To reduce persistent belly fat, incorporating core exercises into your fitness routine is crucial. As you grow older, you experience sarcopenia, which is a natural decline in lean muscle mass. This process slows down your metabolism and makes it harder to shed body fat. By building and maintaining muscle, you can boost your resting metabolic rate and assist your body in using fat as fuel, explains Leon Veal, a level three certified personal trainer and the head of nutrition and innovation at Styrkr. Below, Leon introduces five core exercises designed to help achieve a flatter stomach in 30 days—so take note.

Plank With Shoulder Taps

1. Assume a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and body straight.
2. Lift your right hand to tap your left shoulder.
3. Place your hand on the floor.
4. Tap your left hand to your right shoulder.
5. Continue to alternate.
6. Perform 3 sets of 30 seconds, keeping your movements slow and controlled.

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Dead Bug

1. Lie flat on your back, arms extended toward the ceiling and knees lifted in a tabletop position.
2. Press your back into the floor and engage your core.
3. Lower one arm and the opposite leg.
4. Return to the start position.
5. Repeat on the other side.
6. Perform 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps on each side.

Glute Bridge March

1. Lie flat on your back with bent knees and feet on the floor. Keep your arms at your sides, palms facing down.
2. Push through your heels to lift your hips into a glute bridge.
3. At the top, lift one knee to your chest.
4. Use control to lower, and switch sides.
5. Continue to alternate, as if you’re “marching.”
6. Complete 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps per leg.

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Mountain Climbers (Slow Tempo)

1. Begin in a high plank.
2. Drive one knee at a time toward your chest.
3. Maintain a braced core and avoid bouncing your hips.
4. Perform 3 sets of 30 seconds at a moderate pace.

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Standing Cross-Body Knee Drive

1. Start standing tall.
2. Lift your knee as you twist your torso and bring your right elbow toward it.
3. Continue to alternate sides with control.
4. Complete 3 sets of 15 reps on each side.

Alexa Mellardo