Exercises to get rid of belly fat

zach121989
zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
edited November 28 in Fitness and Exercise
I've read that lifting is a good option. But I'm not interested in making my arms 28 inches round, what kind of lifting or other exercises will be the most effective for belly fat?
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Replies

  • chelsea7162
    chelsea7162 Posts: 97 Member
    You can not target fat loss. I'd suggest lots of cardio to help raise your metabolism and doing core exercises to help build muscle in your stomach. Planks use your entire core so you're also getting your lower back which is a place people forget to exercise. Dead lifts are very good for your core and also target the butt and you can do without the gym by just using weights at home or something with a fair bit of weight you can lift. Leg lifts and scissor kicks really use the lower abs. A mix of core exercises is good, but you'll need to lose weight all over to flatten your stomach
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,347 Member
    A. You can't spot reduce.
    B. Lifting won't make you bulky unless you work really hard at it.
  • ClicquotBubbles
    ClicquotBubbles Posts: 66 Member
    edited January 2016
    Hi, if you lift weights and eat at a deficit you will not be entering Mr Universe with your huge biceps( unless you really really want to work hard). Also I'm sure you cannot target weight loss to specific body parts. If your still iffy about lifting maybe you could try Body Pump or Les Mills or have a quick read of New Rules of Lifting it might dispell some of the myths oflifting heavy things :) Lifting things seems to have changed my bodyshape but along with cardio the belly fat is reducing. ( And Kai Greene has nothing to fear from me) ;)

    If everything Ive just typed is complete poo then someone will quickly correct me below.

    Edit as for some reason I thought you were female. But I have not had coffee yet so.
  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    I'm not going back to the Army days and killing myself, what I've found to have finally worked for me now is that I'm taking it slow and it's coming off and staying off. I had thought about doing stair climbs, crunches, and 30/60 second sprint/walk cycles to start with.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Walking away from the kitchen works best.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I've read that lifting is a good option. But I'm not interested in making my arms 28 inches round, what kind of lifting or other exercises will be the most effective for belly fat?

    Fork putdowns and table pushaways. Abs are made in the kitchen and there's no such thing as spot reduction. Lose the fat and eventually the belly will go away.

    And there are millions of guys everywhere who wish it was so easy to "accidentally" get 28 inch arms from lifting weights. Getting big takes a lot of eating, a lot of lifting and a lot of time. You don't build big guns while you're cutting calories trying to lose weight - you try as hard as you can to hold onto whatever size you already have.
  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    I don't want to "make abs", and I don't have a problem pushing the fork away. I was blown up in Afghanistan and I have trouble with my hips and back from the injuries. The question was stated pretty clearly for all the smart *kitten* out there who feel superior on an fitness app lol I asked what was most effective on belly fat. Not how do I get abs of steel. Sometimes I wonder if ppl actually read their comments and think there someone special.....
  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    For everyone who did contribute a helpful response I appreciate it.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I don't want to "make abs", and I don't have a problem pushing the fork away. I was blown up in Afghanistan and I have trouble with my hips and back from the injuries. The question was stated pretty clearly for all the smart *kitten* out there who feel superior on an fitness app lol I asked what was most effective on belly fat. Not how do I get abs of steel. Sometimes I wonder if ppl actually read their comments and think there someone special.....

