Is it getting difficult for you to fit in your little black dress? Is your belly fat giving you nightmares? If yes, then you are in need of making some changes in your lifestyle, to get the figure you dream of having. Aesthetically, belly fat look quite displeasing. It can have long-term effects on your health if not treated at the right time.
Like everyone, you would also want to get rid of the fat on your belly immediately, but in reality, to trim your waist and lose belly pooch, you must sweat your way out of it. The realistic way to lose belly fat is to stick to a proper workout routine including belly pooch exercises and follow a healthy diet plan.
Exercising and diet go together. If you think that dieting alone can burn your fat, then you are totally wrong. In order to lose weight, you need to add a workout routine in your schedule.
Here is a compilation of belly pooch exercises that will help you get rid of belly pooch and will tone your body.
20 Belly Pooch Exercises
These exercises basically fall under 3 common categories:
- Belly fat exercises
- Lower belly fat exercises
- Exercises for lower abs female
Crunches:
No other exercise burns belly fat faster than a set of crunches. To perform it:
- On a mat, lie down with your heels on the ground and knees bent. Alternatively, lift your legs to form a 90° angle with the ground.
- Place your hands either behind your head or on your chest.
- On a deep inhale, lift your torso off the ground, making an angle of 30° to 40° with the ground, and then exhale.
- When going back down, again inhale, then on an exhale, come up again.
- Do 2-3 sets of 10 crunches each.
Precautions:
When doing crunches, rather than doing a full sit-up, lift your back only a few inches of the ground. Also, to avoid pressure and pain in your neck, do not jerk your head forward.
Twist Crunches:
Once you learn to do the regular crunches, try their modified version which is one of the best lower belly fat exercises. To do twist crunches:
- Lie down on a mat with your hands below your head.
- While keeping your heels on the floor, bend your knees.
- While keeping your right side on the ground, lift your left shoulder towards your right knee and vice versa.
- Repeat it 10 times.
Side Crunches:
This exercise is similar to twist crunches, but with a slight difference. To perform side crunches, you need to rotate your legs simultaneously with your shoulder, to the same side. This exercise basically focuses on your side muscles.
Keep your movements slow and steady to avoid hurting your mid-section, which is a complex area.
Reverse crunches:
It is another effective exercise to lose belly pooch. It is also like twist crunches. The different thing is that you need to move your legs and shoulders behind, simultaneously. While performing, you need to make sure that your back remains straight. Arching your back can cause pain and even back injury.
Vertical leg crunches:
To do it,
- lie down flat on a mat, and extend your legs upwards; toward the ceiling and cross one knee over the other.
- When you have properly positioned your body, inhale and lift your shoulder (upper body) from the floor and towards your pelvis.
- Exhale. Then go down with an inhale and then rise again with an exhale.
- Do 12-15 repetitions in one set and perform 2-3 sets.
In the beginning, do fewer repetitions, as overdoing will make your body sore.
Bicycle exercise:
To perform this exercise, you don’t need an actual bicycle. An imaginary one will do just fine. To do it:
- Lie down on a mat with your hand either behind your head or by your sides.
- Raise both your legs at 90° to the floor and bend your knees forward so that they are parallel to the floor.
- While keeping the right leg away, bring your left leg forward, close to your chest.
- Now bring your right leg close to your chest, keeping the other one away.
- Continue doing this, just like paddling a bicycle.
Lunge twist:
This is quick belly fat reducing exercise for beginners. To do it:
- Stand and move your legs hip-width apart and slightly bend your knees.
- Lift your hands so that they are parallel to the ground and aligned with your shoulders.
- Lunge forward. That is, with your right leg, take a step forward, and sit as if on a seat, that your knee makes a 90° angle with the ground. The left leg will be extended at the back, supported by your toes.
- Keep your spine straight.
- Twist your upper body and not your legs, to the right side and then left.
- Repeat it 15 times.
Rolling Plank Exercise
This is one of the lower belly fat exercises and focuses on your abdomen, lower back, and hip muscles. To do it,
- Get position on the ground with your elbows and knees resting on the floor.
- Align your neck and spine and look forward.
- Lift your knees off the floor and support yourself with your feet.
- With your knees contracted, breathe normally.
- This posture is the plank pose. Stay like this for 30 seconds.
The other types of planks are rolling plank, reverse plank, knee plank, and rocking plank.
The stomach vacuum
It is a low impact exercise that focuses on your breathing rather than heart rate. It is similar to the cat stretch pose. To do it:
- Go down on all fours to the ground, while supporting yourself with your hands and knees.
- On a deep inhale, loosen your abdominal muscles.
- On an exhale, tighten your abdominal muscles.
- For 15 to 30 seconds, keep this position.
- Repeat it.
Standing pelvic tilts and elevators are the other two types of stomach vacuum exercises.
Also read: ketogenic diet for weight loss
Captain’s chair
You will only need a chair to perform this exercise. To do it:
- On a chair, sit down with your shoulders relaxed and spine straight.
- Keep your hands by the side of your hips, with your palms facing downwards.
- Inhale deeply.
- On an exhale, lift your legs upwards so that your knees get close to your chest.
- Stay like this for 5 seconds.
- Don’t bend your back.
- Slowly, bring your legs down, and repeat.
The other types of captain’s chair are lying leg raise and hanging knee raise.
Side to side bending:
This is also one of the belly fat exercises. To do it:
- Stand straight and put your feet together and hands at the sides.
- Without moving your feet, bend your upper body to the right. Bend until you feel a strain on your other side.
