Summer is right around the corner and with it comes a lot of fun outdoor activities like swimming, volleyball, and tennis. To prepare for the physical demands of the season – and to look our best in those summer outfits – many of us are working extra hard at the gym to get in our best shape.

One of the most common goals this time of year is to lose fat, particularly in the belly area. There’s no doubt that belly fat is the most stubborn fat that exists! If you’re fighting a few pounds around the middle, read this blog to learn if there are any exercises you can do at our Thornton gym to get the flatter, leaner tummy you’re striving for.

Can I Lose Belly Fat Through Gym Exercises Alone?

People often wonder if there are specific exercises they can do to lose belly fat, but unfortunately, there is no such thing as losing weight in one area of the body, also known as “spot reduction.” The only way to lose belly fat is to focus on the basics – eat a healthy, high-protein diet while being in a calorie deficit, get in plenty of cardio to burn calories, and strength train at least 2-3 days per week to build muscle, which can help speed up your metabolism. If you focus on these three things consistently, you will drop weight, shed fat all over your body (including your stomach!) and reach your goals.

That said, some exercises at the gym will help you shrink belly fat better than others. We explore a few of the best belly-fat busting exercises below.

Strength Training Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

When it comes to lifting weights at the gym to lose belly fat, you want to choose the right movements to achieve your goal. The best strength training exercises to burn belly fat are “compound movements,” which are exercises that target two or more muscle groups at the same time. By involving more body parts, you’ll engage more muscle fibers which means you’ll burn more calories and boost your metabolism.

Using the dumbbells and kettlebells at our gym, sprinkle the following strength training exercises into your routine to burn belly fat faster.

Dumbbell Bent-Over Row

The dumbbell bent-over row engages many different muscle groups. The primary muscles worked with this exercise are in your back (lats, rhomboids, and traps). Secondary muscles worked are your delts in your shoulder and biceps in your arm. You’ll also be flexing a lot of muscles in your core, hips, knees, and ankles to keep your body stable.

1. Grab two dumbbells and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Bend your knees slightly and sit back with your hips as much as you can.
3. Keeping your back straight, bend forward until your body is at about 45 degrees.
4. Keep your chest up, shoulder blades back, and chin tucked in.
5. Tighten your core and row (pull) both dumbbells toward your hips.
6. Straighten your arms fully. That’s one rep.
7. Perform 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps per set.

Dumbbell Front Squat

1. Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.
2. Hold a pair of light dumbbells down by your sides.
3. Lift your dumbbells up to your shoulders so that one end of each dumbbell rests on top of each shoulder.
4. Keep the dumbbells balanced on your shoulders by holding them with your elbows facing forward. This is your starting position.
5. Keep your head facing forward, your back straight, and your chest high.
6. Squat down by bending your hips back and allowing your knees to bend and go forward slightly.
7. Keep your back straight and knees pointed in the same direction as your feet.
8. Squat down until your thighs are parallel, or just past parallel, to the floor.
9. Return to your starting position by pushing through your heels and extending your knees and hips until your legs are straight.
10. Flex your quads and glutes to finish the rep.
11. Complete 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps per set.

Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing has a similar calorie burn and metabolic impact as running, but without the pounding on your joints. It also strengthens the muscles throughout the back of the body — glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors — and is a great workout for your core.

1. Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart and set up a kettlebell in front of you.
2. Keeping your back straight, hinge at the hips to bend down and grasp your kettlebell with both hands.
3. The kettlebell handle should be directly beneath your eyes.
4. With your back flat in a “tabletop” position, screw your hands into the kettlebell handle, lift the kettlebell and swing it back between your knees.
5. Then, pull the kettlebell so that it swings forward between your knees.
6. Keeping the kettlebell moving, hinge your hips forward and swing the kettlebell directly in front of your body with your arms straight. That’s one rep.
7. Complete 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps per set.

Floor Exercises to Lose Belly Fat

When trying to burn belly fat and get a flatter stomach, many people do endless sets of sit-ups, crunches, side bends, and weighted abdominal movements. While these may help you get the six-pack abs you’re seeking, abs can grow just like any other muscle group. Even if you watch your diet and lose fat, your stomach can look bulkier because your abs have grown from all the training you’ve done. If that’s not what you’re going for, here are a couple floor exercises that can give you results without the bulk.

Supine Vacuum Pose

For this exercise, lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Once you’re in position, exhale all your air. This will hollow out your stomach. Pull your bellybutton in toward your spine as much as you can, which will fire up your transverse abdominis muscle. To start, hold this pose for 15 seconds. Build yourself up to a longer hold of up to 60 seconds.

Reverse Crunch

There are several variations of the reverse crunch. This is an exercise that also targets the transverse abdominis muscle. Here’s one variation to get you started. Lie down with your lower back flat on the floor and your legs extended. Keeping your core tight, raise your legs up perpendicular to the floor so that your body resembles an L. Flex your abs hard when you do this. Lower your legs slowly, making sure to maintain the tension in your core before you do another rep. Complete 3 sets of 10-15 reps per set.

Active Plank

Planks are well-known for their ability to strengthen your abdominal muscles and give you a tight tummy. If you’d like to try a variation to traditional forearm planks, active planks are a great exercise to fire up your lower abdominal muscles. To perform an active plank, get into a forearm plank position and give your glutes a firm squeeze. Try to hold for 30 seconds and work your way up to longer holds.

Cardio Exercises You Can Do at the Gym to Lose Belly Fat

In addition to strength training workouts, cardio exercises that burn a lot of calories can help you lose fat all over your body, including your belly fat. By ramping up your cardio workouts, you can break past even the most stubborn belly fat plateau.

Walking on an incline

Walking on a treadmill with an incline burns more calories than on a flat surface, as your body is working harder. One study found that walking on an incline of 16-18% at a speed of 3 miles per hour burns 70% more fat than running on a flat surface. Another study found that, compared to flat-ground walking, a 5% incline increases metabolic cost by 17%, and a 10% incline increases metabolic cost by 32%. While flat-surface walking works your quadriceps more, walking on an incline targets posterior chain muscles, namely, your glutes and hamstrings will be “on fire.”

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

As the name suggests, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a challenging approach that can take your cardio workouts to another level. You can use HIIT with any type of workout, whether you’re on the treadmill, StairMaster, rowing machine, stationary bike, jumping rope, or even lifting weights. You’ll work up a sweat quickly by training at a very intense level, and then you’ll back off for a slower recovery period, followed by another round of high-intensity training.

The timing of HIIT workouts can vary. It is often done in spurts of 30 seconds to 3 minutes, with recovery periods of the same amount of time or longer. The personal trainers at AFAC gym can help you get started on an effective HIIT program that you’ll love, and you can also join some of our group classes that focus on HIIT workouts, like our Tabata classes.

Burn that Belly Fat at AFAC Gym

While you can’t achieve a flatter stomach by exercise alone, the right workouts can make all the difference in your goal to burn belly fat. And AFAC gym is here to support you with all your fitness goals with our wide assortment of strength training equipment, cardio machines, group classes, and personal trainers. Please don’t hesitate to ask a member of our team if you have questions about the best way to achieve a flatter tummy.

To learn more about AFAC gym and why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado, please stop by or give us a call anytime. We’ll be happy to assist you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.