WHAT IS THE BEST EXERCISE TO LOSE BELLY FAT?

Throughout my personal training career, I have heard “How do I get rid of belly fat?” more times than I can count. Everyone wants a nice-looking stomach, but it can be quite challenging to reach the desired result. After 17 years in the fitness industry, I have come to a conclusion that will help most people lose their belly fat. 

Would you believe me if I said you have to do 1,000 crunches, 2 times daily for 30 days? You better not! That is way too good to be true. If this is all it took, you would see way more people with incredible stomachs. The truth is, what I’m going to share with you really isn’t that difficult. You can make it as easy or strenuous as you like, you just have to do it. The best exercise to lose belly fat is WALKING.

Yes, you are reading this correctly. I believe walking can get you to the flat belly finish line. You can do it anywhere, anytime, and you don’t need any special equipment, other than a good pair of sneakers. 
 
Another tool that is useful, but not necessary, is a step counter. There are many wearable devices to choose from. You can use an Apple watch, Fitbit, any kind of pedometer, or simply carry your smart phone on your walk. 
 
Other forms of exercise like running, cycling, elliptical, stair climber machines, or even HIIT workouts are fantastic and quickly burn calories. However, the overwhelming majority of people don’t stick with these long enough to see fat loss in their stubborn areas. These methods require will power and don’t work if you’re not consistent.
 
Don’t get me wrong, these forms of cardio definitely have their place and some people have no problem at all sticking to them. I’m talking about the average person though, someone who just wants to be in generally good health. I still do some intense cardio sessions once or twice a week, but I don’t rely on them as my main form of cardio nor should most people. If you want to lose stubborn belly fat, and more importantly keep it off, then you need something you can do for life.
 
Now that I have you on board with walking, let’s go over the specifics of how to lose belly fat from walking.  The first step is to determine an average of how many steps you’re currently taking. This is where that device comes in handy. After a week, check out your daily average. You might be surprised with how few steps you’re taking each day. No worries! This is a good time to start increasing your steps. 
 
Set a realistic goal of an extra 2,000 steps per day. Most people can accomplish this during 20 minutes of walking. You can even break up the walk into two 10-minute walks. Once you’re consistent with that, try increasing it by another 2,000 steps. Keep increasing your daily steps with the goal of consistently getting at least 8,000 steps or even up to 15,000. Personally, I like to aim for 10,000 daily steps. If I get at least 8,000 on my lifting days, I’m satisfied. On weekends, I usually take longer walks and get well over 15,000 steps. It all balances out. 

If you have hills in your neighborhood, or have access to hiking with elevation, this is a great way to make your walks more challenging. Since I live at sea level, I use a treadmill for my climbing walks. This is an incredible way to increase your work output by just raising the incline. 
 
A tip I like to share with all of my clients: LET GO OF THE TREADMILL HANDRAILS. Unless you're getting on or off, need to hop off for a quick pause, feel yourself losing your balance, or have been specifically told by your physical therapist to hold on during your rehab workouts, leave the handrails alone. Using the handrails transfers the workload meant for your legs and core into your upper body. You'll burn fewer calories, won't activate your core, and throw your body out of alignment. Start with a low incline and a comfortable speed. Once you feel confident, bump the incline up a level and increase the speed when you’re ready.
 
While walking is an excellent exercise, if you are indeed trying to lose belly fat, you also need to be in a calorie deficit. To lose fat of any kind, you must burn more calories than you consume. Use your diet as the primary way to create a deficit. When you eat proper amounts of nutritious foods and add walking to your daily routine, you’ll speed up the fat burning process.

Another important factor I can’t leave out when it comes to burning belly fat, is the power of strength training. As a Personal Trainer, I love to share the amazing benefits that regular weight lifting sessions can produce. You lift weights, you build muscle. Since muscle burns off more calories than fat does when the body is at rest, having more muscle can help you to burn off more fat. I will cover the specifics about strength training in many future posts because it truly is my passion. 

So get out there and start walking more! I promise you won't regret it.