7 Exercises To Lose Belly Fat Effectively In 2024

Some people think losing weight is easy and a one-time thing, but the truth is that it takes long hours, commitment, and will. However, one thing you want, especially if it’s on your stomach area, is more muscle mass and less fat tissue.

People are constantly looking for answers on how to blast belly fat. Such that even options like using CBD oil or diet pills may be viable. But using CBD alone might not be effective; you still need a total lifestyle change.

Losing belly fat can be an excellent way for those who have been trying hard just to feel good about themselves again! Studies ^[1] link larger waistlines with heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers, so there isn’t any time like now to think about being healthy from the head “to toe.”

So how do you do it?

Well, here is a list of a few things you can do to get your body in shape and get that flat tummy: cardio exercises to lose belly fat, eating healthily, or through surgery only when necessary. These three methods can help you regain your confidence by losing all that extra body fat. In this piece, we shall look at the seven most effective workouts to burn fat.

But remember, Rome was not built in a day; you need to put in the work, carry out these gentle exercises, and be consistent. That way, you are certain to see results in your weight loss journey.

So keep reading to find out.

7 Exercises To Lose Belly Fat: Seven Best Tummy Exercises

If you’re trying to lose body fat and get your body back to a healthy body percentage, your workout must include a combination of cardio and weight training.

The best way for this is with exercises like core-focused work and HIIT^[2] (high-intensity interval training), and more that we will mention. 

Here is a comprehensive guide on seven exercise regimens that will help your belly fat loss.

Burpees

Burpees are a great way to work out your entire body and get many muscle groups in motion. The plyometric jumping action will help you burn calories efficiently while burning visceral fat, which is hard for many people who don’t know how it works.

Burpees burn belly fat fast, but the trick is consistency. They will help you build strong muscles and increase your metabolism, which means that more burpee sessions in a row for longer periods on any given day can result in faster weight loss and reduced belly fat over time.

Doing regular exercises is one thing, but if they’re done right, then there’s no stopping you. 

How to do:

1. In a low squat, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and drop your body toward the ground by sending your hips back.
2. Then, hop backward until your torso reaches the ground with your hands just outside of your heels.
3. Elevate your body weight into a plank position by pressing your palms against the ground, then hop your legs slightly outside of your hands.
4. Spring energetically into the air with your hands high, your bearing in your heels.
5. Rep the process numerous times.

Tips:

• Maintain proper form throughout the exercise by keeping your back straight, engaging your core, and landing softly to reduce the impact on your joints.
• Incorporate burpees into a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routine to maximize calorie burn and fat loss.
• Start slow, then gradually increase the intensity and speed.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Leg Raises

Leg raises are a great way of isolating your abdominal muscles, and increasing stability and strength. They also help reduce belly fat for the perfect figure. 

How to do:

1. Lay on your back with your hands placed below your hips. 
2. Then slowly lift your legs 90 degrees keeping your knees straight while your feet pointing to the roof. 
3. Pause for a while once your feet get high, then lower, back down, exhaling out.
4. Repeat this motion several times to become effective. Once you start, you will notice the excess body fat disappearing after a while.

Tips:

• Maintain proper form by keeping your legs straight and core engaged throughout the exercise to ensure that you are effectively working your abdominal muscles.
• Focus on controlled movements rather than speed. Slowly lower your legs and raise them back up to maximize the engagement of your core.
• Incorporate leg raises into your workout routine 3-4 times a week, gradually increasing sets and repetitions as you become more comfortable with the exercise.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 12-15 reps.

Crunches

Crunches^[3] are the most effective workout for burning abdominal fat, and they also rank first in terms of calorie burn. To do crunches, you’ll need a mat or carpeted surface with traction for your hands and feet, so you don’t strain too much throughout this intense exercise.

Crunches aren’t just one exercise – there are horizontal leg raises on the bench with feet elevated. It also includes abdominal work done lying flat on the floor supported by hands while raising the upper torso off the ground but your head remaining still (to avoid neck strain).

There is also a modified bridge pose that involves lifting both arms over the top of your head. But they all target the abdominal area.

