‘Twas the week after Christmas and all through the gym,

The members were moving to try and stay slim.

The dumbbells were stacked by the mirrors with care,

Ready for gym members to lift them from there.

The treadmills were filled, folks had left their warm beds,

Because visions of fitness danced in their heads.

The holiday season brings us many stories, songs, and images of St. Nick with his jolly face, snow-white beard, and signature red suit. In addition to his twinkling eyes and nose like a cherry, we can’t forget Santa’s ample round belly. It shakes when he laughs like a bowlful of jelly!

There’s no doubt that Santa Claus looks adorable on Christmas cards, but in real life, having a large gut like his can be bad for your health.

If you want to look and feel your very best, it’s important to melt your Santa belly. But that’s tough after a holiday season filled with tasty treats and beverages. Thankfully, AFAC is here with some post-holiday tips to help you burn calories and build a strong core at our gym in Thornton, Colorado.

Why Is it Important to Lose Belly Fat at the Gym?

An expanding waistline is more than just an annoyance when you try to zip up your jeans. Research shows that belly fat also carries serious health risks. The good news is, the threats posed by belly fat can be reduced with a good diet and regular exercise at the gym.

Your weight and belly fat are mainly determined by three factors:

1. Your age
2. How many calories you consume during the day
3. How many calories you burn through daily exercise

That means, if you eat too many calories and exercise too little, you’re likely to carry excess body fat, including belly fat.

In addition, your muscle mass can diminish with age while body fat increases. This loss of muscle mass also decreases how fast your body metabolizes calories, which can make it even more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

Many people notice an increase in belly fat as they age, even if they’re not gaining weight. This can be due to changes in the body’s hormones, which appear to influence where fat is distributed throughout the body. The tendency to carry fat around the belly might be genetically determined, as well.

The problem with belly fat is that it’s not only subcutaneous fat (the fat that lies just below the skin). It also includes visceral fat, which lives deep inside your abdomen and surrounds your internal organs.

While you may be worried about how subcutaneous fat looks, it’s visceral fat that’s linked with dangerous health problems, including:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• Breathing issues

Several studies have also found an association between belly fat and an increased risk of premature death, regardless of a person’s overall weight. One study that analyzed data from 11 studies involving 650,386 adults concluded that:

• People with the largest waists were more likely to die at a younger age and from cancer, respiratory disease, and cardiovascular disease than those with smaller waists.
• The chances of dying prematurely increased 7% for men and 9% for women for every 2-inch increase in waist size.
• Men whose waists measured 43 inches or more were 52% more likely to have died during the study compared to men with 35-inch waists.
• Women with 37-inch or larger waists had an 80% higher mortality risk than those with waists measuring 28 inches or less.

How to Trim Belly Fat

While you can tone abdominal muscles with targeted ab exercises at the gym (more on that in a minute), just doing exercises alone won’t help you get rid of belly fat. Unfortunately, there is no way to “spot reduce” areas of your body, including your abdomen. Instead, the same diet and exercise strategies that help you shed excess fat all over your body will reduce your belly fat, too, eventually – including dangerous visceral fat. Those strategies include:

• Eating a healthy diet. Focus on foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, lean sources of protein, and low-fat dairy products. Limit added sugar and saturated fat which is found in fatty meats, cheese, and butter. Instead, choose moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are found in fish and nuts.
• Avoiding sugary beverages. Instead of sugary beverages like regular soda, drink water or beverages sweetened with artificial sweetener.
• Watching your calorie intake. You must maintain a calorie deficit to lose body fat. Use an app to count calories and make sure you’re eating fewer calories than you burn. There are several online calculators available that can help you estimate how many calories you need per day based on your age, height, and activity level. It can take some time to figure out the calorie intake that works best for your fat loss goals.
• Including daily physical activity, both cardio and strength training. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate cardiovascular (aerobic) activity (like brisk walking) or 75 minutes per week of vigorous physical activity (like running). If you use a step counter to track your cardio workouts, it takes about 10,000 steps per day to prevent weight gain. Some studies have shown that it can take 15,000 steps per day to prevent regaining weight after significant weight loss. It’s also recommended that adults participate in full-body strength training 2-3 days per week.
• Going heavier on protein intake to gain muscle and lose fat. If your goal is to change your body composition by losing fat and gaining muscle, make sure to eat plenty of protein. Most experts recommend that you consume 1 gram of protein per pound of desired body weight per day to build muscle while you engage in regular strength training. For example, if you want to weigh 150 pounds, try to consume at least 150 grams of lean protein per day.