    Your question was answered. The answer was not what you expected, but it was true. There are exercises to build abs (or any other muscle). There are no exercises to burn belly fat (or fat from any other area). Keep watching what you eat and be patient. Exercise will help burning calories and losing fat, but it really does not matter what exercise it will be. If you burn 500 calories cycling, running, swimming or doing burpees, the result regarding fat loss will be the same.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    I've been lifting for almost a year and only gained 17lbs, why do you think so many people turn to steroids in order to gain muscle? It's because gaining muscle is extremely difficult, you'll only gain If you're eating at a surplus anyways. So if you're at a deficit your only gain strength and possibly minimal amounts of mucle. Spot reducing is not possible, anyone who says different, disregard any fitness advice they have to offer.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    There are no exercises that target fat, all you can do is drop your overall body fat. Also, it's really unlikely, without steroids, that you'll be able to bulk to the degree of which you are afraid.
    Strength training is great for body composition, but only a calorie deficit will cause your body fat to drop.
  • ClicquotBubbles
    ClicquotBubbles Posts: 66 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I don't want to "make abs", and I don't have a problem pushing the fork away. I was blown up in Afghanistan and I have trouble with my hips and back from the injuries. The question was stated pretty clearly for all the smart *kitten* out there who feel superior on an fitness app lol I asked what was most effective on belly fat. Not how do I get abs of steel. Sometimes I wonder if ppl actually read their comments and think there someone special.....

    To be fair it would have been more helpful if you indicated your injuries in your initial post ( not necessarly how your were injured but what you struggle with). That way advice can be better crafted and targeted to answering your questions. Also a lot of people here are highly experienced some are professional and give solid advice even if some of it seems quick and curt. Nothing anyone responded is untrue and will work acording to your original question.

    With that aside maybe you could consider swimming to increase exercise and reduce the impact on your hips and back. It might also be worth looking at yoga or pilates which also provide a very good work out, help with strength and you can also adapt moves to reduce stress on your injuries.

    Good luck :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I don't want to "make abs", and I don't have a problem pushing the fork away. I was blown up in Afghanistan and I have trouble with my hips and back from the injuries. The question was stated pretty clearly for all the smart *kitten* out there who feel superior on an fitness app lol I asked what was most effective on belly fat. Not how do I get abs of steel. Sometimes I wonder if ppl actually read their comments and think there someone special.....

    People did read your post and answer accurately.
    There isn't one set of exercises that target belly fat because you can't - your body loses fat all over in a calorie deficit.

    You can target abs muscles with exercise but muscle and fat are completely different tissue - you cannot exercise fat.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited January 2016
    ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21804427


    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of abdominal exercises on abdominal fat. Twenty-four healthy, sedentary participants (14 men and 10 women), between 18 and 40 years, were randomly assigned to 1 of the following 2 groups: control group (CG) or abdominal exercise group (AG). Anthropometrics, body composition, and abdominal muscular endurance were tested before and after training. The AG performed 7 abdominal exercises, for 2 sets of 10 repetitions, on 5 d·wk(-1) for 6 weeks. The CG received no intervention, and all participants maintained an isocaloric diet throughout the study. Significance was set at p = 0.05 for all tests. There was no significant effect of abdominal exercises on body weight, body fat percentage, android fat percentage, android fat, abdominal circumference, abdominal skinfold and suprailiac skinfold measurements. The AG performed significantly greater amount of curl-up repetitions (47 ± 13) compared to the CG (32 ± 9) on the posttest. Six weeks of abdominal exercise training alone was not sufficient to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat and other measures of body composition. Nevertheless, abdominal exercise training significantly improved muscular endurance to a greater extent than the CG.
  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    If you mean "helping" by ppl who post comments such as get out of the kitchen, then maybe. I suspect that most everyone knows that eating less equals losing fat, I'm not ignorant. I was simply asking about exercises. Never did I once mention that I needed some internet therapy about over-eating. Thanks for your concern.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    If you mean "helping" by ppl who post comments such as get out of the kitchen, then maybe. I suspect that most everyone knows that eating less equals losing fat, I'm not ignorant. I was simply asking about exercises that would help remove belly fat, which proves without a doubt that I don't know what I'm doing and could use the help that I'm too arrogant to accept.. Never did I once mention that I needed some internet therapy about over-eating. Thanks for your concern.

    FIFY.