How to do:

1. Begin by lying flat on your back with your legs bent at 90 degrees; if possible, keep them together (you should have knees should be tucked under).
2. Cross both hands behind the neck like an executioner holding a sword high above their neck, ready to strike.
3. Over time, you should start to incorporate different crunches into your workout routine so it does not become stale or monotonous. 
4. You can do side-bends or twist stomach exercises when doing standard sit-ups to be more challenging and fun.

Tips:

• Keep your feet flat on the floor, and your hands lightly touching your temples. Lift your upper body using your abdominal muscles while exhaling, and avoid pulling on your neck or using your arms to lift.
• Squeeze your abdominal muscles at the top of the movement to maximize the contraction and work your belly muscles effectively.
• Start with a comfortable number of repetitions and sets, then gradually increase them over time as your strength improves. 
• Consistency is key in losing belly fat with crunches.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Mountain Climbers

This is a great modification of the traditional plank or static push-up exercise that will help blast belly fat off quickly. The mountain climber is an effective exercise for working your abdominal muscles and all of the other muscles in addition to it.

When done at a fast pace, you look like you are running horizontally. Besides the fact that mountain climbers help you reduce body fat, it also helps tone the entire body, glutes, and upper body. 

How to do:

1. To practice the mountain climber, get into a push-up position with your wrists directly under your shoulders. 
2. Next, keep tight abs drawing your belly button towards the spine while driving your right knee towards the chest 
3. Then brought back, then left knee, so they work alternating sides.

Tips:

• Begin in a plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line from head to heels. 
• Engage your core muscles throughout the exercise and avoid lifting your hips too high or sagging them too low, keep a steady pace to maximize the effectiveness.
• Proper breathing helps you maintain control and endurance during the exercise.
• When you combine this exercise with lifting weights, you become toned up pretty fast.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 30-40 seconds or 10-15 reps.

Russian Twists

Your obliques and definitions will be enhanced with the Russian twist. Plus, there will be significant involvement of all the muscles plus an evident loss of more stubborn belly fat. It’s a core muscle activity that you can do with anything from medicine balls to plates, and it’s usually done while lying on the ground, so you don’t have to worry about your weight.

Working your obliques with a Russian twist is a terrific technique too. 

How to do:

1. You first sit tall on the mat, knees bent and legs off the ground, 
2. Hold an empty ball in front of you at chest height as you lean backward at a 45-degree angle from your torso, arms several centimeters out from your body for support.
3. Next, turn right and halt, press muscles to push out through the right side, 
4. Then turn left and do the same, but this time it eventually ends up where you began.

Tips:

• As you twist to each side, make sure to rotate your torso fully to target the oblique muscles effectively.
• Focus on controlled and deliberate twists rather than rushing through the exercise to engage your core muscles and maximize the workout’s benefits.
• Start with a manageable number of repetitions and sets, then gradually increase the intensity as your core strength improves. 
• You can add weight, such as holding a dumbbell or medicine ball, or extend your legs off the ground to make the exercise more challenging.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Inclined Running

Jill Penfold, a personal trainer in Los Angeles, claims that running on an incline rather than a flat surface boosts overall calorie expenditure by up to 50%. It’s debated whether you should exercise outside on a hill or a treadmill, but the benefits of increasing heart rate, which can lose weight, are undeniable.

How to do:

1. It’s not easy running on an incline, but it is one of the best ways to get your heart pumping rate up. 
2. For this workout, try walking or jogging with some elevation for 5-10 minutes at a time until you’re breathing heavily and have worked up quite a sweat.
3. Not only will doing so help increase endurance by strengthening muscles that are used in different positions throughout the movement, but it also builds strength in your legs and other muscles. 
4. Keep going strong when things start getting tough because even though these gentle exercises may seem challenging, they can still be done anywhere without equipment.

Tips:

• Start with a manageable slope, and gradually increase it as your fitness level improves. A 5-10% incline is a good starting point to engage your core and target belly fat effectively.
• While running uphill, focus on maintaining an upright posture and engaging your core muscles, avoid leaning forward or backward excessively. 
• Swing your arms naturally to help with balance and stability.
• Incorporate interval training into your inclined running routine., alternate between periods of intense uphill running and recovery periods of slower-paced walking or jogging on a flat surface.

Optimal Sets and Reps: 5 sets of 1-minute reps.