To lose belly fat and keep it from coming back, it’s best to strive for slow, steady weight loss. Talk to your doctor for help getting started. You can also consult with the personal trainers at AFAC gym to formulate an exercise and diet plan that matches your fitness goals.

Exercises to Burn Calories and Fight Belly Fat at the Gym

While any exercise will burn extra calories and help you lose belly fat, some exercises burn more calories – and tone your abdominal muscles – better than others. Here are a few to try when you’re at the gym.

Reverse Lunges

Lunges are one of the best whole-body exercises that burn calories and fat. Lunges also target one leg at a time, which challenges your stability and forces your abdominal muscles to work harder.

1. Start your reverse lunges by taking a long step backward. You want the step to be long enough so that your knees make two 90-degree angles at the bottom. Your back knee should drop down to the ground.
2. Press into your forward foot and pull yourself up with your forward leg. That’s one rep.
3. Repeat on the same leg until you finish all your reps, and then switch legs to complete the desired number of reps.
4. Keep your abs tight, your shoulders rolled back, and maintain a slight forward lean throughout the exercise. It can help your form to look down at your toes while you do reverse lunges.

Some things to avoid with reverse lunges include:

1. Don’t lean back into your lunge.
2. Don’t turn your toes in toward each other.
3. Don’t take a backward step that’s too short or too long.

TRX Pushups

Regular pushups are a great exercise, but doing them on a TRX suspension trainer adds more instability so that your core and shoulder stabilizer muscles are forced to work even harder.

1. Get into a pushup position with your hands in the TRX handles at about shoulder-width apart.
2. Keep your back flat and don’t let your hips sag. Squeeze your abdominal muscles, as core stability creates the base from which you will do your pushups.
3. Lower yourself into a pushup, keeping your elbows close to your body as you descend until your chest is at the same level as the TRX handles.
4. Push yourself back up, squeeze to bring your TRX handles in to touch each other, and then push the handles back out to shoulder-width apart. That completes one rep.
5. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Stir the Pots

For this exercise, you’ll need a stability ball, also known as a Swiss ball. The bigger the ball you use, the easier the exercise will be. The smaller ball you use, the harder the exercise will be.

1. Get into an elbow-plank position with your forearms on the stability ball. Your elbows should be underneath your shoulders, slightly behind the center of the ball, so that you feel engagement in your abs. Keep your spine in a neutral position throughout the exercise. Don’t let your hips sag.
2. For the easier version of this exercise, leave your knees on the floor. To make the exercise more challenging, come up to full plank and balance your lower body on your toes.
3. Bring your hands together and move your forearms in a clockwise circle three times in a stirring motion. That’s one rep.
4. Repeat the stirring motion in a counterclockwise direction three times.
5. Keep alternating this clockwise and counterclockwise stirring until you’ve completed the desired number of reps.

Crunches on an Exercise Ball

While you have your ball out, one of the most effective abdominal exercises is crunches on an exercise ball.

1. Start by sitting on your ball.
2. Roll the ball forward so that the ball is on the lower part of your back.
3. Recline so that your back is on the ball and your legs are at a 90-degree angle.
4. Your feet should be flat on the ground.
5. Lie down on the ball with your hands behind your head or behind your ears.
6. Stretch your body and arch your back over the ball so that you’ll activate all your abdominals when you do your crunches. This is your starting position.
7. Stare at a spot on the ceiling and use your core muscles to bring your torso up off the ball toward the ceiling.
8. Lower yourself back down to the starting position with your back reclined across the ball. That’s one rep.
9. Repeat for the desired number of reps.

Slim Down that Santa Belly at AFAC Gym

If you’ve gained a little padding around the middle during the holiday season, you’re not alone! The great news is, you can join your friends at AFAC gym as we all work to get back in shape for a happier, healthier new year.

Are you in search of a gym that has all the equipment, classes, and personal trainers you need to reach your fitness goals? Then we hope you’ll consider joining us at Adventure Fitness Athletic Club. The team at AFAC gym is here to give you a tour and show you why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado. Our team of personal trainers can assist you with losing belly fat, as well as tailoring a strength training and cardio program that will provide maximum results for your efforts.

If you’re not a member of AFAC gym but would like more information, please stop by and speak to our team. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.