best exercise for belly fat

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amymt10
amymt10 Posts: 271 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok I hvae reached my weight goal and fit into my old pre-baby (well pre 2nd kid clothes not pre-kid clothes) and still have a lil bit of leftover baby belly fat. I'm doing ChaLean Extreme and have done Jillian Michaels 30Day Shred. I am also doing 10-15 min on the elliptical and 30-45 min walking depending on the day. what could I change to get rid of this stubborn belly? Before kids I almost had a 6 pack, after the 1st kid I had almost a 4 pack, now barely a 2 pack.

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  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    You can't spot reduce. Fat comes off based on genetics, it doesn't matter what exercises you do. You use have to keep exercising, and burn more body fat.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Cardio exercise is the way to lose fat. Anything else is just building the muscles.
  • katz41
    katz41 Posts: 22 Member
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    isnt pilates supposed to be good for toning wobbly bellies?
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
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    While you can't spot reduce, building strong abdominal muscles will flatten your belly. Also, since you've had babies, you might want to check your diastasis (the split in your abdomen). There are exercises you can do to mend the split back together. Just google it. Build your abdominals in the same way you'd build any other muscle group. If regular crunches are too easy, don't increase the number, increase the weight. 3 sets of 12-15 with added weight 2-3 times a week will yield better results than doing 200 every day.

    Good luck!
  • Smittyinthesun2
    Smittyinthesun2 Posts: 161
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    Cardio and burn the fat is the best way, spot reducing is a myth !
  • Soulbird81
    Soulbird81 Posts: 86
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    Ok I hvae reached my weight goal and fit into my old pre-baby (well pre 2nd kid clothes not pre-kid clothes) and still have a lil bit of leftover baby belly fat. I'm doing ChaLean Extreme and have done Jillian Michaels 30Day Shred. I am also doing 10-15 min on the elliptical and 30-45 min walking depending on the day. what could I change to get rid of this stubborn belly? Before kids I almost had a 6 pack, after the 1st kid I had almost a 4 pack, now barely a 2 pack.

    Add strength training.......strength training, in addition to cardio, helps to tone and sculpt your body. If you only do cardio you will not tone up. Cardio burns fat and strength training tones and builds those muscles. Do NOT worry about bulking up. This is a huge misconception, as women lack the hormones to become bulky unless they're getting "assistance" from other substances. Strength training also helps with bone loss.

    Also, yoga and pilates work wonders at toning your body :0)
  • ♥xenawarriorprincess♥
    ♥xenawarriorprincess♥ Posts: 440 Member
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    cardio, cardio, cardio....and then more cardio....
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
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    try some Insanity
  • c2sky
    c2sky Posts: 487 Member
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    isnt pilates supposed to be good for toning wobbly bellies?

    All the suggestions are good on this post. You've got to keep working on the fat on the top, and genetics is huge, but if you had it before, you could get it back close. Pilates is good because it gets the deepest abdominal muscles in the body, the ones that often get neglected with traditional crunches. In PIlates you work from the inside out, not just the muscles on top. Your transverse abdominous acts like a girdle. It helps keep your spine in proper alignment and pulls you "in". Pilates teaches you how to use all your abdominal muscles properly. You will then find when or if you do any really intense exercises like planks, pushups, intense situps or anything else like that, you will be able to do it without hurting yourself.

    People look shocked when I say planks and pushups are great for those deep abdominal muscles. But they are!
  • kneeki
    kneeki Posts: 347 Member
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    To reinforce the above. You cannot spot reduce body fat. If you want to lose your belly, eat clean and exercise.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I know everyone says "you can't spot reduce" but I'm just not sure I believe it. Fat burns off and if you are toning the muscle underneath a specific area at the same time that area is going to reduce. At least that's they way it's always seemed on my body. My belly is also a problem area so for the past week I've been doing the Zumba 15 min flat abs DVD daily, along with my usual other Zumba workout. I've lost .5 in off my waist but even more important is that it is noticably flatter. Maybe it's coincidence, maybe not. But I'm going to continue with it.

    Anywho, I recommend the Zumba 15 min flat ab DVD because it's working for me and it's fun.
  • amymt10
    amymt10 Posts: 271 Member
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    Thanks everyone. I do know you cant spot reduce, though I sure wish you could!! Lol. I did have two csections and that could be part of my problem. Just fyi, I am 5,6 and 135lbs a size 6. But was a 4 before my kids at the same weight. I will have to try some pilates. ChaLean extremes's ab workout dvd is killer and I can barely finish it. Last night for the first time I tried her Fat Burn Challenage, it was definitely challenaging!!! I could barely get out of bed this morning and I am still sore!!
  • katz41
    katz41 Posts: 22 Member
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    thanks, i'm going to dig out my pilates workout book, and i have a dvd somewhere i am sure!
  • katz41
    katz41 Posts: 22 Member
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    just looking on youtube, some great beginners pilates videos on there..:)
    going for a swim later today:D
  • Prestonsmumma
    Prestonsmumma Posts: 117 Member
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    wow at least u still have a pack of some sort, mines jst turned into a kangaroo pouch!! lol well done u sounds like ur doing fine hun, keep up the good work!! :bigsmile:

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