Valentin Bosioc
The extra belly fat is nasty. We give it lots of name like muffin top, belly pooch and plenty more. No one loves that nasty stuff.
Whether you’ve struggled to lose belly fat after having kids, have recently hit menopause and found maintaining a flat stomach more difficult than it used to be, or life (and cupcakes) have simply gotten in the way, most of us have dealt with carrying extra weight around our middle before.
If you want to get rid of lower belly pooch for good, though, it’s not enough to try a few sit-ups and call it a day.
READ ALSO: Give This Standing ABS Exercise A Try if You Want A Toned Lower Belly And Waist
Getting rid of belly fat and sculpting the muscles underneath requires both changing your diet and ramping up your workouts.
Luckily, we’ve got an intense 15-minute workout filled with moves to help you define the most important (and overlooked) muscles in your core, including the transverse abdominus and obliques.
Why You Can’t Spot-Reduce Belly Fat
Before we get into the workout, we have to burst your bubble with some hard truth: you can’t spot reduce belly fat.
In fact, you can’t spot reduce any area of fat on your body. You can, however, spot tone.
If you have excess belly fat it can be exacerbated by stress and sleep, but it’s mostly an issue of fat. If you want to lose fat, you have to lose it all over. That’s where the dietary and lifestyle will come in.
You can, however, tone specific areas of your body by using specific exercises:
- Squats will tone your legs, thighs, and buns.
- Push-ups will tone your shoulders, back, and arms.
- Crunches will work one muscle in your core.
To get rid of belly pooch you first have to shed the fat that’s covering up your muscles. It is important to work the rectus abdominus with moves like crunches, but getting a more toned tummy includes both working other muscles and using cardio and a healthy diet to lose the weight that’s covering up your muscles.
4 Steps To Get Rid Of Lower Belly Pooch
Make sure you’re doing these things first and then get ready to incorporate our awesome 15-minute workout at the end of this article to seal the deal on flat abs and say goodbye to belly pooch.
1. Get 150 minutes of heart-pumping cardio per week
Cardio can include anything from jogging, jumping rope, cycling, or a spin class.
Without cardio each week, the strength training exercises may tone your abs, but you’ll have excess fat covering them up.
2. Fit in HIIT 1-2 times per week
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is crucial to anyone looking to burn fat.
HIIT helps burn fat and torch more calories in a shorter amount of time than other workouts.
Consider HIIT your intense workouts, while your cardio workouts are more steady-state. You need a mix of both!
3. Eat clean and healthy
It’s true, you can’t work off a bad diet.
Make sure your diet includes plenty of protein, veggies, and healthy fats.
4. Minimise stress levels
High cortisol (the stress hormone) levels have actually been linked to belly fat retention.
Manage stress through meditation, yoga, and self-care and see if you notice a difference.
DON’T MISS: Sculpt Your Lower ABS With These Exercises!
Although it’s not necessarily the first step in addressing belly fat, for some people chronic stress can definitely cause them to hold on to more visceral fat.
PLEASE CLICK BELOW ON THE NEXT PAGE TO SEE THE 15MIN WORKOUT FOR LOWER BELLY POOCH
