3 Top Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

By Rena Wong 

 

Losing belly fat requires you to be in a negative energy balance. This is can be achieved by reducing calorie intake through proper nutrition or expending more calories through exercises or a combination of both.
This article will focus on exercises to lose belly fat. For maximum stomach fat loss, you should always combine exercise with a healthy and balanced diet.
Here are the 3 top exercises to lose belly fat.

1. Weight Training
Weight training is great for burning stomach fat and shaping your body. It builds muscle that burns calories during and after a workout. Muscle needs energy for repair and maintenance.
As you age, your metabolism slows down and make it harder for you to lose stomach fat. Weight training can prevent muscle loss while increasing your metabolic rate. It is an important exercise to lose belly fat for people of all ages.

Weight training is not only limited to working out with barbells and dumbbells. You can also use kettlebells or exercise tubings.
Be sure to use to increase the weight progressively for better stomach fat loss results and to avoid plateau. Training with light weights has little effect on building muscle and raising your metabolism.

2. Cardio Exercises
There are 2 types of cardio exercises to lose belly: steady state and intervals.
Steady state cardio should be performed at a high enough level to be effective for burning belly fat. While you can do steady state cardio everyday, 4-5 times per week is more than sufficient.
Interval training involves alternating short bursts of high intensity workout with rest periods. This is a time efficient cardio that is very effective for getting rid of stomach fat. It can only be performed 2-3 times a week. Interval training is not for everyone. If you have health problems or are new to exercise, you should start with low intensity or steady state cardio.

3. Bodyweight exercises
Bodyweight exercises can be done anywhere, be it at home, in a hotel room or at a park. You don't even need to join a gym. As the name implies, you only use your bodyweight so you don't need to spend on any equipment.

Some examples of bodyweight exercises are lunges, squats, push-ups, pull-ups and mountain climbers. They are excellent for burning belly fat, building muscle and shaping your body. If you are short of time, perform these exercises as a circuit which can be completed in 20-30 minutes.
Each of the 3 exercises to lose belly fat can be added as a variety to your existing training program. The combination of these exercises and proper eating plan can help you get rid of belly fat fast.
Avoid spending too much time doing ab specific exercises like crunches and sit-ups. Spot reduction does not work and you'll only be disappointed with the results.

Fitness exercises and fitness

Fitness exercises and fitness are classified according to body parts to which they are destined (eg buttocks).You can work in different ways- Either a session focusing on a specific part (eg legs)- Either by working different areas of the body in the same session (eg, buttocks and thighs)In the case of a session focusing on one muscle group, do all the exercises one after the other according to certain rules such as the number of repetitions, rest ... we detail a little later.In the case of a meeting involving several muscle groups, select 3 exercises for each group. Start with exercises that work the largest muscle groups and smaller. You will thus avoid premature fatigue smaller muscles that serve to support larger.Start with leg exercises and exercises for the glutes and finish with abs.
IMPORTANT:
- Before starting fitness exercises, warm up for 5 to 10 minutes. You will be sufficiently heated (e) when you start to sweat.- Repeat each exercise a number of times:- If you are a beginner (e), first 10 repetitions.- If you have an average of 15 to 20 repetitions.- If you have a good level, perform each exercise for 25-30 repetitions.- For each exercise, do at least 3 sets:- 1 set x = number of repetitions.Ex: Beginners: 3x10 repetitions.- When you reach a higher level, that is to say that you can perform 3 sets of 30 repetitions for each exercise, using agile or flexible to do your exercises.- Remember to breathe with the movement, which allows better control of the exercise. When the muscle is stretched, exhale!- Remember to take care of your joints, avoid any uncontrolled movement and overwork joints.- Rhythm is very important, do exercises slowly to control movement.- At the end of each session, remember to stretch. To have a nice line (muscle toning and purposes), stretching is as important as the exercise itself.- A good stretching session should last at least 10 minutes!- With stretching, your muscles will be long and tonics, you also avoid soreness.
To have a beautiful line, you can not limit yourself to only muscle building exercises, you must associate them like activity "cardio" (eg running, cycling, rowing, jump rope, ....), which will allow you to "burn" fats rebels.As for training muscle building, before starting cardio session, remember to warm up, and at the end of the session fitness, stretch properly!
During any physical activity, be sure to stay well hydrated. Drink often in small amounts.
Also drink throughout the day (at least 1.5 liters, ideally twice!), Which allows to "cleanse" your body.You will eliminate toxins and it also helps "drain" your body, which is essential for a beautiful line.
Also remember to have a healthy lifestyle, which involves a good diet (which can be enhanced with supplements)

