Best gym exercises to flatten stomach?

1. 68

   Iontachposted 12 years ago

   Right so the summer is approaching and I'm trying to get rid of this damn belly. I'm actually slim but the belly fat is stubborn...Does anybody have any success stories they can share on how to remove belly fat?
   
   Cheers in advance!
   Iontach

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      FitnessTomposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      no such thing as an exercise that can help you achieve that. it's all about your eating plan... 110%

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         Iontachposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Arggg...Regardless of me dieting I cannot lose the belly...Would you suggest cutting down on carbs?

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            FitnessTomposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Lot of bad responses here. Until a few days ago I would have said watch carbs.
            
            I have found sufficient studies to suggest that counting carbs is not a superior way to lose fat.
            
            There is a type of diet called intermittent fasting. Google it or go to leangains.com

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      A Troubled Manposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Diet.
      
      To strengthen your ab muscles, there are about a dozen exercises one can do about 3 times a week for about 20 minutes each day and they'll be solid.

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2. 61

   Brent Stoneposted 12 years ago

   I agree, the 6 pack is 90% diet, 10% working out. The abdominal muscles are a very small muscle group. So you do not need to hit them too hard with exercise. Keep of the high fat, high complex carb foods. Building your core strength with pilates or yoga, they will give great abs too.

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      Iontachposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Instead of doing pilates do you think swimming is a good alternative? I'm swimming recently and it feels similar to pilates...

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         Mighty Momposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Situps, situps and more situps.
         And the Roman Chair if you have access to that at your gym.
         
         I know you are not considering it, but do NOT do lipo.
         Or your belly fat could end up migrating somewhere else in your body. Yuck-o!

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3. 76

   cathylynn99posted 12 years ago

   you could try adding cardiovascular time to your workout, which should help burn off those calories you feel you need to eat. if all else fails and you are at a healthy weight and still have the belly, there's liposuction.

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      Iontachposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yep im doing a lot of cardio at the moment! Mainly cardio actually. Haha lipo is a bit of a no no for now, no funds for that i'm afraid.

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4. 60

   dvndvnposted 12 years ago

   To lose weight, more calories out than in.  Nothing really complicated.  1 gram of fat has 9 calories, protein 4, carbohydrates 4, booze 7, sugar 4, fiber 2, sweeteners 2.4.  Burn more calories per day than what you eat.  Doesn't necessarily mean starving yourself, just eat till you're satisfied, not till you're full.  Fiber has less than a 4th the calories of fat which means you can feel fuller on less calories if you eat more fruits and vegetables.

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5. 0

   fit2dayposted 12 years ago

   I am not at all anti-cardio, but the best way to burn fat is with high intensity workouts. I like to strength train with very little rest between sets. Ultimately a good workout should have you pushing your body's limits. I know people will always say diet when it comes to belly fat, but more importantly how you diet.
   
   Eat healthy sources of carbs, fats, and protein. Guilty culprits of excess fat may be sugar, flour, and any starchy food. Also eating a big dinner is bad, especially right before bed. Rule of thumb if you're hungry and tired, don't eat, just sleep

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6. 61

   KatMcCulloughposted 12 years ago

   I've read the best way to burn fat is to run. High-impact cardio not only strengthens your bones but is a great way to get rid of fat.
   
   I'm not a nutritionist but I read a lot about the subject and, like most people have said, it's mostly diet. Eating complex carbs that stay with you longer is a good idea along with lots of vegetables and protein. I am also of the opinion that anything that is packaged is not something you want to put into your body unless you've read the ingredients and know what they are. Processed foods are just going to make losing that little bit of weight that much harder.

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7. 60

   theirishobserver.posted 12 years ago

   The Lunch Pack, put salad in your lunch pack rather than crips and bars of choc

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8. 64

   Fitness Fitnessposted 12 years ago

   Actually the result varies from person to person. Best way to burn fat is to increase your muscle mass and strngthen your muscles along with doing some Cardio excercises. You cant target to reduce your fat in some specific areas like abs..waist..etc. If one can combine excercises well and maintain a proper balance of excercise and diet..the whole body fat will be reduced where it is accumulated most.
   
   Some of the specific body type which is called endomorfic has a normal tendency to accumulate fat. They have to work hard and  should be extra careful about their diet chart.

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9. 76

   Rob Wintersposted 12 years ago

   If your diet is reasonable and your doing plenty of cardio and are only carrying a little belly blubber you may be carrying a little water weight rather than fat and need to reduce your sodium/salt intake. You should also drink plenty of water to keep hydrated this reduces the levels of water the body tends to retain.
   
   Interval training can work great and i would definately look into carb cycling - works well for those last few pounds.

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10. 52

    Proteinsforhealthposted 11 years ago

    The best way to get a flat stomach is workout of exercises .
    
    First of all, if you want faster results, you should stimulate those stomach muscles every 2-3 days or way to creatively include the exercises as part of a different workout.

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11. 69

    livewirezposted 11 years ago

    Just do some sit-ups, more or less 50 times a day, for sure your stomach will flatten.

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       thevoodoogirlposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       It may be a big stress for your knees, too.

