As you get older, particularly after hitting the age of 40, your body’s method of storing fat begins to change. Studies indicate that hormonal fluctuations, a decrease in metabolic rate, and the natural loss of muscle make accumulating belly fat more prevalent and tougher to burn off. A recent study published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases highlights that gaining abdominal fat, especially the kind known as visceral fat, heightens the risk of heart problems, type 2 diabetes, and various chronic illnesses.

This means that losing belly fat is less about how you look and more about enhancing your health, improving mobility, and ensuring a better quality of life in the long run. Fortunately, ETNT is ready to assist. We consulted with Meagan Kong, CPT, the Head of Fitness at AlterMe, who advises, “There’s no magic trick to quickly get rid of belly fat. However, by combining classic exercises with steady habits, you can strengthen your core and increase your energy. These exercises are straightforward, time-tested, and effective when done consistently.”

5 Classic Exercises to Shrink Your Stomach in 30 Days

Brisk Walking

Walking briskly is often overlooked as a weight-loss exercise. A review featured in Nutrition, Obesity, and Exercise reveals that engaging in moderate-intensity aerobic activities like brisk walking regularly can substantially decrease visceral fat, the kind that encases your organs. This is because walking burns calories, alleviates stress (which influences fat storage), and is gentle on the joints due to its low-impact nature.

How to do it:

1. Head outdoors or use a treadmill.
2. Walk briskly for 20 to 30 minutes at least five days per week.
3. Strive to walk at a pace that makes conversation slightly challenging but not impossible.
4. Gradually increase duration or incline as fitness improves.

Beginner Modification: Start with 10-minute walks and build up in 5-minute increments.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Walking too slowly, slouching forward, or skipping warm-up and cool-down stretches.

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Standing Side Crunches

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This exercise strengthens your obliques (side abs), which can help improve stability and posture. Core strength has been associated with lower injury risk and better functional movement.

How to do it:

1. Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
2. Place your hands behind your head, elbows wide.
3. Draw your right rib toward your right hip in a side crunch.
4. Return to standing and switch sides.
5. Do 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps per side.

Beginner modification: Keep hands on your hips instead of behind your head for less strain on your neck.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Jerking your torso, pulling on your neck, or leaning forward instead of sideways.

Bodyweight Squats

Squats are one of the most fundamental strength moves you can do. This compound exercise engages large muscle groups (glutes, quads, and hamstrings), which helps burn calories and boost metabolism for blasting away belly fat.

How to do it:

1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Sit your hips back and bend knees, lowering until thighs are parallel to the floor (or as far as comfortable—stop if you feel any pain).
3. Keep your chest upright and knees in line with your toes.
4. Drive through your heels to return to standing.
5. Perform 3 sets of 12 reps.

Beginner modification: Hold onto a chair or perform sit-to-stand squats from a chair.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Allowing your knees to cave inward, rising with your toes, or rounding your back.

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Plank with Shoulder Taps

While the traditional plank is an essential core stabilizing exercise, adding shoulder taps increases the intensity by forcing your body to resist rotation by engaging your abs, obliques, and lower back even more.

How to do it:

1. Get in a high plank with your hands under your shoulders and keep your body in a straight line.
2. Tap your left shoulder with your right hand while keeping hips steady.
3. Return to the plank position and switch sides.
4. Perform 3 sets of 8 to 10 taps per side.

Beginner modification: Do the move from a modified plank with your knees on the ground.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Rocking your hips side to side or rushing through the taps with poor form.

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Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are fantastic for fat loss as they combine aerobic exercise with deep core engagement. A 2025 BMC study found that high-intensity bodyweight moves like this improve fat oxidation and metabolic health.

How to do it:

1. Begin in a high plank with hands under your shoulders.
2. Drive your right knee toward your chest.
3. Quickly switch legs as if you’re running in place.
4. Continue alternating at a steady pace.
5. Do 3 rounds of 15 to 20 seconds.

Beginner modification: Slow down your pace or place your hands on a bench to reduce strain on your lower back.

Common Mistakes to Avoid: Letting your hips sag, bouncing too much, or losing plank alignment.

Adam Meyer, RHN