Arm Workouts Without Weights - 5 Exercises to Get You Amazing Arms

After having a baby, many new moms may find it harder to make time to get to the gym. It may end up just being more convenient to exercise at home. The only downside is that you may not have all that expensive gym equipment at home, right? Strength training is an important part of getting back in shape after having a baby, so in this article we will go over some arm workouts without weights that you can do to start get those arms back in shape. A couple things before we get started.

First, please make sure you have the "go ahead" from your doctor to exercise before beginning any exercise routine. Second, always make sure you warm up your body before beginning your workout. I recommend about 5-10 minutes of light cardio and stretching.

For cardio, you can do things like jumping jacks, light jogging or marching on the spot, stair climbing, jump rope (no need for a real jump rope for this; you can just pretend), etc.
Get your arms ready by doing a few big arm circles backwards, then forwards. Stretch your biceps by clasping your hands behind you keeping your arms straight, then raise them as far up as you can until you feel the stretch comfortably. Stretch your shoulders by holding your right arm tight against your chest until you feel the stretch in your shoulder, then repeat with the other arm.

Stretch your triceps by pulling your right arm up beside your right ear and bending your arm back behind you, making sure your elbow doesn't drift forwards away from your ear; hold. Repeat with your left arm. There, you should be good to go now! Let's get into the arm workouts without weights exercises now:

1. One Arm Row
For this exercise, you can use a can of soup, bottled water, or anything else you have that is similar in size/weight. You will also need a stool or bench for support. To begin, have your "weight" (soup can, or whatever you are using) in your left hand and put your right knee and right hand on the bench, so that you are in a table top type of position. Your left hand should be dangling down beside you. Your back should be straight and abdominals engaged. Make sure your head and neck are in one straight line with your back. To do this exercise, bending your left arm, pull it up close in at your side so that your elbow points to the ceiling. Slowly lower the weight down again. Repeat; shoot for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions on each arm. This exercise targets the upper back, biceps and shoulders.

2. Close-Grip Push-Ups
This is one of the arm workouts without weights exercises that allows you to just use your body weight. This effective exercise is done by going into a push-up position, except that you want your hands close together with your thumbs and your index fingers touching each other, making a triangle. (Note: If you find push-up exercises difficult, have your knees on the floor throughout the exercise.) Keeping your body in one straight line, from head to toe, slowly lower yourself so you are hovering just above the floor, push up again. Repeat. These can be challenging so do only as many as you can but make sure you do the exercise until you feel you just can't do another one if your life depended on it! Try for about 3 sets of 8 if you can. This exercise targets the triceps.

3. Arm Circles
These are one of those arm workouts without weights exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime. Standing up completely straight, extend your arms straight out to the side, so they are parallel to the floor and in one straight line from your shoulders. Start making small forward circles with both arms, aiming for about 20 of them, then repeat doing 20 backward circles. If this is too easy for you, hold a can of soup, bottle of water, etc. in each hand as you do them. This exercise targets your shoulders, triceps and biceps.

