Flat Tummy Exercises To Get a Slim Waistline

Dieting and exercise go hand in hand. If you wish to lose weight, you need to include an hour of exercise in your daily routine along with proper diet planning, for targeting and reducing belly fat.

Here is the list of exercises:

CRUNCHES

Nothing burns belly fat faster than crunches, which occupy the number one position in fat-burning exercises. Now, it’s time that you start performing this exercise.

How to Do:

• Lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Alternatively, you can also lift your legs off the floor at a 90-degree angle. (See picture).
• Lift your hands and place them behind your head, or keep them crossed on your chest.
• Inhale deeply, and as you lift your upper torso off the floor, exhale.
• Inhale again as you get back down, and exhale as you come up.
• Do this for 10 times as a beginner.
• Repeat another two to three sets.

TWIST CRUNCHES

Once you get used to the regular crunches, modify the basic crunch to get an even more effective tummy exercise.

How to Do

• Lie down on the floor with your hands behind your head.
• Bend your knees as you would do in crunches, keeping your feet on the floor.
• You have to lift your upper torso while performing crunches. But, in twist crunches, you have to lift just your right shoulder towards the left, keeping the left side of your torso on the ground.
• Again alternately, lift your left shoulder towards the right, keeping the right side of your torso on the ground.
• Repeat 10 times.

LUNGE TWIST

This is a workout for beginners who want to reduce belly fat quickly.

How to Do

• Stand with your legs hip width apart. Keep your knees slightly bent.
• Lift both your hands in front of you, aligning them with your shoulders and keeping them parallel to the ground.
• Lunge forward as shown in the picture. Take a big step forward with your right leg, and sit down as if on a chair so that your knees make a 90-degree angle with the floor. The left leg should be positioned backwards, supported by the toes.
• The spine should be kept straight. Don’t bend your spine forward.
• Twist your torso (just the torso, and not the legs) to the right and then to the left.
• Repeat 15 times.

ROLLING PLANK EXERCISE

The rolling plank trains the muscles around your abdomen, hip, and lower back.

How to Do

• Position yourself on the floor with your knees and elbows resting on the ground.
• Keep your neck aligned with your spine. Look forward.
• Lift the knees up and support your legs on the toes.
• Contract your knees and keep breathing normally.
• This is the plank pose. Stay in this posture for 30 seconds.

Now, start moving to and fro for the next 30 seconds. This is the rolling plank exercise.

• Lie down on the floor sideways.
• Support yourself on your right elbow and right leg. Your elbow should be perpendicular to the shoulder, and the left leg should be above the right leg, keeping them together.
• Keep your knees straight. Your hips should not be touching the ground.
• Hold this position for 30 seconds. Once you get comfortable, you may hold this for one to two minutes.
• Repeat on the other side too.
• While you are in this position, you may also lift the leg on the top and bring it down again. This makes the exercise more effective – it works not only your abs, but also your thighs and hips.

Variations

Knee plank, rocking plank, reverse plank.

Precautions

Plank is a strenuous exercise, and you might feel like holding your breath while performing it. But don’t do that, as you might suffer from nausea or dizziness.

THE STOMACH VACCUM

Stomach vacuum exercises are low-impact exercises that place greater emphasis on breathing instead of increasing your heart rate.

How to Do

This is similar to what we call the cat stretch pose. This is also known as the four-point, transverse-abdominal stomach vacuum.

Follow the steps mentioned below to do this exercise for reducing belly fat:

• Go down to the ground on all fours, supporting your body on your hands and knees.
• Inhale deeply and loosen your abdomen.
• As you exhale, tighten the abdomen muscles.
• Hold this position for 15-30 seconds.
• Repeat the process.

Another type of stomach vacuum exercise is elevators. Here’s how to do it:

• Sit on a chair. Imagine your belly to be an elevator that’s moving up.
• Now inhale deeply using only your nose and think that it’s the first floor.
• Breathe out using your mouth and simultaneously push your belly towards your spine, imagining that you are going up to the fifth floor.
• Breathe out fast five more times, squeezing your abs every time you exhale.
• Repeat the same five more times.

You can try standing pelvic tilts. This is another form of stomach vacuum exercise.

• Stand with your legs hip width apart and bend your knees slightly.
• Inhale deeply through your nose and push your belly inwards towards your spine, and at the same time, roll your hips out in the front.
• Do five to six sets.

