I hear women say all the time is that they need to do more situps or ab crunches to get rid of their belly fat. As a country, we have a problem with excess fat, and the worst place to carry it is in the belly. That’s also the most common place to carry it! That’s why I want you to understand what type of exercise is best to reduce that belly fat.
The idea of doing situps and ab crunches to burn fat is a myth. We can’t spot-reduce fat. In other words, just because the fat is mostly stored in the belly doesn’t mean we can just work that area to get rid of it. Fat is a holistic problem and we need to exercise the whole body to reduce the amount we’re carrying.
With a new year coming and so many people vowing to lose weight, once again, I want to make sure you use your time wisely when it comes to exercise.
I know how frustrating it can be to work so hard at something and feel like you’re making no progress. In order to stay motivated to exercise for life, it helps to actually see results in a reasonable amount of time.
So let’s get right into why belly fat is a problem and how to take care of it.
The problem with belly fat
Although it’s the most common type, belly fat is also the most dangerous kind of fat for us to carry. This is because it’s not just surface fat right under the skin (subcutaneous) but it’s fat that’s stored around our internal organs deep beneath the surface (visceral). So it affects how our bodies work.
In an article by Healthday.com, Dr. Samuel Klein says that “fat around the midsection is a strong risk factor for heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and even some cancers”.
Researchers aren’t exactly sure yet why belly fat has such a negative effect on our health but they do know that it can lead to insulin resistance. When that happens our bodies can’t turn the food we eat into energy.
Just this year the CDC reported that over 34 million Americans have Diabetes and at least 90% of them have Type 2. They also know that Type 2 Diabetes is mostly caused by lifestyle factors like how we eat and how we move.
According to MD Anderson Center, there is a clear relationship between belly fat and cancers such as “colorectal, post-menopausal breast, uterine, esophageal, kidney, and pancreatic cancers”.
The two leading causes of death in the U.S. are heart disease and cancer. So just by keeping our weight under control, we could live longer, healthier lives.
Reduce your belly fat with cardio
So what exercises reduce belly fat if situps and ab crunches aren’t the answer? Cardio is king when it comes to fat! And plenty of it too! Dr. Henry Lodge in his book “Younger Next Year for Women” writes:
“Light aerobic exercise is long and slow exercise at an easy pace – up to 65 percent of your peak heart rate. At this level, your muscles burn mostly fat, so it’s your most fuel-efficient pace, the one you can keep up all day.”
The keywords here are light, long and slow. This type of endurance work uses about 95% fat (as opposed to carbs) for energy. And because it’s “easy” exercise you can fit it into your daily life no matter what you do for a living. This is why I encourage people to just move more during the day. The more you move the more fat you’ll burn.
People tend to not like cardio because it’s uncomfortable. So they blow it off for more exciting and short-term activities like weight lifting. But you did hear me right when I said “light, long and slow” cardio that should be “easy”. We’re not talking about training for a race here!
For more specifics on the many benefits of cardio for exercise, read my blog Why do cardio for exercise?
What are your cardio options?
If you have a sedentary job, think about investing in a treadmill desk (or make your own “desktop” on your treadmill). If that’s not an option just get up and walk for a few minutes every hour during the day. Try to stand up and pace or step from side to side while you’re reading. On your breaks, instead of sitting take a walk outside or climb the stairs.
There are so many possibilities for moving more but you have to think about it! So put up a sticky note to remind yourself to move every hour. Or set a timer to remind you until you get into the habit.
Other examples of light cardio outside of work are biking, swimming, dancing, hiking or using an elliptical. Just remember that endurance is more important than speed. These are also great choices for beginning exercisers because they don’t put too much strain on your heart or muscles.
If you’re only able to do 10 minutes in the beginning, then just do that and work your way up to at least 30 min but not over an hour. Too much exercise can be just as bad as too little. You want to make sure that what you do you can maintain for life.
Read my article “Understanding target heart rate zones” to figure your peak or max heart rate so you know when you’re working out at 65%.
Strength training also helps to reduce belly fat
Doing cardio is a must but strength training is also necessary if you want to boost your metabolism even more. Muscle burns more calories than fat even when you’re at rest. But we lose muscle with each decade we’re alive starting as early as our 20’s! That’s why it’s harder to burn calories (and reduce fat) as we age.
So make sure that at least two days a week you do strength training for your entire body. You can do a whole-body workout on those two days or you can split it up, like I do, into lower body, upper body and core. Each of these areas should be worked twice a week.
Read my blog “How to set up a balanced workout program” to get more details on scheduling your strength workouts throughout the week.
Make sure you have a variety of workouts
Whatever your goal is for fitness you need a variety of workouts in your weekly routine. Variety helps us to use different muscles in different ways, just like we do in real life. It also keeps exercise more interesting which helps you to stay motivated to keep doing it!
You might want to use the same cardio machine every day because that’s what you’ve got and it’s just easier that way. But without change, our bodies quickly adapt to that way of moving. This is why people often lose weight at the beginning of a program then hit a plateau.
We have to continually challenge our bodies to keep making progress and reduce that belly fat. So walk some days and use a machine other days. Then try to find another form of exercise you can do occasionally that’s different from both of those. Just keep mixing it up.
In my case, I use my elliptical machine most days but at least once a week I try to go outside for a walk. When I have more time I like to take a drive and go for a hike in the woods because there’s more variety in the terrain. During the summers I go biking one or two days a week.
Each form of exercise works my body differently which means it has to adjust every time I do something new. And that’s a good thing!
Last but not least…watch your calories!
You can do all the exercising you want but if you keep consuming a lot of extra calories with food and drink then you won’t get very far. Exercise burns off some of the calories we ingest but we can take them in a lot faster than we can burn them off!
I think the easiest way to lower calorie intake is to weed out some of the junk and substitute them with healthier choices. This is why it’s so important to start reading labels so you know what your processed foods contain.
Better yet, it would benefit you even more to start eating more whole foods in their natural forms. They’re usually lower in calories and always higher in nutrients.
I normally eat a mixture of raw veggies at lunch with homemade hummus. A big salad with plenty of healthy additions would be a good choice too. Skip the dessert and eat a sweet fruit instead. Fruit usually contains fiber which most Americans are deficient in.
There are lots of things you could do to eat healthier and reduce your calorie intake. And the nutrients in whole foods will help you build up a better immune system. That’s crucial for fighting off infections and viruses that are so rampant.
My final thoughts
Cardio exercise has so many benefits besides just reducing belly fat. It strengthens our hearts, it gives us more energy, it helps us to sleep better, it gives us a mental boost, it’s good for our joints, and it improves our immune systems. I’m sure I’m missing a few benefits but that’s a pretty good start!
Modern conveniences have made our lives too easy so now we have to make time to exercise or suffer the consequences. Because when we don’t exercise all those extra calories we take in just get stored away, mostly as belly fat. We have to keep moving to keep our weight under control so we can live longer and healthier lives.
These days taking the time for exercise is the only downside to doing it. And taking the time is really only difficult in the beginning when you’re not used to it. Once you make it a habit it becomes part of your normal routine.
So stop wasting your time with the situps and ab crunches and just start moving as much as possible throughout your day. It’ll reduce your belly fat but also give you a much better quality of life. And that’s the real point of exercise!
If you still find exercising confusing and frustrating then consider hiring a personal trainer to help you out. If you’re a woman 40 years or older I would love to help you with exercise and motivation! If you live in the Iowa City, IA area then fill out the form below to contact me.