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Putting on your favorite pair of jeans without struggling with the zipper feels great, but there is another important reason to avoid having a large waistline – it can be a serious health risk. While we are aware that carrying extra weight is not good for our health, having excess weight around the midsection can be particularly dangerous.
Eliminating extra pounds is crucial for our overall health, and although losing lower belly fat may present a tough challenge, it is definitely possible with the right workout routines. As the founder and CEO of GYMGUYZ, the world’s leading company for in-home and on-site personal training, I, Josh York, will guide you through the unhealthy aspects of lower belly fat and provide you with effective exercises to help you achieve your fitness objectives.
Why Belly Fat is so Unhealthy
Lower belly fat, aka visceral fat, likes to hide deep in your abdomen and can stir up all sorts of health problems. It can cause:
- Organ obstruction: This type of fat can be a silent threat to your body, putting your organs at risk and releasing inflammatory substances into the bloodstream.
- Metabolic syndrome: A high amount of visceral fat doesn’t just impact weight – it’s a crucial player in metabolic syndrome with the potential of leading to a dangerous cluster of conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance, all creating a path of higher risk to chronic diseases.
- Hormone imbalance: Lower belly fat creates a hormone imbalance that leads to insulin resistance – a major factor in type 2 diabetes development.
- Increased inflammation: The fat isn’t just there; it produces inflammatory chemicals that overpower your blood vessels to generate severe health complications.
- Difficulty breathing: Excess fat puts pressure on your diaphragm to make it harder to breathe, especially when sleeping.
- Chronic health problems: A buildup of inflammatory effects and hormone disruptions from lower belly fat can cause chronic health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and stroke.
Bicycle Crunch
When aiming to tone and shed that stubborn belly fat, bicycle crunches are a convenient exercise choice. These target your abs, internal and external obliques, and other core muscles, while also boosting your metabolism to continue burning fat throughout the day.
-Begin by laying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees up.
-Lift your legs to the tabletop position, then extend one leg out while bringing the same elbow across your body by twisting.
-Repeat that motion with the other side of your body.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are a full-body workout that provides cardio and strength. With your lower abdominal firing and a sweat burning from the cardio, this workout shreds calories and fat. The constant movement during the exercise increases your calorie output while elevating your heart rate to assist in fat burning. The full-body workout comes in with your arms, legs, and shoulders to boost calorie burning even more.
-Place your hands on the ground in a plank position.
-Bring one knee into your chest then kick it back out.
-Make the same motion with your opposite knee, then continue to alternate as if you are running in a plank position.
Burpees
As a high-intensity workout, burpees simultaneously fire muscle groups throughout the entire body to promote high-calorie output in a short period of time that creates fat loss. These can also help elevate your metabolism, leading to continued calorie burning post-workout.
-Stand with your feet positioned shoulder-width apart.
-Squat down and kick your legs back into a high plank.
-Lower to the ground with a push-up.
-Rise back to a high plank, followed by returning to a squat position.
-Jump and raise your arms over your head.
Russian Twist
With the goal of specifically targeting and strengthening your obliques, Russian twists can be paired with additional exercises to help burn calories. It emphasizes muscles that are critical in creating a toned lower abdomen.
-Begin by sitting on the floor with knees bent and feet flat.
-Slightly lean back while keeping your back straight.
-Twist your torso to the right, then left.
-This can also be done while holding a medicine ball or dumbbell.
Squat Jump
Similar to burpees, squat jumps are a high-intensity exercise that activates your abdomen and obliques. The explosive action of the workout produces significant calorie expenditure by raising your heart rate and metabolism.
-Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
-Keep your arms and hands out in front.
– Lower your body to a 90-degree angle.
-Explode up off the floor while bringing your hands above your head.
Leg Raise
Pair leg raises with a challenging cardio workout to tone and sculpt your lower abdominal muscles, the area where excess belly fat is stored. This exercise specifically targets and strengthens those muscles to reduce lower belly fat.
-Lay flat on the floor on your back.
-Put your arms by your side.
-Keep your legs together and slowly raise them to 45 degrees.
-Lower them back to the floor at a controlled speed.
Plank
For those who want to target deep core muscles, planks are the workout for you! Planks target and strengthen deep core muscles, which is crucial for a flat stomach, unlike other exercises such as crunches. Completing planks will help train your body to maintain stability throughout your body to improve your posture and reduce lower body fat. These not just work the abdomen but also back and shoulder at the same time to increase calorie burning and muscle development.
-Start by lying flat on your stomach.
-Raise yourself up by pressing your forearms under your face and your feet on your toes.
-Align your spine so it is straight.
-Hold the position for a desired amount of time.
