Exercises For Lower Belly Fat- For most people, losing weight means getting rid of lower belly fat. This way, you can rock your little black dress and fit into a jean comfortably without care for love handles or muffin.
To achieve this, you will have to adhere to a strict routine of exercises to reduce lower belly fat while pairing it with lifestyle changes.
Apart from the aesthetic implication of belly fat, it also places you at health risk as the accumulation of fat in the body has been known to result in diverse illnesses. These diseases include diabetes, heart disease, and in some cases, cancer of a kind.
If you are already on a diet, you also need to pair it with exercises. These bodyweight exercises help to target and reduce belly fat directly.
However, it is essential that you combine these exercises for lower fat belly with other moves that work a different part of your body. This way, you can build an all-around healthy body.
In this post, you will find eight exercises for lower belly fat that are simple yet effective for removing belly fat in no time.
Causes Of Lower Belly Fat
The accumulation of lower belly fat can be a result of many things. Some of these causes include:
1. Genetics
Studies have shown that the number of fat cells in your body is entirely a result of your genes. So, if your parents or grandparents had excess body fat, or in this case lower belly fat, you are likely to do too. Hence, our genes determine how body fat is distributed.
2. Hormonal Changes
Scientifically, hormones have been found to regulate fat concentration and distribution in the body. As women increase in age and progress towards their middle age, their ratio of body fat increases when compared to body weight.
So, as women approach menopause, because of the reduction in the level of estrogen and increase in androgens, they are more likely to accumulate more fat in their waistline.
3. Weak Metabolism
Reports have shown that the body’s metabolism rate slows down with age leading to belly fat. This is the reason more women are likely to gain belly fat than men. If your metabolism is weak, it means that you will constantly suffer from a bloated stomach.
Weak metabolism can be a result of natural causes or diseases such as diabetes, thyroid conditions, and other medical conditions.
4. Stress
Stress increases fat in the body because it causes your cortisol levels to rise.
5. Overeating
Overeating can cause an increase in body fat. This is especially when it is coupled with a sedentary lifestyle. That is when you eat too much and do not engage in activities that burn the fat your body accrues from the food.
6. Poor Posture/Sedentary Lifestyle
One of the reasons for fat increase in the body is poor posture. This means that when you slouch or sit with a curved back or spine, you are likely to accrue fat in your belly region.
Also, living a sedentary lifestyle can cause this. That is when you don’t perform any physical activity when you sit at a desk all day or spend most of your time in one position watching TV, reading, etc., you are likely to have belly fat storage.
8 Simple Exercises to Reduce Lower Belly Fat
These are simple exercises that help you get rid of lower belly fat in no time. For better resistance and intensity, you may add the use of weights such as kettlebells, dumbbells, or medicine balls to the moves.
1. The Russian Twist
The Russian twist is popular for working your core, improving oblique strength, and definition. It is usually performed using a medicine ball, and it involves rotating your torso from side to side while maintaining a sit-up position with your feet above the ground.
How To:
- Sit up straight on the floor with your knees bent and feet up the ground while holding a medicine ball or weighted plate with both hands and at chest level.
- Now, lean to the back, still with a straight spine, and hold your torso at a 45-degree angle. Hold your arms a few inches away from your chest.
- Then, turn your torso to the left, hold the position, and squeeze your core muscles.
- Turn your torso to the rightfully and pause again, squeezing your core.
- This is one rep of the Russian twist; alternate between sides and twist for 20 more reps.
- Take a thirty seconds rest and do 30 more reps of the move.
- Do another 40 reps after a one-minute rest.
2. Vertical Leg Crunch
We advise that beginners should start the Vertical Leg Crunch move performing a few reps. This is because the exercise can make you feel sore if you overdo it at the start.
How To:
- Lie flat on the floor or use an exercise mat and extend your legs towards the ceiling.
- Now, cross one knee over the other while lifting your upper body towards your pelvis. Ensure your leg is still straight.
- Slowly exhale while in this position and inhale deeply while lowering your upper body to the ground.
- Perform 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
3. Lunge Twist
The lunge twist is an advisable workout for beginners who want to get rid of belly fat or lower belly fat quickly.
How To:
- Stand straight with your legs at hip-width apart, and your knee slightly bent.
- Hold your palms together in front of you, and keep them at shoulder height.
- Next, lunge forward by taking a big step forward with your left leg.
- Then squat as if you are sitting on a chair so that your knees are at a 90-degree angle with the floor.
- At this point, your right leg should be positioned backward with your toes providing support.
- Ensure that our spine remains straight and twist your torso to the right and left. Bear in mind that your legs must remain stationed throughout the move.
- Do 3 sets of 15 reps.
4. Walking
Yes, walking is an effective exercise to get rid of lower belly fat! Although simple to do, taking a brisk walk for 45-60 minutes can speed up your metabolism rate, which results in a reduction of belly fat.
Also, walking ensures that you don’t spend too much time in the gym, which can lead to overtraining. Overtraining is dangerous because it causes the overproduction of cortisol in the body, which is a stress hormone that has been shown to increase belly fat.
Apart from the above stated, walking also helps you relax after a stressful day or activity. Also, walking helps you to overcome emotions that can get you stressed.
It also helps to balance the amount of cortisol your body produces. An hour of brisk walk a day can lead to shedding 1 pound of fat in a week.
5. Stomach Vacuum Exercise
These are low impact exercises that emphasize getting you to breathe as opposed to increasing your heart rate. The stomach vacuum exercise is also known as the four-point, transverse-abdominal stomach vacuum.