4. Push-Ups
This good old-fashioned exercise has stayed consistent throughout the years for a reason... simply put, because it works! Assume the push-up position, and again, if having your whole body off the floor in one straight line is too difficult, the variation is to have your knees on the floor. If it's still too difficult, you can perform the push-ups against a wall. Start in whichever push-up position you choose with your hands flat on the floor (or wall) directly under your shoulders. Make sure your body is in one straight line, no matter which position you choose. Engage your abdominals and make sure your body doesn't sag towards the floor. Slowly, bending your arms, lower yourself so you are just hovering over the floor, push yourself back up. Repeat as many times as you can until you just simply can't do any more! Try for 3 sets of 8 to start. If you can't do that many to start, that's okay, just do what you can! This exercise targets the chest, triceps and shoulders.

5. Yoga
Yoga is an excellent way to build lean muscle, as well as flexibility. It is one of those arm workouts without weights that will make you feel like you just did a weights workout! Why? Because you use your own body weight in yoga exercises. Yoga will not only work your arms, but your entire body as well. It also helps to get rid of tension from the stress we all have at one point or another. So, take up a yoga class or buy a yoga DVD!

So, get started on these arm workouts without weights exercises today, combined with some cardio exercise and a healthy diet, and you will most definitely start to see your post pregnancy body change for the better! All the best!

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Lose Calories With 3 Super Beneficial Work-Out At Home Exercises

I have always heard about people complaining about not having enough time to go to the gym to train or being too lazy to make the trip down to the gym. For others, it could simply be that gym membership is too expensive or they find it a waste of money to subscribe to one. While I agree that making the way down to the gym could be a bit troublesome, one does not actually need to go to the gym to have a good effective workout. In fact, working out does not need to involve very expensive gear, sophisticated equipment or a lot of space. If one does not know the right way to train, it makes no difference if he or she trains at the gym or not.

To sculpt great looking abs and body, one can simply start at home by performing dynamic total body exercises. These exercises work all the major muscle groups including the abs, at the same time, leading to greater fat loss and muscle gain. The body is designed to move and so, it is important to train it to keep moving and to keep moving efficiently. Anybody will find it useful and feel himself or herself getting fitter by including these 3 super beneficial exercises in their training program.

Squat with a Kick (lower body, abs, back, overall conditioning)

1: Start by standing with feet close together.
2: Keep arms up with elbows facing forward.
3: lower down into a squat as low as possible, keeping feet flat on floor.
4: As you stand back up, raise right knee up and extend to a kick.
5: Go back down into a squat when the right foot goes back down to floor.
6: Kick up with left leg, and then repeat on each side.

Inch Worms (Abs, back, hamstrings)

1: Begin in push-up position; perform a push-up, keeping stomach tight.
2: While keeping knees straight, raise hips and walk hands towards feet as fat as you can while keeping knees straight.
3: Walk hands back to starting position.
4: Repeat from the push-up.

Walkouts (Abs, back, legs, shoulders)

1: Start standing; bend over and place hands on floor.
2: Walk hands out until in the push-up position.
3: Walk hands back to standing position, and then repeat.
4: For a challenge, add a push-up at the end of each walk-out before returning to standing position.
Follow these 3 simple but effective routine without the need to use any gear or equipment at the comfort of home and start losing those calories fast.
To learn more about how to effectively lose weight and calories fast, visit http://www.losecaloriesfast.com/

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10 Things You Should Know About Stretching

 1. To increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries, stretch before and after workout. Almost everyone knows that stretching before workout prevents injuries during the exercises, but only few people know that stretching after workout, when muscles are still warm, can increase flexibility.

2. Hold your stretching position for more than 60 seconds to increase flexibility. While holding your position for 20 seconds is enough for warm ups, holding each position for at least 60 seconds will develop the body's flexibility.

3. Do not go into a stretching position then immediately return to the relaxed position, and do it repeatedly. This is more appropriately termed as bouncing while in a position. When stretching, hold that position for several seconds, and then slowly relax. You may do this exercise repeatedly this way. Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.

4. Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.

5. Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups. For some people, even if they have strong bodies, they tend to neglect the neck when working out of stretching. Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one's hand against the front of the head and pushing it. Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.

6. Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.

