Belly fat is particularly hard to shed. This is especially true for people in their 50s and older.
The increased difficulty of losing belly fat later in life is due to many factors. For one thing, our metabolism slows down as we age. Also, we tend to have less time to devote to exercise later in life, as many of us have kids and grandkids that require our attention.
How are you supposed to get a good workout with so many different stressors and time constraints in life? You’re in luck!
In this article, we will provide you with some of the best, most efficient exercises that can help you burn body fat in just a few minutes per session.
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Each of these exercises was selected for its specific application to seniors who are looking to lose some excess belly fat. But these movements alone likely aren’t enough to lead to significant fat loss. Rather, you need to maintain a caloric deficit in order to lose that extra weight.
Essentially, a caloric deficit is simply eating fewer calories than you expend through exercise. Therefore, you need to focus on both the dietary and exercise components of your life, if you want to lose weight.
If you want to try out the following exercise program, be sure to take your time and progress slowly. You don’t want to try to do too much too quickly. If you do, you might end up with an injury that will keep you sidelined for weeks or months.
Weekly Recommendations for Completing Fat-Burning Exercises
You should aim to perform the following workout 3-4 times per week. During each workout, you’ll want to perform 12-15 reps for 3-4 sets of each exercise (unless otherwise specified).
Let’s check it out!
The Exercises
Below are the “moderate” versions of each of these exercises. If you find that they are too hard or too easy, be sure to modify the exercise to make sure you get a great workout every time!
1. Burpees
Burpees are a true total-body exercise. This move is challenging for many muscles of the body, as well as for the cardiovascular system.
How to Perform
- Start in standing, with your feet spaced about hip-width apart.
- Quickly, place your hands on the floor and jump your feet backward so that you’re in a pushup position.
- Next, rapidly jump your feet forward, towards your hands, and stand up to complete the rep.
- Repeat in this manner for 12-15 repetitions per set.
2. Crunches
Crunches are a simple, yet extremely effective exercise. This movement works the abdominal muscles and it can be modified in a variety of ways to challenge different areas of the body.
How to Perform
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
- Lift your shoulders off of the ground as you reach up towards the ceiling.
- Once your shoulders have cleared the floor, slowly return to the starting position.
- Repeat in this manner for 15-20 reps per set.
3. Jumping Jacks
No matter who you are or where you grew up, you probably did some jumping jacks at one point or another.
This is a great exercise that is easy to master and one that burns a lot of calories.
How to Perform:
- Start by standing, with your feet together and your hands by your sides.
- Then, jump in the air and spread your legs wide, while simultaneously raising your arms up over your head.
- Land in this spread position, then quickly jump back to the starting position.
- Repeat for 30-40 reps per set.
4. Squats
We perform squats during many of our daily tasks. For example, we squat when we sit down on the toilet when we stand up from a chair, and many other times throughout the day.
Therefore, keeping these squatting muscles strong is essential for our independence and health.
How to Perform
- Begin in standing, with your feet spread about hip-width apart.
- Slowly, lower your buttocks toward the ground by bending your knees and hips. (Pretend as if you are sitting down in a chair).
- Then, reverse the motion, standing back up and returning to the starting position.
- Repeat for 10-12 reps per set.
5. Bird Dogs
Core strength is extremely important. Our core muscles are used during nearly every activity we perform. For example, even reaching for something on a high shelf requires great core control.
Luckily, simple moves such as bird dogs can improve core strength significantly.
How to Perform
- Place your hands on the ground, beneath your shoulders. Also, position your knees on the floor, directly beneath your hips.
- Shoot your right arm straight in front of you, in line with your trunk. At the same time, kick your left leg behind you.
- Be sure to keep your trunk straight the whole time.
- Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side.
- Complete 10-15 reps per side, per set.
6. Bridges
Our glutes power many of the movements we perform on a daily basis. For example, standing, walking, climbing stairs, and many other motions require strong glutes.
Bridges isolate the glute muscles and lead to very strong muscles when progressed appropriately over time.
How to Perform
- Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent.
- Slowly, squeeze your buttocks muscles and lift your hips off of the ground.
- Once you’ve reached the top of your range, hold this position for 3 seconds, then return to the ground.
- Complete 10-12 reps per set.
7. Planks
Most of the exercises listed above are traditional (isotonic) movements. Planks are an isometric exercise. This means that we hold one position throughout the whole movement. Isometrics are a great way to improve stability, endurance, and strength.
In particular, planks are one of the best isometric exercises to increase these measures in the abdominal region.
How to Perform
- Place your elbows on the ground, directly below your shoulders.
- At the same time, place both of your toes on the ground, with your feet close together.
- At this point, you should be able to draw a straight line from the top of your head, down to your heels.
- Hold this position for 30 seconds, repeating 5 times per session.
Conclusion
Getting older comes with its fair share of downsides and benefits. However, you can fight the effects of aging by performing simple exercises, like those described above, a few days a week. If you’re in your fifties and looking for ways to reduce your belly fat, try this program out!
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