We advise that anyone suffering from heart or lung ailment shouldn’t do this exercise. Also, this exercise should only be performed on an empty stomach to avoid indigestion.
Here’s how to:
- Get down on all fours with your body supported by your knees and hands.
- Then, take a deep breath and loosen your abdomen.
- Next, exhale and tighten your abdominal muscles simultaneously.
- Stay in this position for 20-30 seconds.
- Do 15 reps of this move twice.
6. Bending Side To Side
The bending side to side movement is another simple yet effective exercise to get rid of lower belly fat quickly.
How To:
- Stand straight with your feet together and hands firmly at your side. This is your start position.
- Then, with your legs firmly on the ground and your left hand on your left hip, bend your body to the left as far as you can go until you feel a strain in your right waist. Raise your right hand simultaneously.
- Maintain this pose for 15 seconds before returning to your start position.
- Next, bend to your right and repeat the movement. Hold the pose for another 15 seconds.
- You can increase the holding time to 30 seconds as you get familiar with the move.
- Do 10 reps on both sides.
7. Rolling Plank Exercise
The rolling plank exercise works the muscles in your abdomen, lower back, and hips. The workout is hard to perform, and so you need to take it slow.
Also, while performing the move, you might feel like holding your breath; but do not do this. This is because holding your breath while doing this move can cause nausea or dizziness.
How To:
- Bring yourself to the floor, resting on your knees and elbows.
- Look forward and keep your neck and spine aligned.
- Now, lift your knees and support your legs on your toes.
- While in this pose, tighten your knees and keep breathing normally.
- This pose is called the plank pose. Maintain it for 30 seconds.
- After, start moving here and there for another 30 seconds to do the rolling plank exercise.
8. Crunches
Although the last on this list, crunches are the most effective exercise move to burn belly fat fast! The move is an intense move that works the muscles in your abdominal core, causing you to have the flat belly you’ve always dreamt of.
Please note that while doing this move, it is better to raise your back a few inches 0ff the ground instead of doing a full sit-up pose. This way, you do not hurt your back while doing the move.
Also, avoid jerking your head forward during the move so that you do not put pressure on your neck, causing pain. The correct way to do this move is to hold your hands above your head.
Heres how to:
- Lie down flat on the floor, or an exercise mat with your knees bent and feets firmly placed on the ground. Those who are not beginners can lift their legs off the floor at a 90-degree angle instead.
- Then, lift your hands and place them behind your head or crossed on your chest. Remember not to put pressure on your head.
- Take a deep breath and lift your upper body off the floor while exhaling simultaneously.
- Hold this position and remember not to sit straight to feel the pressure on the muscles of your abdomen.
- Inhale again as you go back down and exhale while coming up.
- Beginners should perform 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps.
Effective Tips To Lose Lower Belly Fat
Yes, losing fat in the belly region can be a tough nut to crack! However, when combined with the exercise moves listed above, the under-listed tips can help reduce lower belly fat.
Here are 5 simple but effective tips that can answer the question of how to lose lower belly fat. These tips have scientific evidence backing them.
1. Eat Healthily
Getting rid of lower belly fat rests majorly on eating right. When you have adhered to a healthy and balanced diet packed with needed macro and micronutrients, you are more likely to avoid gaining body fat altogether.
Eating healthy requires that you do away with takeaways and other processed fast foods that are full of fat. A healthy alternative to this is to eat homemade meals. You should also add more fruits and vegetables or steam cooked veggies to your diet.
2. Avoid Taking Alcohol
Although alcohol can be beneficial when taken in small quantities, excessive consumption of it can prove to be harmful. Studies also show that taking it in large quantities may contribute to increased belly fat.
This means that reducing your alcohol intake can help to reduce your waist size.
Even if you cannot quit it altogether, you can limit the quantity you take in daily. To reduce the fat gathered in your waistline, abstain from alcohol consumption totally or take it in moderate amount.
3. Sleep Well
Sleeping well is essential for your overall well being, weight inclusive. Research has proven that nt getting the right amount of sleep can lead to weight gain, or in this case, belly fat.
Also, sleeping for at least 7 hours at night means that you get sufficient and quality sleep. In case of a sleep disorder, it is advisable to consult medical personnel for suitable treatment.
4. Drink Water
This means that you should take a lot of water! So, if you are trying to lose lower belly fat, always carry a bottle of water around with you and keep sipping on it even when you are tired, hungry, or thirsty.
This is a healthy alternative to eating sugary or fatty foods that only result in accumulating more fat in your body.
For best results, depending on your weight and lifestyle, drink six to eight glasses of water daily. Always ensure that you are taking enough quantity of water.
5. Intermittent Fasting
The benefits of using intermittent fasting for weight loss has recently become popular. Put, intermittent fasting is an eating design that switches between times of eating and fasting. Studies show that it can be an effective way to lose lower belly fat.
This involved moments when eating and moments when you are not. So, for a particular number of hours, you eat, and for the next number of hours after that, you don’t eat.
A popular method suggests a 24-hour fast at least once a week while another recommends eating all your meals within 8 hours and fasting for the remaining 16 hours daily.
Conclusion
When it comes to losing lower belly fat, sadly, there are no magic solutions. Instead, losing fat in the belly like other parts of the body requires doggedness, effort, and maximum commitment on your part.
However, we guarantee you that performing the exercises and doing the lifestyle changes in this article will help you lose extra pounds and fat that have gathered in and around your waistline.
