The best belly fat exercises have little to do with sit-ups, crunches, or various abdominal machines or abs workout tapes. This is because these exercises are designed to help tone muscle, but they do nothing to address belly fat. If fat exists on the stomach, it won’t go away without the types of exercise that help lose weight and burn fat, and even then, there still may be some residual fat deposits on the stomach, especially in women, because this is a common fat storage area.
These statements aren’t meant to be discouraging, but it is important to realistically address fat on the stomach with the right kinds of belly fat exercises. The benefit of these exercises is that they help reduce overall fat, although where the body decides to remove the fat may vary with each individual person. Some will note greater fat loss on legs, thighs, hips, or the upper body prior to noting it on the belly.
Many people are left wondering what is the most effective belly fat exercises? The answer is cardiovascular or aerobic exercise. Fat burning requires increasing the heart rate for a sustained period of time. This is best done with a number of aerobic exercise choices. These can include brisk walking, running, jogging, bicycling, and rowing. Those who prefer indoor exercises can use many of the cross-training machines available in gyms or for the home, and treadmills, stationary bikes, or cross-country ski machines, to name just a few. Another option is aerobic dancing at gyms or with tapes or DVDs at home.
The goal of these belly fat exercises is to raise the heart rate to a target heart rate. This rate is calculated in a number of different ways, and people who have medical conditions or who are just starting an exercise program after a long break should consult their physicians to help determine safe starting target heart rate. Once people reach their target, they need to maintain it for approximately 15-20 minutes. This again may need to be an ultimate goal, and people might have to build up to it.
When people are able to exercise at their target heart rate for the desired time, three to four times a week, this will help with fat loss, provided the diet is also reasonable. There is no getting away from the fact that any type of fat loss usually results from exercise and diet.
As for the exercises that may be dubbed “belly fat exercises” but are really for toning, these shouldn’t be ignored either. Adding muscle tone and building muscle can actually help accelerate fat loss, especially when combined with regular aerobic exercise. One way to help keep toned is to finish any exercise session with some abdominal exercises. These can include crunches or the lying down bicycle, which is considered one of the best.
In bicycle, people lie on their backs and alternate bringing each knee up, as if riding a bike, while touching that knee with the opposite elbow. If people are too tired from their cardiovascular workouts they might try doing a few toning exercises on alternate days. There are plenty of tapes that have short belly buster workouts that can give inspiration for how to tone the stomach muscles.