7. Workout considering only your capabilities and not of others. Do not force yourself to do exercises that you are not yet capable of just because there are people who can do it. Increase your limits slowly. Listen to your body. There are days when your body may be too tired that you may have to consider reducing your range of motion.

8. Learn to rest. Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy. Also, it is advisable that you don't work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days. The muscles grow during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.

9. Do aerobic exercises to strengthen your heart. Aerobic exercises are those physical activities that much oxygen for fuel. This includes cardiovascular exercises such as skipping rope, running or swimming.

10. Music may help you when you want to train for longer periods or to increase your intensity. You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this. Just make sure that you brought your headset with you so you wouldn't disturb people who don't prefer music while exercising.

Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one's limit, it is also said that stretching is good for a tired body and also for a stressed mind and spirit.

Cardio Exercises and Losing Weight

eople who like to lose weight through exercises may try some cardio workouts. However, they have to know how much and what kind of cardio exercises they would need. They also have to learn more about it so they would benefit from their exercise programs. It is also essential that people who like to have a healthy and sustained weight lose program need to combine cardio with strength training and healthy food plan as well.

One of the healthy benefits of this combination is that people are able to more of their calories in a short period of time. They are able to set their target heart rate that would facilitate increased blood circulation and heavy breathing. When this occurs, their bodies are able to use more calories in the process. Those would like to lose more weight can add a little more pressure on their bodies. They can do their workouts a little faster or they can jump a little higher.

People who would like to work on cardio exercises can do it very often. However, if they would like to do some strength training, they need to have a schedule for it. They would need to give their bodies some time to heal because at times, their muscles are sore or their tissues might have been torn. Those who are doing their cardio exercises do not really have to cut on their calories especially if they are using it effectively during their workouts.

Although they can ask some fitness guru to tell them what they need, what is important is that they are able to sustain their interest in doing it regularly. There are low-impact activities that they can do like walking, swimming or cycling. People may also do more with high-impact activities like running or jumping. They may also like to involve other parts of their bodies in their activities like cross-country skiing to get their bodies to burn more calories.

Depending on the kind of activities that are being done, people are able to lose weight because they are able to burn at more than 100 calories each day. Walking for example will help them use up to 170 calories if they do it at 4 mph. People will have to lose calories each day depending on how much they eat. There is no exact number of calories that they need to shed of each day. They also have to consider their metabolic rate, their fitness level as well as their gender and their age. They may get some advice from their doctors if they would like to engage in cardio exercises and lose weight effectively and safely.

Reduce body fat and feeding the muscle can be one of the most difficult things for someone to do. Learn to burn the fat the right way by eating correctly and by doing the proper exercises. By learning this, you will be on your way to shedding those unwanted pounds as well as being healthier. You can check this out http://www.burnfatloss.com/Losing-Calories-Effectively.html

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Burn Fat Fast With Simple Plyometric Exercises

Unbelievable. That was the word Olympic medal winner Fred Wilt first used to describe the training that Soviet athletes used to prepare for track-and-field competition. Unbelievable. Why did he use this word? The Russian athletes were able to dominate the Olympics in the 1960's and 1970's using just one simple training technique with unbelievable results. Wilt soon realized that this training method could not only improve athletic performance in his own country but could help people around the world develop physical fitness in a short amount of time.

What was the Soviet's secret training technique? Wilt coined the phrase "plyometrics" to describe it. Plyometrics, or "plyos" for short, are exercises that use explosive, fast-acting movements to develop muscular power and to improve overall speed. These exercises are used by athletes to improve their speed, quickness, and power. Plyometrics allow muscles to exert their maximum force in the shortest amount of time possible.

The original term plyometrics referred to a "shock method" training style pioneered by Yuri Verkhoshansky of the former Soviet Union. For this training, athletes would drop from a height to experience a "shock" upon impact with the ground, which was followed immediately with a jump. The landing and takeoff were completed in a very short period of time, usually in 0.1 to 0.2 seconds. The forced, involuntary eccentric contraction of the landing and the following concentric contraction of the jump in short sequence helped to build fast-twitch muscle fibers. The muscle stimulation helped well-conditioned athletes boost their speed and quickness even further.

