As we age, it becomes harder and harder for us to lose belly fat built up around our midsection, and no matter what advice we follow, it seems impossible to make progress. But you can lose belly fat, and build the best body of your life.
Everywhere we look, we are bombarded with fat loss messages, yet every one we have tried leaves us with little change in our bodies, depressed, and often with injuries caused by repetitive movements. Fortunately for us, researchers have proven we can lose belly fat without spending hours in the gym, and without doing miles and miles of slow boring cardio.
- Make sure you get out of the "cardio for fat loss" mindset! If you've ever walked into a gym, I'm sure you've seen the cardio area full of overweight people trying to lose belly fat by spending hours and hours on the treadmill, bike, or worse yet, elliptical. But, the sad truth is that for the countless hours and buckets of sweat, they rarely see any change in their bodies. Not only do these "cardio bunnies" look the same, they risk injury with every movement they complete over and over again for hours on end. Not to mention the toll not making progress must have on their attitudes and motivation.
- Start doing resistance training, to lose belly fat, and build lean muscle. Not only will you burn more calories in a typical strength workout when compared to a cardio session, you will increase your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn belly fat all day long, even while you're sitting at your desk. The best exercises are compound movements utilizing multiple muscle groups, like the squat, dead lift, bench press, and pull-up.
- Cut your "cardio" workouts in half by switching to intervals after your strength training. An interval is a period of going as hard as you can (relative 9/10 intensity) for a certain amount of time, followed by going slowly (relative 3/10 intensity) to recover for another set period of time, often twice as long to get maximum recovery. Research has shown that interval training helps participants lose more belly fat when compared to slow, steady aerobic cardio training in a fat loss study that didn't even have the participants change their diets. Every study you find will demonstrate the same results: The interval training group lost more body fat than the cardio group, even though almost every fat loss program in the world today suggests long cardio workouts as the fashionable fat-burning exercise to lose weight.
- Stay active! You must get off your fanny least 30 minutes EVERY DAY! This could be a recreational sport like tennis, golf, or basketball. It could even be taking a walk with your wife, playing with your kids, or even grocery shopping. Any activity counts, just get moving, and you will be well on your way to losing bell fat faster than ever before.
- Get social support. Having support is the number one way to stay motivated toward your goals. Make sure you enlist your spouse, friends, co-workers, heck even your mailman if you don't have anyone else. Social support will help you stay more accountable, and keep you motivated toward your goal of losing belly fat.