Striving to reduce belly fat is more important than fitting into a smaller pant size or your summer bathing suit. The tendency to store additional fat in the abdomen is associated with higher risks of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Reducing fat in this area reduces levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, and allows your body to produce, store, and use insulin in a healthier way.
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To reduce belly fat, forget everything you think you know about crunches and sit ups and revamp your fitness routine.
Add cardio to burn calories. Weight loss, fat loss, and cardiovascular health require you to add cardiovascular exercise to your fitness regimen. Feel free to mix up your cardio routine by adding rowing, running, swimming, or cycling to your workout at FitClub to eliminate the possibility of either your mind or your body becoming bored with your standard choice. If cardio is your least favorite way to exercise, check out FitClub’s variety of cardio classes to mix it up and find what keeps you interested and motivated.
Add healthy proteins to your diet. Protein allows you to feel fuller longer and leads to the growth and strength of lean, healthy muscle. Adding protein to your diet will tone the abdominal muscles while also naturally preventing hunger throughout the day. To add protein with minimum effort, add protein powder to your smoothies or morning oatmeal.
Eat fat. It sounds counterintuitive to decide to eat fat to reduce belly fat, but if you’re adding healthy fats to your diet you will build healthy, lean muscle mass and reduce body fat. To add healthy fats to your diet, try adding small portions of nuts, olive oil, avocado and fish to your diet. Portion size matters, though, when adding fats, because calories still count, even when you’re eating healthy foods!
Chill out. Reducing daily stress reduces the amount of cortisol the body produces. Adding yoga, meditation, better quality sleep, or even just deep breathing exercises to your daily routine can reduce the amount of cortisol in your body and lead to a flatter stomach as an extra benefit.
Try HIIT. Experts tend to agree that adding HIIT (high-intensity interval training) to your favorite form of cardio or resistance training expedites reduction of belly fat. HIIT raises your heart rate while also working your muscles, leading to a more efficient burn in a shorter amount of time. You can add HIIT to any type of cardio or resistance training by picking up the pace, adding intervals or weight, and keeping yourself moving through short, intense bursts of activity followed by a very short, but necessary rest, to recover. Not sure you know how to create your own HIIT workout or want to push yourself harder? Try FitClub’s HIIT class to give you the maximum belly fat burn possible.
What’s your go to workout to reduce belly fat? Share your own tips and tricks in the comment section for your fellow FitClub members!
