According to Michael Jensen, M.D., an endocrinology specialist at the Mayo Clinic, "Belly fat in men can lead to heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, high triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol, metabolic syndrome or sleep apnea." Exercise can reverse weight gain and strengthen abdominal muscles, thereby resulting in a reduction ofbelly fat.
Cardiovascular Exercises
"Spot exercises alone won't specifically reduce belly fat," according to the Mayo Clinic. "The best way to shrink your waist size is to lower your total body fat through healthy eating and exercise."
To begin your exercise routine, introduce cardiovascular exercise into your daily schedule. Running is an effective way to reduce belly fat, especially when squeezing the abdominal muscles as you inhale and exhale. Other cardiovascular exercises include jogging, cycling, speed walking and swimming. For best results, Bob Green of the Make the Connection and Best Life Diet books, recommends exercising for 20 to 60 minutes, three to six days per week.
Determine your target or maximum heart rate and exercise within that range (aim for 50 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate). To find your heart rate, "Locate your pulse (ie. place two fingers on your wrist pressing down on the main vein), then count the number of beats in 10 seconds. Next, multiply that number by 6 to get your exercise heart rate," as reported by the Missourifamilies.org ("Missouri Family") website. Doing so will rev up your metabolism, causing you to burn more calories and lose excess belly fat more quickly and help you to strengthen your core (abdominal) muscles.
The Plank
Exercises like the plank build your abdominal muscles. Relax on the floor, lying on your stomach with your arms and legs in a resting position. Prop yourself up to form a bridge-like position using your toes and forearms. Keep your back straight as you hold the position and squeeze your abdominal muscles.
According to AbsExerciseAdvice.com ("Abs Exercise Advice"), "You should hold this position focusing on tightening your abs until you can no longer maintain a flat bridge."
If you are just starting an exercise routine for the first time, or have not done the blank before and want to start out slow, start with 10 seconds. Increase your holding time as your abdominal muscles get stronger.
Crunches
Do crunches sitting on an exercise ball or lying on the floor. Whatever position you prefer, focus on squeezing your abdominal muscles as you lift your shoulder off the floor or when lifting the upper body forward when using an exercise ball. The key to good crunches is form.
When doing crunches, your strategy should always be to have good form and control of the body as you squeeze your abdominal muscles. Good form indicates that your arms are crisscrossed across your chest or placed behind your head instead of flailing about or coming uncrossed as you lift your upper body foward to complete the crunches.
Increase how long you can hold each crunch as you gain more strength. While there is no one-size-fits-all number of crunches that should be done, FitSugar.com ("Fit Sugar") recommends doing at least one set of as many repetitions as it takes to make the abs really burn and feel exhausted --- and then doing three sets of however many reps cause you to feel the burn." Don't focus on how long it takes to complete a set, instead focus on how many sets you can complete in a session. Remember, as with any exercise, you want to increase the number of sets you perform to prevent reaching a plateau. If you are uncertain about how many sets you have completed, record your progress to be certain you are actually increasing the number of repetitions and advancing to a more difficult level.
Source(s):
GK