Trimming your abs—aka the “belly” area—is a common fitness goal for many, and for good reason. Too much belly fat can be bad for your health, making you more prone to heart disease, liver problems and diabetes. To lose belly fat, a healthy lifestyle is key, including healthy eating and regular exercise.
When choosing the right exercise, you should focus on a combination of strength training and cardio, with an emphasis on the strength portion. Strength training builds muscle, increases metabolism, and burns more calories than cardio. I recommend that most people do strength training at least 3 times a week with cardio in between.
If you’re already lifting weights and doing cardio, but still struggling to lose belly fat, you may be missing some exercise routines. Here are three foolproof habits you need to develop to help you lose belly fat fast. Check them out below, and next, don’t miss the 6 best exercises for strong and toned arms in 2022, say trainers.
Now is the perfect time to start tracking your training progress. Record the weights and repetitions you lift during the exercise. The next time you do the same exercise, try heavier weights or do more reps. This will force you to burn more calories, build more muscle, and lose fat in a quick way.
RELATED: Get rid of a 50-something belly with a 10-minute workout, says trainer
To maximize muscle gain and fat loss, you want to force your body to work harder across all rep ranges. Many of us get stuck in a certain repetition range zone when doing a lot of exercise, so it’s a smart idea to cycle through a few reps where you get heavier but perform lower reps ( 5 to 6 reps), or do higher reps in an effort to increase the amount of time spent in tension (12+).
Walking is an underrated habit for those looking to melt their belly fat. Even though you may exercise throughout the day, if you sit for hours afterward, unfortunately, you are still considered sedentary. That’s why the 10,000-step-a-day goal is so heavily promoted on favorite fitness apps and platforms. Walking increases your daily activity and non-exercise activity heat production (NEAT), which accounts for a large portion of your calorie burn.
For more inspiration on reducing belly fat, check out the #1 Bodyweight Workout to Shrink Waist After Age 40 and Lose Belly Fat Faster With This 10-Minute Ab Routine, Trainers Say.
Liu Tian, CSCS
Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach in Los Angeles. Read More