Variations

Seated stomach vacuum, functional stomach vacuum.

Precautions

If you are suffering from any heart or lung ailment, it is best to avoid performing this exercise.

This exercise must be performed only on an empty stomach, as doing otherwise might lead to indigestion.

BENDING SIDE TO SIDE

This is yet another perfect exercise for reducing belly fat.

How to Do

• Stand erect with your feet together and keep your hands to the sides.
• Keeping your legs grounded, bend your body to the right as much as possible till you feel a strain on your left waist. As you do so, ensure your right hand is on the right hip, and the left hand is raised upwards. Stay in the position for 15 seconds.
• Return to the original position.
• Now bend to the left, and retain the position for another 15 seconds.
• Slowly, you may increase the holding time to 30 seconds.

CARDIO EXERCISES

Cardio is one of the most effective ways to burn calories and shed unwanted flab from your body. Cardio exercises are immensely helpful in reducing belly fat. Doing cardio on a regular basis will offer you other health benefits such as reduction of stress, an increase in your lung capacity, better sleep, and a sense of overall well-being.

WALKING

One of the very first cardio exercises to reduce belly fat is walking. Walking is a great and effective way to burn away that ugly belly fat. In fact, it is an excellent fat burner for your entire body. If you follow a healthy diet along with walking at a steady pace for 30-45 minutes for at least four to five days every week, you will witness a gradual decrease in your weight.

This low-impact exercise increases your metabolism as well as your heart rate. A heightened metabolic rate will burn away calories at a faster pace, thus helping to eliminate the fat accumulated around your belly. In fact, walking decreases the risk of injuries and is considered to be a good workout for beginners.

RUNNING

You have to prevent your body from getting used to any fixed workout routine. Hence, you can switch occasionally. Try running for a change. It is an effective way to keep your heart rate up, burn calories, and lose belly fat.

JOGGING

If you don’t like running, try jogging instead. Research suggests that jogging is more effective in breaking down unwanted fat when compared to weightlifting. This is a form of aerobic exercise that is extremely useful for fighting obesity and staying fit.

CYCLING

This is another effective cardio exercise that helps you shed belly fat by burning calories. Ensure that your heart rate goes up while you are cycling.

OTHER WAYS TO REDUCE BELLY FAT

EAT RIGHT

Reducing abdominal fat is 80% about eating the right food. Have a healthy and balanced diet with adequate macro and micro nutrients. Most importantly, skip takeaways and fast foods. Eat food prepared at home. Don’t have time? Go for raw fruits or veggies, or steam cooked veggies instead.

DRINK WATER

Many get confused if they are thirsty, tired, or hungry, and end up nibbling sugary or fatty food. Always carry a water bottle, and make sure you keep sipping water throughout the day. One needs to drink six to eight glasses of water, though this depends on your weight and lifestyle. Calculate accordingly, and make sure you consume enough water.

SAY NO TO SUGAR

Sugar is one thing you should greatly reduce, if not omit from your daily platter. There are many sources of hidden sugar, so it’s a good idea to reduce sugar. Use alternatives like honey, palm sugar, and licorice extract.

INCLUDE FAT BURNING FOODS

There are many natural ways to reduce fat. Garlic, onion, ginger, cayenne pepper, cabbage, tomato, and spices like cinnamon and mustard are some of the fat reducing foods. Consuming a few cloves of raw garlic and a one-inch piece of ginger every morning is good for fat metabolism.

Having a glass of warm water with lemon juice and honey in the morning is a popular option for weight loss. Similarly, there are many other ways to include fat burning foods in one’s diet.

DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST

Many think skipping breakfast helps with quick weight loss. On the contrary, skipping breakfast is a major blunder. It increases bloating and pushes your body into starvation mode, a key for abdominal fat gain.

Latest studies reveal that having smaller and frequent meals is the key to maintain a healthy metabolic rate, which is important for weight management. So, reduce the size of your meals and make up for it by snacking healthy. You could consider having dry fruits and nuts, raw veggies or fruits, and steamed veggies.

INCLUDE HEALTHY FATS

When trying to get rid of bad cholesterol, the addition of good cholesterol can be helpful. Avocados, olives, coconut, and nuts are few sources of good cholesterol.

GET PROPER SLEEP

Adequate sleep is very important for weight management. Everyone needs six to eight hours of sleep. According to a recent study, too much of sleep or the lack of it can lead to weight gain.