The modern version of plyometrics, predominantly used in the United States, involves performing a variety of jumps with little regard to execution timing. These jumps differ from the original use of plyometrics since the intensity is much less and the transition time between eccentric and concentric contraction is much greater than 0.2 seconds. While the original version continues to help Olympic sprinters improve their acceleration, this modern routine is beneficial for most people who just want to lose weight.

The basic lower body plyometric exercise is the drop jump. For this exercise, the individual drops (not jumps) to the ground from a raised height, generally 2 - 3 feet, and then immediately jumps straight up into the air. For best results, the athlete should keep the feet in contact with the ground for as short a time as possible. Variation can be implemented by adding a sequence of jumps following the initial landing. Aim for 3 - 5 total jumps in a set, making sure to have the minimum contact time with the ground between jumps. After mastering this jump, add complexity by bounding forward with each jump (and make sure to minimize the time your feet contact the ground as much as possible).

Plyometrics can also be applied to upper body exercises with variations to push-ups and medicine ball tosses. For weight loss purposes, it is best to stick with lower body plyometric exercises since these movements require larger muscles and burn more energy. Before any kind of plyometric training, make sure to do a thorough warm-up by jogging, stretching, or another low-intensity exercise. Incorporating the speed and power of plyometric movements will help anybody burn through fat faster on their diet.

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How Much Exercise To Burn Fat

In order to find out how much exercise to burn fat you must take it would be necessary to actually do it to find out. The problem with fat loss is that it does not relate to weight loss, and while there are charts to be found online that relate exercise to weight loss, that is not the same as fat loss.

In fact, you can burn fat without losing hardly any weight at all if you also develop muscle fiber that is water-rich and also increases your metabolic rate. It becomes next to impossible to quantify your loss in weight with loss in fat. The only way to do that would be to get a body fat caliper that measures your body mass index, a measurement of the fat in your body. You can also get body fat scales that measure the resistance to a small electric current through your body and express it in terms of %fat.

So fat loss does not mean weight loss! When you burn fat you can also build muscle tissue that is mainly water, and heavier than fat (that's why fat always floats on the top of water) and so can mask any weight loss associated with fat loss. However, the question, how much exercise to burn fat, is easily answered: it's impossible to tell!

The reason for that is that exercise will burn nothing if you eat a diet containing more calories than you expend. You must exercise sufficient to use up the energy in the food you eat, and then some more. What you are trying to do is to force your body to seek another source of carbohydrates to convert to glucose. When you exercise you need glucose to undergo a reaction known as glycolysis that converts it to pyruvate - the raw material for the Kreb's Cycle that results in energy generation.

If there is a lack of carbohydrate in your diet in relation to the amount of exercise being carried out, then your body will seek another source. First it will look to its fat reserves, which have been stored in times of plenty for use in times when food is scarce. This was essential to prehistoric man's survival in winter, though not needed so much today.

The fat is burned to form glucose that is then used for energy production. When oxygen is present (aerobic exercise = aerobic glycolysis) the glucose is oxidized to pyruvate, but when oxygen is absent (anaerobic exercise = anaerobic glycolysis) a process known as lactic acid fermentation takes place that also forms pyruvate, but is a much more inefficient use of glucose than aerobic glycolysis.

So there are two factors here: how much of a calorie deficit there is between your dietary carbohydrate content and your energy demand, and whether the exercise is aerobic (jogging, swimming, cycling, aerobics) or anaerobic (weightlifting, sprinting). For these reasons alone it is not possible to say how much exercise to burn fat you would need to take assuming you did have the equipment to measure fat loss.

What can be said is that if you take sufficient aerobic exercise to be sure of a significant difference between the calorie content in your food and the calories burned by the exercise you take (500 - 1000 calories difference), then you will lose weight. If you then undertake some anaerobic exercise with a high protein diet, you should also burn fat and develop muscle tissue. Not only that, but the extra muscle tissue will help to increase your metabolic rate, which would then help to burn off even more fat.

