Ladies! If slipping into your favorite pair of jeans feels like fighting a war each day, we know where the problem lies! Your bulging tummy! Yes! A potbelly can not ruin your beautiful figure, but also lead to many health complications. To help you flatten these ‘tyres’ we have put together 10 Best Exercises for Belly Fat reduction!
These exercises work by moving every muscle in the area and along with that, even strengthen your core. So, let’s get into a comfy workout clothing to kickstart your new routine.
Causes of Belly Fat In Women:
Before we learn about the exercises, let us look into the factors that cause a loose, hanging belly fat in women:
- Hi-Calorie Diet that is full of unhealthy fats, sugars and carbohydrates
- Sedentary Lifestyle with almost no physical activity to burn the calories consumed
- Low Protein Diet that is linked to poor metabolic rate in the body
- Menopause in women which causes a drop in the estrogen levels, leading to weight gain and belly fat
- Poor Digestion that can slow down the breakdown of food and cause fat deposits around the waistline
- Stress that can decrease the Cortisol levels in the body which can lead to unwanted deposits in the abdominal region.
10 Best Exercises To Reduce Belly Fat at Home:
Here is a set of 10 belly fat workouts to help you lose the excess bulk around your tummy and waistline:
1. Crunches:
The first word that comes to our mind when we talk about belly fat burning exercises in “Crunches”. While crunches alone cannot melt your fat, they sure can speed up the results when combined with other exercises. Also, crunches can strengthen your abdominal muscles and give them a toned appearance.
Steps to Perform:
- Lie on your back
- Slowly, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the ground
- Now place your hands behind your neck and rest your hand on the palms
- Inhale deeply and slowly lift up your upper torso while exhaling
- Keep your neck and head relaxed
- Inhale and Go back to the original position
2. Bicycle Abdominal Exercise:
Bicycle abdominal exercise is considered to be one of the most effective exercises to get rid of lower belly fat. Also called Bicycle crunches, this workout involves moving both your torso and the legs to burn more calories and achieve a toned body. There are many variations of this exercise and we have listed the steps for a standard one suitable for beginners:
Steps to Perform:
- Spread a mat and lie down on the ground
- Make sure that your lower body is pressed firmly on to the floor
- Place your hands on the sides of your hand to support it
- Now lift up your torso and bend one leg towards the chest. Keep the other leg extended on the ground
- Twist your body to bring your opposite hand closer to this knee. You don’t have to touch it or go beyond your body limits.
- Now lower your arm and your leg at the same time. Relax.
- Repeat this procedure on alternate side
3. Planks:
When it comes to strengthening your core and burning belly fat at the same time, nothing can beat the benefits of a Plank exercise. By engaging multiple muscles in the body, this workout can also improve your posture and flexibility. To begin with, you can try out this easy forearm plank exercise to lose belly fat.
Steps to Perform:
- Lie face down and place your arms, toes on the floor
- Now get into the push up position by bending your arms at the elbows
- Raise your body and balance the entire weight on the toes and elbows
- Keep your arms and face parallel to the ground.
- Make sure to keep your abdomen tight and straight
- Maintain the position for as long as you can
- Relax and come back to the normal posture
4. Leg Lifts:
Leg lifts exercise is another best lower belly fat workout that is highly recommended by fitness experts to get a shaped tummy. This is a simple exercise which involves lifting only your legs to put pressure on the abdominal muscles. It is also called “hanging leg raises”, as you are restricting arm or body movement and only lifting your legs in mid-air.
Steps to Perform:
- Lie on your back and keep your arms fixed on the ground
- Keep your head straight
- Inhale deeply
- Now slowly lift both the legs and exhale as you do
- Do not bend your knees or move your body
- Maintain the posture for 15-20 seconds
- Inhale and go back to the starting position
5. Lunge Twist:
Lunge twist is a great way to lose lower back and abdominal fat. It also strengthens your glutes, spinal column and your overall core. For enhanced support and balance, you can also use a medicine ball, although it is not mandatory.Along with shaping your body, this exercise can also correct posture problems and misalignments in the structure.
