If you are looking for the best way to lose belly fat, don't be surprised if the answer is something you've already heard about many times before. Fat burning workouts, such as jogging and indoor cycling, will help to take off excess pounds all over the body not just around the middle.
Forget the ab crunch machine at the gym to target a big belly. There is no such thing as spot reduction to get rid of abdominal fat, and you will get better results if you focus on the traditional 1-2-3 approach of: dieting, and a dual fitness program of cardio and strength training.
Five Fat Burning Workouts
Look at five sample fitness workouts below that are effective and intense enough for slimming down your entire body. The best way to lose belly fat would be to do a combination of them, or select a variety of physical activities that interest you. Variety is actually important for weight loss. For cardio and strength training, change up your workouts every few weeks to keep your body on a progress path. Your body will plateau during any fitness regime, and will need a new challenge to keep the muscles guessing - and progressing.
Running remains the number one activity and the best way to lose belly fat. At just 5.5mph, a runner can burn up to 700 calories in an hour. This cardio conditioning exercise is effective for those who can handle the pressure put on the feet and knees. As an alternative for those who can't run, walking at 3.5mph for an hour, several days a week or daily, is a low-impact way to burn calories.
Cardio machines such as treadmills and elliptical trainers are the best way to lose belly fat if you don't want to exercise outside especially if you live in an unsafe area or if weather is a problem. Many overweight people choose machines over road running because using them can lessen the stress on joints in the knees and hips. For example, treadmill decks are cushioned to soften the foot strikes during striding, and elliptical trainers are ergonomically designed to be very low-impact on the joints.
Cycling indoors or out on road bikes, stationary bikes, and recumbent bikes can help you burn around 400 calories an hour. Like treadmills and elliptical machines, cycling as a cardiovascular workout is not only great conditioning for your heart and lungs but the moderate to intense aerobic activity will help to drop excess pounds everywhere on your body.
Yoga is not an aerobic exercise but it an intense program that can be practiced by anyone at any age. It engages the mind in meditation achieving a positive mental balance, and yoga slims the body through deep breathing practices called pranayama, and core training exercises called poses or asanas. Yoga does more than just burn fat and strengthen muscle; it improves digestion (by eliminating water retention, bloating, and constipation), and it helps to control appetite and mood.
Strength training is the best way to lose belly fat for those who don't like to jog or feel a modality like yoga is too complex. Unlike the other activities on this list, weight training takes only 20 minutes two or three times per week for an effective workout. The effects of lifting weights in a home gym are lasting too; you'll build muscle mass and condition your body, and improving your metabolism will cause your body to burn fat all of the time even while you sleep. Cardio workouts alone cannot do that.
Have the Goal to Lose Fat, Not Weight
The best way to lose belly fat is to pursue any exercise modality that will pump your heart and muscles in overall body conditioning, and not to follow some gimmick that promises to target just those extra pounds around your waist. Losing weight and losing belly fat are two different things. For example, you can lose weight through muscle loss, and you can even dehydrate yourself on a crash diet and "lose weight" through water loss. Have it your goal to burn off fat permanently and keep it off by following a proper diet, as well as following a cardio and strength training program to build a leaner healthier body.
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