By 'burning' fat, you are not literally burning it, or even using it directly for energy. What actually happens is that the fatty tissue, which is a carbohydrate, undergoes chemical changes to eventually convert it to glucose in the same way as any other carbohydrate. The more varied exercise you carry out, as a mixture of high, medium and low intensity cardio and aerobics mixed with anaerobic exercise such as lifting weights, then the more likely you are to lose fat.

There is no such thing as 'The Fat Burning Zone' you hear so much about. It's a myth that has somehow grown until even sensible people believe it. You burn fat when you have no other carbohydrates left. Fat is a longer chain carbohydrate and it takes energy to break down, but it's original intention was as an emergency energy source when the cave men could no longer hunt for animals during winter. Even today, bears build up large fat stores before hibernation. That's what fat is for - to convert to glucose and then to energy.

In addition to losing fatty tissue you can also lose muscle tissue with a significantly large calorie deficit between what you need to stay alive and what you eat. That's why starving people become very skinny - their limbs are like sticks because all the fat and most of the muscle tissues have been broken down for energy. Muscle is protein, which is a combination of amino acids and carbohydrate.

There is not set amount of exercise needed to burn fat - it depends on your energy demand and the carbohydrate and protein content of your diet. Only these two dietary components can be used to generate energy. Were you a bear you would burn fat when hibernating and eating no food, yet you could be asleep the whole time. No exercise - just metabolism!

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The Top 5 Best Cardio Exercises

When it comes to your body it is very important that you do some cardio, whether you want to lose weight, improve your health or build on your muscle. And you won't get bored because, there are plenty of different types of cardio exercise. Anything that gets your heart rate pumping will pretty much do the trick. The thing that's confusing is there are so many different cardio exercises out there... which one will benefit me most? There's no right or wrong cardio exercise for men and woman. The correct choice is the cardio exercise you enjoy and the one you'll stick with, but there are some that work best if your goal is to get in great shape and burn calories.

1. Running
Running is a good one for many different reasons. You don't need any special equipment apart from some decent running shoes. You can do it just about anywhere and anytime. It's high impact, which helps build connective tissue and strong bones. It gets your heart rate up a lot quicker than low or no impact exercises. It's good for burning serious calories, especially if you add sprints, hills or try interval training. The same person would burn around 50% as much with just a brisk walk. The only downfall is that it takes time to build the stamina and strength to run continuously and, because it's high impact, it may not benefit every person. This bodyweight exercise is probably the best cardio workouts.

2. Bicycling
Whether you're outdoors or indoors, cycling is an excellent cardio workout. By using the power of your legs, you increase endurance while burning lots of calories, anywhere from 250-500 in 30 minutes, depending on how fast you go and how high your resistance is. What makes cycling even better than other activities is that you can incorporate it into your daily life. You can ride to and from work or use your bike to run errands around town. It's also low impact, which is great for your joints and perfect cross-training for high impact activities like running or aerobics.

3. Swimming
Swimming is another great choice because, like cross-country, it's a full body exercise. The more body parts your workout requires, the more calories you'll burn. Best of all, you dent have to worry about any high impact injuries because your joints are fully supported. It's also great cross-training for other cardio activities.

4. Step Aerobics
Step aerobics is another good choice, especially for people who like choreographed workouts, but don't enjoy the jackhammer feel of high impact aerobics. This gives you the intensity without the pounding and it's easy to up the energy used by adding risers.

5. Kickboxing
Kickboxing is another great choice for exercisers who are looking for more of a challenge with more choreographed workouts. Combining punches and kicks not only, involves both the upper and lower body, but it enhances your combination making this an excellent all round workout.

Joshua "Coach" Kozak has been a fixture in the world of health and fitness for over 10 years. Burn calories with HASfit's greatest cardio workout and the best bodyweight exercises.

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