The goal for many people who start to exercise, especially women, but also men, is to reduce the waist and have a flat stomach . And not just for aesthetic reasons. Abdominal distention is very annoying and the fat that accumulates around the abdomen is dangerous to health . For this reason, we seek to exercise and diet to reduce the volume of the gut and, in addition, model it.
Having excess abdominal fat is also one of the factors that causes the so-called metabolic syndrome, a set of pathologies that increases the risk of suffering from diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Therefore, it is important to get rid of that fat, as far as possible, naturally. That is, with exercises to reduce the waist and a diet that does not contribute to our body accumulating more fat. Zagros Sport’s personal trainer, Roberto Crespo, gives us the keys to perform these exercises.
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What exercises reduce the waist
Ideally, you should combine aerobic or resistance training with strength training a minimum of three days a week plus active rest the rest of the week. If we are constant, we will be able to burn abdominal fat in three months.
Start with 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. You can run, pedal a stationary bike or elliptical at a moderate to intense pace. That is to say, that it does not drown you to the point of having to stop, but that you feel that it is difficult for you to speak.
Continue with 30 minutes of strength . The objective is to work the abdomen and the different muscle groups. These training sessions will also speed up your metabolism to promote a greater burning of calories and fat.
Stay consistent . It’s important to be consistent, as strength training requires you to do it regularly. Seeing that in approximately 12 weeks you are achieving the result you expect, it will be enough motivation for you to continue training.
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Exercise routine to activate the abdomen and burn abdominal fat
You do not need to go to a sports center to perform strength exercises. However, it is advisable that, at least at the beginning, a personal trainer tells you how to do them correctly to avoid the risk of injury.
Iron. It is the most effective exercise to burn localized fat in the abdomen area. It consists of placing the body in a horizontal position with respect to the ground. Be careful, it is not a push-up: the weight rests on the forearms and on the tips of the feet.
- What is activated? When done correctly, the abdomen, lower back, buttocks and legs are activated.
- Repetitions. Perform five series of 30 seconds each and rest 30 seconds between series.
- Variant. If your lower back bothers you or you cannot bear so much force in your arms, you can support your knees.
Squats . It is one of the most important exercises to burn general and, therefore, localized fat, since it involves a large number of muscle groups.
- How to do it. Spread your legs shoulder-width apart and pretend to sit, lowering your body to a 90-degree angle with your knees.
- Increase the intensity. Hold the pose with your knees bent for 20 to 30 minutes.
Lounge or stride . Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, and move one leg to form a 90-degree angle with your knee as your body descends vertically. After a few seconds holding the position, return to the starting position. Then switch legs.
- You will activate. Quadriceps, glutes and abs.
- So as not to injure yourself. Keep your back straight and your hips at the same level.
Dead weight . Start with your legs shoulder-width apart and continue to keep your knees slightly bent throughout the work. From here, a hip flexion or bow is performed by bringing the arms to a point midway between the knees and the ankles. You should always descend with a straight back to avoid injuries and ascend by exerting force from the abdomen, where we want to focus the effectiveness of the exercise.
- You will strengthen. The muscles of the core or central area of the body.
- With weight. To increase the intensity of the exercise, you can help yourself with a barbell or dumbbells.
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Climbers. Rest your hands on the ground and stretch your legs parallel to the ground, as if you were going to do a plank, with your back straight. From this starting position, alternately bring your knees to your chest, one at a time. Hold the movement for a minute without breaking the rhythm.
Burpees . It is the most complete and intense exercise. Along with all the muscle groups involved, the abdomen is activated very intensely. This is the sequence of movements that you must repeat for a minute and without rest:
- Starting position squatting with your hands on the ground and your head up.
- Move your legs back with your feet together and perform a push-up or chest dip.
- Bring your legs back up to the starting position.
- Jump up your whole body and clap your hands.
You must repeat the exercise a total of 3 series of 12 repetitions each, with a rest of 30 seconds between series and 60 seconds between each exercise.
- Increase the intensity. You can enter dumbbells or weights. However, it is not recommended that you do it in the first training sessions.
“On active rest days, the days that we will not do strength exercises, we can choose to jog, ride a bike or swim between 30 and 60 minutes. Moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise that will keep our body active” indicates the Zagros Sports coach.
Related: Does doing sit-ups eliminate body fat?
What to eat for a flat stomach
In addition to these exercises, diet is essential to reduce the waist and burn abdominal fat. These tricks will help you:
1. Eat more whole fruit and fewer smoothies to take advantage of the fiber in your food.
2. Avoid carbonated drinks, they produce abdominal swelling.
3. Chewing gum swells, since air is ingested when chewing it.
4. Avoid sugar and sweeteners, since the latter are also very difficult to digest.
5. Chew and eat slower to avoid bloating.
6. Drink plenty of water, since it contributes to the elimination of liquids.
7. If you suffer from a lot of gas, bloating and pain, see a doctor. You could have a food intolerance.
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