    You're welcome

  • zach121989
    zach121989 Posts: 44 Member
    Mr. Davpul, I'm glad you hit that nail on the head. I think I've got the calories in, calories out part figured out. Hence the reason I asked for exercise information. Not pointless information (if you can call it that) such as get out of the kitchen. If that's the advice I were to be given from the many people I have requested information from on here, then I wouldn't be losing the weight at all. I admitted I needed help with exercise information, in my very first question. No one denies that. And I also took in that info from the people who actually gave me something that was worth opening this app for. Have a nice day.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Here's the thing, though:

    Exercise won't solve the problem you're looking to solve.

    CICO will.

    That's what people are trying to tell you.
  • Working2BLean
    Working2BLean Posts: 386 Member
    MFP has lots of straight up snarky bad advice mixed in with the good

    I would suggest joining a few forums, a gym where you have actual workout buddies.

    I have never had the goofy all calories are the same arguments with other fit athletic people.

    Take the good and leave the bad.

  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I don't want to "make abs", and I don't have a problem pushing the fork away. I was blown up in Afghanistan and I have trouble with my hips and back from the injuries. The question was stated pretty clearly for all the smart *kitten* out there who feel superior on an fitness app lol I asked what was most effective on belly fat. Not how do I get abs of steel. Sometimes I wonder if ppl actually read their comments and think there someone special.....

    And I'm wondering if some OPs actually read the responses they receive to their questions.

    As has been said several times already, you can do anything to lose belly fat besides eating at a deficit to lose body fat all over. Eventually (and if you're like me, lastly) you will lose the fat at your waist. But no amount of crunches will change the order.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    eat at a calorie deficit to loose
    cardio to loose fat you've gained
    strength training to build muscle mass and avoid the skinny fat look
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    moyer566 wrote: »
    eat at a calorie deficit to loose
    cardio to loose fat you've gained
    strength training to build muscle mass and avoid the skinny fat look

    Calorie deficit is all that is required to lose fat.
    Strength training for muscle retention while in a deficit. Not building muscle in a deficit.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Um. I lift, have a decent stomach...and my arms are not 28 inches round. Losing fat by eating in a deficit while lifting isn't going to make ANYTHING bigger.
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    I've read that lifting is a good option. But I'm not interested in making my arms 28 inches round, what kind of lifting or other exercises will be the most effective for belly fat?

    Abs are made in the kitchen...
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    zach121989 wrote: »
    If you mean "helping" by ppl who post comments such as get out of the kitchen, then maybe. I suspect that most everyone knows that eating less equals losing fat, I'm not ignorant. I was simply asking about exercises. Never did I once mention that I needed some internet therapy about over-eating. Thanks for your concern.

    *blinks* It's not about internet therapy. It's just a simple fact that 80-90% of the impact on body composition comes from diet and only 10-20% comes from exercise. It's also a fact that you cannot spot reduce. So you're asking a very targeted question for which there is no answer. If you want to be more lean, people can help you. If you want to know what exercises are good for reducing belly fat... well... any of them, so long as they help keep you at a deficit.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    As stated, fork put downs and table push aways are the best exercises for belly fat.

  • Gun4a
    Gun4a Posts: 68 Member
    I do Olympic weightlifting and in addition to exercises stated by @Hornsby , this really helps me to keep the stomach area tight and firm. And there is no danger of getting big either as I'm not lifting heavy..
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    edited January 2016
    Have you tried eating less? Also I'm not sure if you're aware but there are no spot-reduction exercises. Just wanted to make sure.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    MFP has lots of straight up snarky bad advice mixed in with the good

    I would suggest joining a few forums, a gym where you have actual workout buddies.

    I have never had the goofy all calories are the same arguments with other fit athletic people.

    Take the good and leave the bad.

    Right. Because bro-science is better than real science.

    So how are calories different (when it comes to losing weight)? References so I can learn. And yes, it does take slightly more energy to digest certain foods. But, again, I'm only interested in calories for significant weight loss (not an ounce ever other month).
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