Best Cardio Exercises to Burn Belly Fat: Losing weight and toning or sculpting your stomach is a common goal for many people. This is an area that can seem very difficult to deal with and at the same time, it is also an area, which indicates many difficult diseases. Most of the fat around your belly points to visceral fat (hard-to-lose fat) or a dangerous one found around your abdominal organs. You will need to make lifestyle changes to reduce the fat around your stomach. Studies have shown that regular, moderate-intensity cardio exercise is one of the best ways to lose fat. Adding plenty of exercise along with a healthy diet can help you lose belly fat.
1. Exercising to Reduce Belly Fat
Steady state cardio exercises to burn belly fat
Steady state cardio is an aerobic exercise that keeps your heart rate at a steady level for at least 10 minutes. This type of exercise helps you burn calories and supports your metabolism.
- Typically, about 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week (Or 30 minutes in 5 days of a week) is recommended. Aim to create a mix of moderate and high-intensity activity. This combination will not only burn calories from fat but also provide you with cardiovascular benefits.
- Cardio activities included in moderate intensity cardio include jogging/walking, running, cycling, hiking, using a stair master or elliptical, swimming or dancing.
- Some studies recommend up to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio daily to reduce belly fat faster.
Workout in the morning
Try doing your cardio exercise in the morning, before you eat your first meal. Working out in a position without eating anything means your body will be using up its stored energy – fat.
- Try to include any type of cardio exercise in the morning. Even a quick walk of just 20-30 minutes can help you reduce the extra fat your body uses for energy.
- It may be difficult for you to get up very early in the morning. Make it a priority right now and after just a few weeks both your body and your mind will get used to getting up early in the morning.
- Make sure to go to bed early at night as well. It’s important to get plenty of rest, so if you’re planning on working out in the morning, you’ll need to push your bedtime a bit too early.
Include abdominal and core-toning exercises
Even though cardio burns fat and reduces overall body fat, incorporating some light strength training exercises can also help tone your abs.
- Include a variety of core strengthening and toning exercises. Toning your abdominal muscles will give you a more sculpted look when you’ve reduced your abdominal fat.
- Try exercises like crunches, planks, bicycle crunches or v-sits.
- Toning exercises will help strengthen the muscles; however, it is not possible to “spot treat” this particular area. It is a total lie that you can lose weight from any part of your body, so doing abdominal exercises will not just reduce the fat around your waist.
2. Incorporating Cardio Exercises to Lose Belly Fat
Run or jog
Running and jogging is a good steady state cardio exercises to burn belly fat. If you can jog or run briskly, you’ll burn more calories and help you lose body fat.
- Generally, running 1.5 km can burn about 100 calories. In addition, running is good exercise for your cardiovascular health.
- If you’re not a runner, start slow. You can run 1 km at first and then gradually increase your distance or speed over the course of a few weeks.
Take a spin class or include high-intensity biking
There are spin classes and high-intensity biking and other exercises that will burn a significant amount of calories and fat.
- Spin classes are done indoors on a stationary bike. On top of the bike, you can control your speed and resistance. However, the harder you work, the more burn you will get.
- If you haven’t tried a spin class before, it’s important to give your first few classes a slow start. These are very high intensity and it may take a few weeks for you to reach your fitness level.
- The spin is usually done inside a closed room. You can get very hot and you can sweat a lot. It is important for you to keep yourself hydrated throughout the spin class.
Step Aerobics to burn calories and fat
Step aerobics is another great cardio class that helps you burn calories and fat.
- It’s especially effective because of its focus on your legs and glutes. These large muscle groups make you sweat, allowing you to burn calories and fat.
- If you work out at the highest intensity, you can burn up to 400 calories in 30 minutes.
Do High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Cardio HIIT workout can be a great option to reduce belly fat quickly. If you do the exercises given here regularly then you will definitely see good results.
HIIT is another type of best cardio activity or exercise to burn belly fat fast. This type of cardio burns more calories than fat and also boosts your metabolism for 24 hours after completing a workout.
