Looking for the most effective exercises to burn belly fat fast? Check out these floor exercises to shrink abdominal fat—no equipment is needed.
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably struggling to lose stubborn belly fat. It may seem like those extra few pounds just won’t go away, no matter what you do.
To be honest, the only thing you need to do to lose belly fat is to achieve a caloric deficit (and maintain it). However, this is much more easily said than done.
When it comes to calorie balance, there are essentially two major pieces that factor in:
- How many calories do you take in (“calories in”).
- How many calories do you expend (“calories out”).
In this article, I’ll focus mainly on how you can expend more calories through exercise.
Additionally, I’ll provide an overview of 5 great exercises to burn belly fat, torch calories, and reach your goal of a flat, defined stomach!
Exercise Tips for Burning Belly Fat
As was stated in the introduction, there are two primary pieces to the weight loss puzzle: a healthy diet and exercise.
As far as diet is concerned, there are many different methods that work well, depending on your individual needs.
In terms of exercise and physical activity, however, sometimes all it takes to burn more calories is a little creativity.
For instance, the following list outlines some easy steps anyone can incorporate into their day to increase caloric expenditure.
- Park far away from the store to increase your walking distance.
- Wear a pedometer or use a step-counting app, aiming for 10,000 steps a day.
- Set a reminder to get up and stretch once an hour throughout your work day.
Of course, there are TONS of other tips and tricks that might work for you. Play around with some of these methods and see if you can develop some habits to increase your physical activity!
5 Best Exercises to Burn Belly Fat Fast
Every day, we are bombarded with advertisements that promote new exercise equipment.
However, it may surprise you to know that you can get an incredible ab workout with just a little bit of floor space and a timer.
The following exercises should be performed in a circuit.
This means that as soon as you finish the first exercise, you’ll move immediately on to the next exercise, with little or no rest.
You’ll continue in this manner until you’ve completed 5 circuits (or 5 rounds of each exercise).
You can complete this circuit as many as 4 times a week, or as few as 2 times a week.
Let’s get after it!
1. Side Planks With “Over-Under” Reach
This is one of the best abdominal exercises for increasing balance, proprioception, and core strength.
How to Perform:
- Start in a side plank, with your right forearm flat on the floor and your left foot stacked on top of your right.
- Keeping your body in a straight line, reach as far under your body as you can, then reach toward the ceiling.
- Repeat this alternating motion for 30 seconds, then switch sides.
2. Bicycle Crunches
Bicycle crunches are a classic exercise that has been popular in gyms for many decades. The movement is a great choice, as it emphasizes many different abdominal muscles and works on total body coordination.
How to Perform:
- Lying flat on your back, bring your left knee toward your chest as you lift up your shoulder blades, rotate your back, and attempt to bring your right elbow toward your knee.
- Perform this motion in an alternating manner for 30 seconds.
3. Side Plank with Hip Drops
Much like the traditional side plank, or the side plank with an “over-under” reach, this variation is great for both balance and strengthening.
How to Perform:
- Begin in a side plank, with your left forearm flat on the floor and your right foot stacked on top of your left.
- Lift your hips toward the ceiling, then slowly lower them back down toward the ground.
- Repeat this alternating motion for 30 seconds.
4. Mountain Climbers
This exercise is widely used in group fitness classes, as it creates a huge cardio response and can be done without equipment.
How to Perform:
- Place both hands and both feet flat on the floor, as if you are going to perform a push-up.
- Quickly, bring your right knee toward your chest, then return it to the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side, and perform this motion in an alternating manner throughout the exercise.
- Continue to perform this movement for 30 seconds.
5. Russian Twist
Many times, this exercise can be made more difficult with the use of a weight or exercise ball. However, no weights are needed to get an excellent result from this movement.
How to Perform:
- Start by sitting down on the floor.
- Lace your fingers together and lean back as far as you can comfortably.
- Lift both of your feet off of the ground to make the exercise harder (optional step)
- Keeping your back straight, twist from side to side, aiming to touch the ground on each side in an alternating manner.
- Repeat this back-and-forth motion for 30 seconds.
Summary
If you’re struggling to lose belly fat, you are not alone! Many people have the same problem, and many people are looking for effective solutions. By optimizing your diet to achieve a caloric deficit and increasing your exercise, you’ll shed that fat in no time!
Try out these killer fat-burning exercises and see what you think!
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