Does biking for 30 mins a day (plus other cardio) help lose stomach fat fast and get me a flatter stomach!
I also want to lose weight all over, but focus on stomach and then legs.
Sit-ups!! on the 1st day do as many as you can. on the 2nd do 5 more than the day before. keep adding 5 to your sit-ups. what i like to do is put my feet under a couch or a chair, lay on my back with my knees bent, than sit up and almost touch the couch and lay back down. if you do theses than you will have a 6 pack in NO time!
Cardiovascular exercise is the only proven way to lose stomach fat. Problem is, there isn’t any way to lose stomach fat FAST. If you’ve found some surefire way, overwhelmingly it is going to be some kind of scam, most likely focusing on losing water weight – which you’ll gain back in days.
I know that this isn’t what you want to hear, but If you’re trying to lose stomach fat fast, then you’re going about it the wrong way. If you’re trying to do this fast, then you’re not going to develop the necessary habits, lifestyle, and ingrained attitude it takes to keep the pounds away. If you have unwanted weight now, most likely this is a result of some combination of inactivity and/or poor, unbalanced diet. I’m not trying to reprimand you, only pointing out what the culprit is 90-95% of the time. You need to develop the self-reserve and lifestyle changes it takes so that you do not slip back into the sedentary lifestyle that got you there in the first place. If you’re at a place you don’t like, then it’s most likely because those foods and/or sedentary lifestyle is easily accessible.
Getting back to your original question: Yes, Cardio, Cardio, Cardio. This is the key to melting the pounds away. But exercise is not a one-stop solution. You’ll also need to analyze what you are eating. Let me put this to you in bulletized form so that it is easier for reading:
* Begin cardiovascular exercise. This will be the key to losing unwanted weight. Try to do at least 30-45 minutes worth. Do this 3-5 times a week. Also, do more than one form of cardiovascular work. There’s several reasons for this: one is that you will get burned out doing only one form. If you do bicycling every day or other day, eventually you’ll lose inertia. But if you switch it up, say running one day, elliptical another, bicycling another, you’ll have more to look forward too and wont’ get bored with your routine. Secondly, If you do different exercises, you’ll target different areas / muscles of your body. Your body has an annoying habit of getting used to and developing resistances to things, including exercise. The follow through meaning on this is that what first burns many calories, eventually as you get better and more efficient at the exercise, you’ll burn less. So challenge your body by changing your routine.
* Do not neglect upper body / muscular workout as well. Lifting weights, push-ups, chin-ups, etc. Doing this will help tone and shape your body, as well as build muscle, which burns calories on there own. Keep in mind that doing correct push-ups and other such exercises will work on your core.
* Abdominal exercises. I use these in between my upper body exercises. Do these, but don’t get crazy with them. It is a misconception that by targeting your unsatisfactory areas with corresponding exercises will melt the weight away. IT WILL NOT. Instead, you’ll build a layer of muscle underneath the fat, which, while good, will do nothing to satisfy your needs. Use cardio work to burn the fat away, while use the abdominal exercises (Sit-ups, crunches, pilates, yoga, etc) to build as you go.
* Stay away from sweets, carbohydrates, and the like. Do some research and find out what foods to stay away from. I’m not a nutritionist, so I don’t know too much in this area. One note: Don’t STARVE yourself. Don’t skip meals, eat some 1500 calorie diet or something. If you do that, you’ll make your body think there’s a famine going on, and it will hold on to your fat as long as possible because it thinks starvation is imminent. Instead you need to eat normally, but healthily. This is a bit counter intuitive, but essential.
Recap: Do cardio, 30-45 mins, 3-5 days a week. Vary your workouts. Do upper body and abdominal exercises too, but focus on cardio more. Eat normal, nutritious meals. Keep an attitude of slow, but steady, lest you risk slipping back into self-defeating habits.
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