Weight Lifting And Strength Training

It’s time to up your ante and start lifting heavy. The reason? Using heavier weights will have you burning more calories after a workout because of an “afterburn effect.” Just be sure that if you’re starting with resistance training new habit for many people who are just doing it as their Ornish lifestyle choice.

You do so safely by sticking close to good form when gradually increasing the weight on each rep in order not only to see results faster but avoid injury down the line too.

Here is one way you can carry out weight lifting to help you burn belly fat:

• Lift weights as part of any of the gentle exercises we have mentioned above. 
• For instance, use weights while you carry out the Russian twists.

Why Are These Exercises For Belly Fat The Best?

With age, many people gain weight in their midsection, usually due to declining muscle mass and increased fat accumulation with time. The more belly fat builds up around your waistline, the more it can make you feel self-conscious. 

This can even result in difficulty fitting into some old clothes that were once comfortable but now no longer fit properly because they’re too tight on top of being baggy everywhere else.

Belly fat is unappealing to anyone, thus why many people want a flat tummy or just a simply defined waistline.

The unfortunate thing about excess belly fat is that your health starts deteriorating, especially if you have not taken care of yourself in your younger years. With that, you become predisposed to heart issues, insulin sensitivity^[4] in diabetes, and high cholesterol levels, among other health risks. And so, these exercises are a way to mitigate such eventualities.

We selected these seven exercises because they are effective. But the most important reason we selected these seven is: that they all employ the core muscles around the belly. And when you focus on these muscles and work on them, inevitably, you get to burn all the belly fat.

Regardless, this is not to say that other exercises are not effective. Some other exercises that can help your belly fat loss of other include:

• Captain’s chair
• Running
• Walking
• Cycling
• Swimming
• Sit-ups
• Resistance training
• Squat jumps
• Tuck jumps

When you are diligent with these exercises, you will enjoy the following health benefits:

• A healthy cardiovascular system
• An optimized respiratory system
• A slim waistline
• A healthy level of body fat, including subcutaneous fat, visceral, and even brown fat
• A significant reduction of the stress hormone cortisol
• Better moods.
• Healthier immunity.

How To Get The Most Out Of Workouts To Lose Belly Fat

As we mentioned earlier, consistency is key. But besides that, what follows are a few things you need to do to reap the full benefits of exercising.

Have A Healthy Diet

We certainly are what we consume, so much so that it is paramount that you eat healthily you offer the entire body nutrients to keep going. Burning fat is exhausting, plus you need the energy-burning calories.

The best place to get this nourishment is through a healthy diet where you can count the calories you have consumed. Ideally, the meals should consist of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.

You also need to eradicate some food from your balanced diet and replace them with green tea and whole-grain bread instead of fast food and carbonated drinks. And depending on your trainer, maybe you can have weight loss pills to help you burn belly fat faster. All in all, the final word should come from your trainer or your dietitian.

Start Small And Gradually Increase The Intensity

It might sound like a good idea to just go right ahead with intense strength training or go straight to the intense workout to get rid of belly fat, but that is very dangerous.

If you go hard with high-intensity interval training, for example, you might end up hurting yourself. In other words, take it slow. Sure, you may want to lose calories to get a flat tummy before summer rolls in, but you are causing more harm than good by not taking it slow.

Practice These Exercises The Right Way

Finally, it would be best if you did each of these workouts THE RIGHT WAY. This means that you should have the right form, wear the right gear, and use the right equipment. If you do not, for example, not care about the foot-hip-width when doing the burpee, you might be missing out on the full benefits.

Or, if you overstretch your bicep curls by using very heavyweights, you are sabotaging your progress in losing belly fat. How? The injury will slow down your working out, making you lose a couple of sessions that would have been helpful.

The Bottom Line

Getting a flat tummy is achievable, but you have to do it right. The seven exercises work, and they will help you get there. But that is not all. They will also ensure that your entire body is metabolically active to burn more calories and excess fat, keeping you healthy.

As a parting shot, ensure that you get a personal trainer if you have no idea where to start. And since we are all not created equally, advice and supervision from an expert are the best. This ensures that you do these exercises the right way and reap the benefits of losing more fat healthily.

It would be best to remember that you need to take rest breaks between workouts to give your muscles time to heal. This way, you grow slimmer and healthier.