- While doing this, keep your right hand on your right hip and your left hand raised upwards. Keep this position for about 15 seconds.
- Do the same in the opposite direction.
- You can increase the time slowly.
Scissors
It focuses on your abdominal muscles. To do this exercise, lie down on the floor and move your legs up and down. Keep doing this for one minute.
Diagonal plank
To do this exercise, get positioned to form a diagonal plank, supporting your body with an alternate hand and foot. Keep the position for 30 seconds with each pair of hand and foot.
Russian twist
Do this exercise straight for one minute.
Crossbody mountain climber
Do this exercise for almost one minute.
Cardio exercises that Help to Reduce Belly Pooch
As you may have heard, cardio is one of the fastest ways to get rid of unwanted flab and burn calories. They help immensely in getting rid of the belly fat. Cardio offers several health benefits if done on a regular basis. It will help reduce stress, will increase lung capacity, help you sleep better and will give you a sense of well-being.
Walking
It is one of the earliest cardio exercises done to lose belly pooch. It not only burns the belly fat but also tones the entire body. If you walk steadily for 30 to 45 minutes for 4 to 5 days a week and follow a healthy diet plan, you will see a nice drop in your weight.
Running
You have to avoid following a fixed workout routine. So, switch to running, occasionally. It increases your heart rate, in turn burning more calories, hence making you lose more weight.
Jogging
If running is not your thing, try jogging. According to researches, jogging burns fat more quickly than weight lifting. This aerobic exercise is extremely helpful in fighting obesity.
Cycling
This cardio exercise is an effective fat burner. You need to make sure that your heart rate increases while cycling.
Swimming
Swimming helps you lose weight and tones your overall body. Your chosen method should be strenuous and up-tempo in order to burn more calories.
Follow these simple and effective exercises to get rid of belly pooch. When you will measure your lower belly pooch before and after doing these exercises for a certain time, you will observe a clear change.
Most of the mentioned exercises can be done at home without needing a personal trainer. Determination and stamina are what you need to achieve your goal. Reducing belly fat is not an elusive dream any longer.
More ways to Get Rid of Abdominal Fat
Eat right
Your diet plays 80% part in reducing belly fat. Eat a balanced and healthy diet with the right amount of micro and macronutrients. Avoid fast food and takeaways. If you don’t have time to cook, have some raw fruits or steamed vegetables. Take the healthiest lunch to reduce fat fastly.
Drink water
The feeling of thirst, hunger, and tiredness is almost the same. So, don’t confuse them. Keep a water bottle with you at all times. Sip the water all day. Consume the amount water suitable for your weight and lifestyle. It shouldn’t be less than 6 to 8 glasses.
Short bursts
For reducing fat, short bursts of exercises are better than long periods of continuous exercises.
See sugar as your enemy
If you can’t omit it, then reduce it considerably. You can use honey, licorice extract, and palm sugar.
Reduce your sodium intake
Salt is a compulsion in food. So, use potassium, sea salt, or lemon instead. You can even add spices and herbs like pepper to reduce the requirement of salt.
Increase vitamin C intake
Carnitine is a compound that helps to convert fats into energy. For its secretion, vitamin C is essential. It also blocks the secretion of cortisol, a hormone secreted when you are under stress. The main cause of abdominal fat is the increase in the level of cortisol. You can use detox juices, which are full of vitamin c.
Eat fat burning foods
Garlic, ginger, onion, pepper, cayenne, tomato, cabbage, mustard, and cinnamon are foods that reduce fat.
Use healthy fats
Adding good cholesterol in your diet will remove bad cholesterol. Avocados, olives, nuts, and coconuts provide good cholesterol.
Don’t skip breakfast
Missing breakfast foods turn on your body’s starvation mode and causes bloating. It causes the gain of abdominal fat gain.
Get proper hours of sleep
To manage weight, adequate sleep is important. 6 to 8 hours of sleep is need by everyone. Lack of sleep and even too much sleep causes weight gain.
What are the causes of belly fat?
A small amount of belly fat is healthy. It provides protection to our bones, organs, and muscles. But excessive fat is to be avoided. You can cut down excessive fat by exercising and eating healthy. It is important to know the reasons for belly pooch in adults and teens. There are several reasons for it:
- Genetics
- Weak metabolism
- Hormonal changes
- Hypertension and stress
- Diseases
- Sagging muscles
- Poor posture
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Overeating
Effects of belly pooch
Belly fat has serious consequences. As this part is closer to your organs, fat here is more dangerous than fat at any other part of the body, for example, legs and hips. Several chronic health problems are caused by fat accumulated on your belly.
Belly fat is made up of visceral and subcutaneous fat. The visceral fat surrounds the organs, giving birth to serious health problems. Lower belly pooch causes chronic problems that include:
- Heart diseases
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Cancer
- Sleep apnea
- Pains and aches
How to measure belly fat?
In past, people considered belly pooch healthy. It was seen as an energy reservoir. But these views are now changed. it is proved that increased fat on the belly results in cardiovascular diseases. Hence, it is of great importance to measure your belly pooch and evaluate the need for reducing it. Here is a list of some parameters needed to measure your belly:
- Body mass index
- Waist to hip ratio
- Waist circumference
At last
By now you would have learned the ways to get rid of your belly pooch, what causes it and the effects it has on your health. So, try to implement this information in your life. Add these simple and effective belly pooch exercises in your routine. And make yourself a healthier and an even prettier person. Just remember, no pain, no gain. Your health and your beauty are in your own hands.