down on your back with your arms down along your sides and your palms facing up.
2 – Without bending your knees, bring your legs straight up into the air, making sure you hold them at a 90-degree angle in relation to your body.
3 – As the name implies, the exercise itself involves lifting your hips off the floor; throughout this process you’ll need to contract your abdominal muscles.
4 – Raise your hips further off the floor and hold, then lower gradually. Make sure you keep your legs vertical during the entire exercise.
Do a full set of these lifts.
Crunchless Crunch
This routine addresses the two major shortcomings of the standard crunch; namely, the excessive strain it puts on your neck and back, and the lack of effect on your transverse abdominals, those muscles buried under the rectus abdominus (which IS targeted by normal crunches). If you’ve spent a lot of time doing normal crunches you’ll probably not be used to working the muscles targeted in this exercise, but, as with any routine, it’ll get easier the longer you plug away at it.
1 – Kneel or lie down on your stomach and relax your body.
2 – Using just your lower abdominals, tighten your belly as if trying to connect your navel to your spine. Hold at least ten seconds.
3 – Release once you don’t feel the contraction any more.
Long Arm Crunch
1 – Lie down on your back with your feet flat and your knees bent.
2 – Extend your arms straight back alongside your head.
3 – Gradually raise your head, shoulders, and arms as one unit and contract your abs to an angle of roughly 30 degrees.
4 – Hold for at least ten seconds
5 – Bring your shoulders back down to the floor slowly.
Do one set, remembering to keep your arms straight at all times.
Keep in mind that, as reliable as these routines are, they are not the only good exercises to lose stomach fat. All the same, it is recommended that you spend plenty of time learning to master these exercises before moving on to more complex maneuvers.