Steps to Perform:
- Stand straight with your feet apart from each other
- Now bend your left leg only. Move your right leg to the back and extend it as much as you can.
- Rotate your torso to the left and bend forward to touch your elbow to the knee
- Return to the starting position
- Repeat the movement on the other side
6. Stomach Vacuum:
Belly vacuum is one of the best tummy trimming exercises, popularized by the famous Yoga guru, Baba Ramdev. Although it appears easy, the asana takes time and practise to perform it as perfectly as him. This exercise involves sucking in your stomach to target the transversus abdominis, which can result in tightening of tummy muscles. Doing this regularly can give you a slimmer waistline and a strengthened core area.
Steps to Perform:
- Sit it in the Padmasana position
- Place your hands on the hips
- Exhale all the air from your lungs
- Now expand your chest and suck in your stomach as much as possible
- Maintain that position for a while
- Ideally, the navel should touch the backbone (which takes time to master)
- Repeat this for 10 times
7. Walking Pushup:
Ever heard of walking pushups? This best stomach loss exercise combines the benefits of pushups and walking at the same time. As it involves moving all the muscles in the body, the exercise can burn fat evenly and specially target the upper abdominal area. Along with reduced tummy area, this exercise can also tone your shoulders and arms.
Steps to Perform:
- Face your body down and maintain the normal push up position
- Now raise your upper body and balance the weight on your arms and toes
- Place your palms firmly on the ground
- Now, do a push up and move your left leg to the side, followed by the right leg.
- Repeat this step again and keep moving to the side, as if you are walking sideways
- Once you reach a certain position, you can move to the right side using the same technique
8. Reverse Crunches:
Reverse Crunches are another popular exercise to reduce tummy fat. It puts pressure on the abdominal region by contracting the ab muscles. Unlike the other exercises which targets only specific area of the stomach, reverse crunches involve the entire rectus muscles. When used along with other exercises, this workout can give you flat tummy.
Steps to Perform:
- Lie down on the mat with your back against the floor
- Bend your knees and bring them together
- Keep your calf area in a straightline parallel to the ground
- Place your palms behind your head to support it
- Now lift up your torso and crunch your knees inward towards your chest
- Go back to the original position and repeat the same procedure
9. Hanging Leg Raise:
If you are looking for a slightly advanced exercise to lose belly fat, try the hanging leg raise. Well, you don’t have to invest on expensive gym rings or other fancy equipment. Take the help of a sturdy tree branch or even an attic in your bedroom. Just make sure that the structure you choose is strong enough to hold your weight and is neither too low nor too high from the ground.
Steps to Perform:
- Grab the ring or branch firmly with an overhand grip
- Maintain a shoulder width between the arms
- Now, vertically hang with your legs slightly above the ground
- Bend your elbows slightly and pull up your legs, parallel to the floor
- Round your back to allow a free movement
- Pause for a second and go back to your original position
10. V Hold Abs:
V Hold abs is a best stomach fat workout that many women find it quite challenging to do. However, you need not worry about perfecting it at the first attempt. Slowly try to balance your body weight on the hips and raise your legs by placing your hands under your butt. Once you master this, you can also involve your hands and get into the ‘V’ position. Initially, you can hold shape for a couple of seconds and with practise, sustain it for longer periods.
Steps to Perform:
- Lie down on your back and place your hands under your butt
- Now lift your legs off the ground and inhale
- This will contract the abdominal muscles
- Slowly exhale and get back to the original position
So Amigas! Those are some of the best exercises for belly fat reduction at home. You must remember that they must be not used to reap immediate benefits. Practise them regularly and combine these workouts with other activities like walking, jogging and a healthy, balanced diet to achieve a slimmer tummy and a renewed you!
