Best Exercises To Lose Fat On Your Belly?

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SimonCypher
SimonCypher Posts: 254 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I was wondering if people could suggest the best exercises to lose excess fat around my belly? I appreciate you can't target where to lose the fat however the only two places I really have any is my belly and bum (jeez, I sound like a right woman, haha).

I'm an active runner but this doesn't seem to help shift any of it! I'm back to the gym tomorrow and would like suggestions to work on.

Thanks ladies and gents! :)

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    As you said, you can't choose where you lose it. Exercise doesn't spot reduce, no matter how awesome it would be if it did!
  • techieflowerchild
    techieflowerchild Posts: 46 Member
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    Rowing seems to be working for me.... but Ala is correct...spot reducing does not work.
  • SimonCypher
    SimonCypher Posts: 254 Member
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    Never actually tried rowing if I'm being honest, I think I'll give this a go on days where I don't run.
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    Fork putdowns and plate pushaways....

    only proven method!
  • VivaGlamDE
    VivaGlamDE Posts: 8 Member
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    You can't spot reduce, but you can add exercises that help strengthen your core which in time, coupled with healthy eating, can reduce and reshape the appearance of that area. - As a person who worked her *kitten* off to get back in shape, what helped strengthen my core were exercises like planks, mountain climbers, wall sits, barbell squats, wood chops, supermans...stuff like that.



  • mandeiko
    mandeiko Posts: 1,657 Member
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    jimmmer wrote: »
    Fork putdowns and plate pushaways....

    only proven method!

    This is the hardest workout!!! :D
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
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    mandeiko wrote: »
    jimmmer wrote: »
    Fork putdowns and plate pushaways....

    only proven method!

    This is the hardest workout!!! :D

    Word!
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
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    rowing,strength training and plyometrics(planks,leg raises,medicine ball ab crunches etc) along with running where the targeted plan from last october devised by PT at nuffield gym.
    down from 46" waist to 30" following that and mfp over last 18 months.
    you ever utilise work gym/trainers?

  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    SimonCypher wrote: »
    I was wondering if people could suggest the best exercises to lose excess fat around my belly? I appreciate you can't target where to lose the fat however the only two places I really have any is my belly and bum (jeez, I sound like a right woman, haha).

    I'm an active runner but this doesn't seem to help shift any of it! I'm back to the gym tomorrow and would like suggestions to work on.

    Thanks ladies and gents! :)

    In the kitchen!

    Maintain a deficit in the CICO equation and the belly fat will be lost.
  • louubelle16
    louubelle16 Posts: 579 Member
    edited December 2015
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    Everyone's already said CICO, but that didn't work for my tum. I had to cut out alcohol to see the belly pooch shrink, and I wasn't exactly a big drinker (a typical Friday night binge drinker but not otherwise drinking). Might be worth a try? Dryathalon is coming up...
  • SimonCypher
    SimonCypher Posts: 254 Member
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    Aye, I'm definitely going to limiting my alcohol intake. I'm not a regular drinker, but when I do, I'm a binge drinker and that doesn't help as I could consume up to 10 pints and then whatever spirits / shots on top of that!

    I've SO much alcohol at home but thankfully I'm able to resist and never drink at home, it's also out of sight which is good.
  • Working2BLean
    Working2BLean Posts: 386 Member
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    A decent calorie defecit and any cardio you can enjoy doing will burn off added body fat

    Just don't eat back calories by the overly optimistic MFP calorie burn numbers

    They are so wrong you can actually gain weight

    It is all about the calorie defecit

    And you have ears you body takes fat for fuel where it wants to

    Kinda how it works. If you stick with it, it will happen.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    louubelle16 wrote: »
    Everyone's already said CICO, but that didn't work for my tum. I had to cut out alcohol to see the belly pooch shrink, and I wasn't exactly a big drinker (a typical Friday night binge drinker but not otherwise drinking). Might be worth a try? Dryathalon is coming up...

    Booze has calories, so my guess is your tum was not shrinking due to incorrect math. When you cut the booze, you cut your calories. Simple CICO...

    Why Am I Not Losing Weight: 11 Reasons You’re Failing To Lose Fat
  • louubelle16
    louubelle16 Posts: 579 Member
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    SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
    Booze has calories, so my guess is your tum was not shrinking due to incorrect math. When you cut the booze, you cut your calories. Simple CICO...

    Why Am I Not Losing Weight: 11 Reasons You’re Failing To Lose Fat

    I always logged it, and was always under calories as I would reign in my eating for a few days. It just seemed to make a bigger difference for me than anything else. May have been coincidence but that was my observation anyway.
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
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    louubelle16 wrote: »
    SingingSingleTracker wrote: »
    Booze has calories, so my guess is your tum was not shrinking due to incorrect math. When you cut the booze, you cut your calories. Simple CICO...

    Why Am I Not Losing Weight: 11 Reasons You’re Failing To Lose Fat

    I always logged it, and was always under calories as I would reign in my eating for a few days. It just seemed to make a bigger difference for me than anything else. May have been coincidence but that was my observation anyway.

    The main thing is to point out to the OP what is known to work. CICO - for all practical purposes is the ticket.

    Not to label your "observation" as anecdotal or what others might call Bro Science, but we are all here at MFP to learn. I drink, and am currently in my losing weight portion of the year by running a deficit with good ole CICO. 5 pounds of belly fat has been lost in December - even with a 1/2 to full bottle of wine daily. ;-)

    One can do it in the kitchen alone. Or one can use exercise to help balance out the CICO equation. I tend to do better using exercise to boost the CO portion of the equation because I love to eat.

    This chart represents my 2015 weekly training hours which I use to help control the CO portion of CICO. The red arrow down is where training volume tapers off during the Fall months as I enjoy 3 months of the off season for cycling. Training ramps up this time of year to prepare for the 2016 season. The red arrow up is slowly adding back training volume and December has enough volume to balance the CICO equation in favor of a deficit to lose weight off my belly.

    23981480831_40a6c2238f_c.jpg

    Point being - as accurate of calorie counting as possible, logging that honestly, and seeing what is going in and what is being burned off to make sure one is running a deficit is the only known way to lose the fat.

    The link I provided is quite an honest assessment by that particular blogger. Somebody pointed it out to me two years ago when I was in a "stall" and it got me out of the "stall" and led to more accurate logging, and CICO equation control. Here it is again.

    You’re Eating Too Many Calories - being the premise of those 11 reasons why someone like the OP may not be losing her belly fat. In your case, my guess is that even thought you though you were accurately logging your booze and food, and thought you were running a deficit - you most likely were not. So the coincidence and observation you noticed was really a result in finally having enough of a deficit to lose weight in the CICO calculation. It's typical we underestimate how much we eat, and overestimate how much we burn (the calorie burn measurements here at MFP are terrible!!!). This means one has to run an even larger deficit to account for the inaccurate CICO tabulations we all perform.

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