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12. 76

    adity5posted 11 years ago

    'Kapalbhati' is the best. Its a process of deep breathing which puts considerable pressure on stomach. My mom did it for 2 months and her tummy is nearly flat now Great improvement !!

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13. 60

    tammybarnetteposted 11 years ago

    immediatley after cardio do hanging leg lifts, the pike...I like to do sets...straight out legs(pike), bended knees side to side, and bent knees to chest....I do 10 reps of each and 3 sets...this worked when nothing else would and I discovered it by accident Good Luck!

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14. 69

    Beth100posted 11 years ago

    There are a lot of great suggestions listed here, and some not so great.  Each body type has it's own metabolic rate and reacts differently to diet and excercise.  What may work for me, may not necessarily work for you.  However, that doesn't mean that there isn't a fit in there somewhere.
    
    I suggest that you change your diet.  First, increase your water intake.  Not just bottled water or tap water!  Drink reverse osmosis water -- all elements that can harm your body (yes, including chlorine, fluoride, etc) has been filtered out.  This provides the purest form of water for your body - what nature intended for you.  Drink steadily throughout the day.  Your urine should be clear or extremely pale yellow.  This is a sign that your kidneys and liver are doing their job, and not stressed because they are dehydrated.  Simply but drinking water, and eating healthy, you can begin to see the loss of belly fat within a month.
    
    Work your core muscles.  Isolating only the abs will not work.  Your abs wrap around your back, so you must target your core, and it doesn't hurt to add your whole upper body.  The more muscles you involve, the faster the results and the more uniform/balanced your body will become.  There are all kinds of excercises out there and programs as well - PX90, weights, pilates, yoga, etc.  Find something that you are interested in.  Take the time to hire a personal trainer, or use the personal trainer for a one one-on-one session for two hours.  They will provide you the proper program.  They maybe pricey, but you will get the results that you are looking for.
    
    Cardio is important but so is weight bearing excercises.  Never overwork your muscles -- alternate one day upper, one day lower, one day cardio or combo with circuit training.  Circuit is the best as it combines cardio and weight bearing, is fast to do and brings fast results. The drawback is that you have to be willing to sweat and work as much as you can per minute at the station.  It's an honesty system that you do for yourself.
    
    Water, fresh fruit, fresh veggies, protein and carbs.  You need moderation when it comes to all the foods, but you need all the food groups to ensure that you are ingesting the proper nutritional blocks to build your muscles, which in turn will burn the carbs.  (Muscles = mitochondria = little guys that eat the carbs/fat to produce energy). 
    
    Also, if you're doing sets and reps, try 3 sets with first rep = 10, 2nd rep = 8, 3 rep = 6 while increasing 5-10 lbs per rep.  This will help you bulk but strengthen your muscles.
    
    Whatever you do, don't turn to surgery.  That in itself will cause other issues.

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15. 85

    Alphadogg16posted 11 years ago

    Wow.....a lot of bad responses on here........I agree with Beth100... her suggestions are on point.......everyone's body is different, you need to learn your body and figure out what it responds too. The only thing that I would add to Beth100's comment is cutting your sugar. Sugar is the main precursor of fat, the more sugar in your body, the more fat your body will retain.

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       Beth100posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Hey, thanks!  I agree -- sugar is one of the major culprits.  The difficulty for many is to spot it since it is hidden in so many "healthy" foods. Also, one should understand there are three different types of sugars:  glucose, sucrose and fructose.  Fructose comes from fruit, which is great and can easily be broken down by the body. However, the other two -- not so good.  These are to be avoided.

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16. 73

    maalarueposted 11 years ago

    Diet definitely plays a major role. Stay away from all sugar and starchy foods. Eat  clean and stay away from high carb drinks. Doing cardio exercise is not enough. You should incorporate resistance training such as weight lifting to add lean muscle tissue which will expedite fat loss. Cardio will only burn fat short term, but will not raise your metabolic rate. Weight training will burn fat but also raise your metabolism and continue to burn fat long into the day or evening. I also recommend a high intensity weight routine, that will super charge your growth hormone levels and add even more fat burning power.

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17. 90

    CyclingFitnessposted 11 years ago

    It's amazing how much bad advice there is with these questions and across the Internet in general although alot of stuff across the net has a purpose in selling or introducing products which is why weight loss hubs are a bad idea as the marketplace is saturated already unless you're willing to spend significant time effort and possibly even money to promote.
    
    As every individual is so different it's usually going to be a combination of diet and exercises. Crunches and sit ups won't remove that layer of fat that's hiding your stomach away so exercise and diet has to target removing the fat. This is not a quick fix.
    
    Everyone has a fantastic set of stomach muscles- it's about showcasing them so the right posturing exercises are a good idea to align the body and showcase your stomach.

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18. 0

    Beth37posted 11 years ago

    Hello FitnessTom. lol

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       Cletus Jonesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Deleted
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          Beth37posted 11 years agoin reply to this

          He wont even get that msg. It was more a joke for the rest of us... I couldn't help it.
          (Fat alcoholics are ppl too.)

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             Cletus Jonesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

             Deleted
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                Beth37posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                Nice to meet you.

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