- During HIIT, alternate between short bursts of high-intensity cardio and short bursts of moderate-intensity cardio. You won’t have to spend much time for HIIT compared to steady state cardio, usually about 20 minutes (with an extra 5 minutes for warm-up and cool-down at the beginning and end). It should be shorter, more vigorous exercises.
- Studies have shown that a close relationship has been observed between the intensity of cardio exercise and reduction in abdominal fat. Participating in HIIT may prove effective for you in reducing your belly fat.
3. Consuming foods that support the reduction of body fat
Limit carbohydrate intake
Studies have shown that low-carb and low-calorie diets not only lead to rapid initial weight loss but are also very effective at reducing abdominal fat rapidly.
- Carbohydrates are found in a variety of foods, including dairy products, fruits, starchy vegetables, grains and legumes.
- Focus on reducing your intake of carbohydrates, such as sugary or sugary drinks, bread, rice, pasta, chips, crackers or pastries. Although other nutrients are present in these foods, these same nutrients are also found in other food groups. This makes it easy to reduce your intake of these popular foods.
- Eat carbohydrates that also provide your body with other nutrients, such as fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals or antioxidants. Foods like fruits, starchy vegetables and dairy also contain a lot of other nutrients and should be included in your diet.
- Low-carb diets focus on reducing carbohydrates, not eliminating them completely. Certain carbohydrates are necessary for your body to function properly.
Pay attention to calorie intake
In addition to following a low-carb diet, there are many benefits to following a low-calorie diet. Studies have shown combinations of low-calorie and low-carb diets. With this, a significant reduction in belly fat can be seen.
- A low-calorie diet refers to several different calorie levels. The total calorie intake recommended for someone varies according to their age, gender, weight and activity level.
- In general, it’s safe to cut up to 500 calories a day from your diet. By doing this, a weight loss of up to half a kilo can be seen every week.
- Use a calorie tracker or online program to count how many calories you’re currently consuming each day. Subtract 500 from that number to find your starting daily calorie goal.
- When reducing calories, it is important that you are not cutting calories too much. Consuming less than 1,200 calories per day puts you at risk for nutrient deficiencies, loss of muscle mass and fatigue.
Eat the right type of fat to burn belly fat
There are many different types of dietary fats that you can consume. Some of them are considered healthy, while others have been recognized for storing fat around your abdomen and abdominal organs.
- Studies have shown that regular consumption of saturated fats is associated with an enlarged belly and visceral fat. Saturated fat: Full fat is found in dairy products, processed meats, fatty cuts of meat, butter and fried foods.
- Instead of eating foods high in saturated fat, choose slightly more lean sources of certain foods. For example, choose lean cuts of meat or low-fat dairy products.
- Also, use fats such as olive oil or canola oil instead of butter when cooking.
- Instead of eating foods high in saturated fat, eat foods that are healthy for the heart with unsaturated fats and omega-3s. These foods include fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, tuna or sardines), olive or olive oil, nuts (dried fruits), nut butter and avocados.
4. Increase the number of fruits and vegetables consumed
When you follow a low-carb, low-calorie diet, it’s important to focus on consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables every day.
- Both of these foods are great nutrients — they’re packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants for very few calories.
- Generally, it is recommended to consume around 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. However, avoid consuming more than one or two servings of fruits or more than one to two servings of starchy vegetables daily when you are focusing on limiting carbs as well.
- Try to include green leafy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, green beans, asparagus, mushrooms or eggplants.
Conclusion – Best Cardio Exercises to Burn Belly Fat
Cardio exercises to burn belly fat takes some time and patience to reduce belly fat. Always talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program to make sure it’s safe for you or not. Losing belly fat will require time and patience. With regular exercise and diet, you will get good results.
Never exercise immediately after eating something. Wait for at least two to three hours to complete, otherwise, you will start getting cramps and your food will also not be able to digest properly. Try exercising with another person or with a group of friends to stay motivated.
Meet Flora Lambeth, an experienced freelance journalist with a rich portfolio featured in renowned publications such as Women’s Health, Men’s Health, and Woman’s Day. With a passion for infusing humanity into her writing, Flora excels in crafting authentic profiles and narratives. Her expertise lies in covering topics related to Health and Fitness.
