how do i get rid of belly fat?

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Today, I want to focus on the CORE!

Building a strong core is VITAL to overall health and wellness!  Yes, it’s nice to have a sleek and flat belly, but more so than that, a strong core just makes life easier.  You’ll be able to bend over to pick up groceries (or that 30-pound butterball toddler) with ease.  Even walking and running becomes easier when our midline is strong and trained.

Since I work with mostly postpartum clients (“fresh” ones and those who have teenagers), I get A LOT of requests for good core exercises.  Point blank – women want to flatten their bellies.  When the female body hosts a child, our abdominal muscles stretch and separate to allow for fetal growth.  This is natural and totally worth the blessing you get from having a child.  But when it’s all said and done, us mamas are left with weird looking bellies, stretch marks, that dark squigly line (linea negra) and extra abdominal fat.  Even if your baby is 20 years old now, you may still be dealing with a postpartum belly.

There is a fix!

Most of the research surrounding visceral fat loss suggests that INTERVAL TRAINING and CLEAN EATING are the two best strategies, plain and simple.

Interval Training – In addition to strength training 2-3 times a week, it’s important to throw in some high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your routine.  HIIT workouts involve anaerobic exercises that tax the central nervous system and provide a huge afterburn of calories (or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption).  Great for whittling fat off your waistline.  Click here for a few of my favorite HIIT workouts.

Clean Eating – As far as clean eating goes, I try to get clients to focus on whole foods that ARE ingredients, not made from ingredients.  Think lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and healthy fats.  Your genes also play a roll in where your body stores extra fat – if your mother is a “pear shape,” you’re more likely to have a thicker torso.

Once you’ve started changing your diet and incorporating high intensity interval training, you’ll likely start seeing some definition in your core.  It takes TIME and it’s not something you can rush.

Today, I put together this core circuit that will strengthen the muscles UNDERNEATH any abdominal fat you might have!  Six packs for everyone! Let’s get to work!

What You’ll Need:

• A 5-10 pound dumbbell (or any small object)
• Stopwatch

How Often:

Three times per week, non-consecutive days.  <-our abdominal muscles are just like any other muscle and need REST in order to grow!

For video tutorials, simply click on the exercise: Forearm Plank, Dumbbell Crunches, Walking Plank,V-Ups, Side Plank, Weighted Knee-Ups

You can add this core circuit on to the end of a workout or complete it as a stand alone on an active rest day!  Let me know if you try it!!

QUESTION:  How often do you incorporate core work?

splendid…lindsay