How to Workout to Lose Belly Fat | 10 Exercises You Can Do At Home

 

This post is all about how to workout to lose belly fat, and includes 10 fat-burning exercises you can do at home and which are super effective for getting a flat stomach.

Before we get to the exercises themselves, let’s dispel a myth.

Many people believe that to lose weight in a certain part of your body you need to focus on exercising that part of your body. Which would mean that to reduce belly fat you should focus mainly on doing abdominal exercises.

That’s completely wrong. Doing thousands of sit ups and other ab exercises every day won’t especially help you to lose belly fat. It’ll certainly give you abs of steel, but they’ll be well hidden under a layer of cushioning.

To lose belly fat effectively the formula is simple: exercise more to increase your calorie expenditure, and diet to decrease your calorie intake. Create a calorie shortfall and your body will start to burn up your fat reserves.

We’ll get to the exercise part in a minute, but first let’s look at diet:

 

How to lose belly fat through proper diet

 

 

Choosing the right weight loss diet depends so much on the individual and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

But as a rule of thumb, it’s always better to choose a diet that you can stick to for a long time instead of the one that promises fast results.

Great positive changes can happen in your life but instead of developing overnight they usually happen incrementally over a long period of time through the building up of good habits.

So instead of choosing a fad diet that promises big results fast, why not try by making a few small changes to your existing diet. Over time you can add more changes until eventually you will have developed the habit of healthy eating, which will last your whole life.

Diet is half the equation and you need to get it right, but understand that good habits take time to develop.

Now for the exercise part:

 

What are the best kind of exercises to reduce belly fat?

 

You may be thinking that to get a flat stomach you need to spend hours a day plodding away on a treadmill. That’s another myth.

Long, slow and steady exercise will certainly help you shed pounds, but it’s time consuming, can be boring, and is not the most efficient way to lose weight.

High intensity workouts like HIIT, spinning and compound strength training are much bigger calorie burners, not just during the workout but for long after you’ve finished – through something called the EPOC Effect.

You can read more about high-intensity training in my article on how to get fit fast.

The workout plan in this guide is focussed on compound strength exercises that force multiple large muscle groups to work together. As opposed to isolation movements, compound exercises burn much more calories. They also increase your muscle mass, which will turn your body into a 24/7 fat-burning machine.

These exercises can be done using a barbell and weights, but in this workout we’re using a resistance band, which is convenient for working out at home, and just as effective as using weights.

 

Resistance bands for exercises to lose belly fat

 

Long resistance loop bands are the best for doing compound strength exercises because they can easily be used to add resistance to large-scale movements like squats and deadlifts. The bands are 208cm in circumference and available in 5 resistance levels.

 

 

For compound strength exercises you can also use a resistance tube band. They come with foam handles which make them super comfortable to use, and a door anchor which lets you attach them to a door frame.

 

 

Finally, we have mini resistance loops. These are not really suitable for doing compound strength exercises but are great for supercharging your leg, glute and hip workouts. This will give you a big fat-burning boost if you’re looking to get a flat stomach.

Here’s a video from our YouTube channel showing you some of the best lower body exercises you can do with a mini band:

 

 

10 compound strength exercises for reducing belly fat

 

For reducing belly fat, you can pick and choose any of these exercises to practice on their own. But it’s best to practice them all as a circuit, with as little rest as possible between sets.

Doing the exercises in the order they’re shown in will let you cycle through the main muscle groups, resting one group while you work on another. If after the first circuit you’re sweating and breathing hard, you’re doing it right!

 

#1 Squat

Hold one end of the band in front of your shoulders and step inside the other end of the loop, feet shoulder-width apart. Now you can perform squats with the added resistance from the band. Be sure to pay attention to correct squat form.

 

#2 Bent Over Row

Stand on the middle of the band and hold each of the ends while bending at the waist and knees. Keep your lower back slightly arched throughout the movement. Now stretch the band by pulling it upwards, squeezing your shoulder blades together in the final position.

 

#3 Shoulder Press

Stand inside one end of the loop and hold the other end at shoulder height. Keep your body straight and push the band up above your head until your arms are fully extended. You should always do the shoulder press with the band moving in front of your face, not behind your head.

 

#4 Deadlift

Step into either end of the loop and stand with feet wide apart. Bending at the waist and knees, hold onto the band in the middle and pull it upwards to perform deadlifts. For this exercise, it’s very important to practice with correct form to avoid injury. Pay attention to keeping your back straight (or slightly arched) and bending only at the waist and knees.

 

#5 Push Up

Sling the band around your back and hold each end of the loop under your palms while you do push ups. If you’re not used to doing push ups, start without the band, or get yourself used to the exercise with some easy push up variations.

 

#6 Standing Row

Secure the band to an anchor point at chest height and hold the other end of the loop with arms straight in front of you. Pull the band in towards the centre of your chest. To make the exercise more difficult, you can stand further away from the anchor point.

 

#7 Squat Press

Stand inside the loop with feet shoulder-width apart and hold the other end at shoulder height. Now squat down and, as you rise, push the band upwards in a shoulder press movement.

 

#8 Stiff-Legged Deadlift

Stand on the middle of the band, holding onto each end of the loop. Bend forward at the waist and bend your knees only slightly. Pull the band up, using mainly your lower back and hamstring muscles. Be sure to keep your lower back slightly arched throughout the exercise

 

#9 Single Arm Chest Press

Secure the band at chest height and stretch it by pushing it forward with one arm. Stand further away from the anchor point to make the exercise more difficult. You can turn your hips as you push the band but don’t twist your spine. Keep your upper body in a straight line.

 

#10 Single Arm Row

Step into each end of the loop in a wide forward stance and hold onto the middle of the band. Lean forward slightly with your back straight and rest your other hand on your knee. Now pull the band up without raising your body – you should only be using your arm and upper back muscles to pull the band.

 

Here’s a video showing you some of the best resistance band exercises for reducing belly fat. Visit our online shop to see our full range of workout bands.