Exercises to lose belly

Do you dream of having a flat stomach, especially after a pregnancy or after the age of 50? To get rid of some unsightly bulges and display abs of steel, all you need to do is adopt an excellent dietary and sporting hygiene. You should therefore favour foods that help you lose belly fat and particularly draining drinks such as green tea and certain detox teas.
In addition to diet, sport is also essential. With a few well-targeted exercises, you can easily strengthen your abdominal muscles, even at home and in the office. To do this, take a fitness mat, a towel and remember to hydrate regularly.

Flat stomach exercises for a slim waist

1st exercise: the plank

This is an exercise with a major element of static sheathing, allowing you to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Choose the plank on forearms, which allows you to sheathe your stomach while strengthening your back and slimming your waist. To do this exercise in the best possible way and get a perfect slimming effect, follow the guide. Stand in a sheathing position, on your elbows and feet.

Stand with a straight back. Tighten your abdominal muscles as much as possible and pull your buttocks in. Then tilt your pelvis forward. Keep your elbows in position. You are now working your back, your shoulders, which should be low, and your legs, which should be straight, without realising it, while at the same time tightening your stomach and burning fat.

Exercise 2: Banana Mason

This is a dynamic exercise that involves using movements to strengthen the abdominal muscles. It combines both mobility and joint stability work. It is very effective and easy to do. Sit on your floor mat for the starting position, remembering to take your legs off the floor and balance on your buttocks.

The torso should be leaning back slightly. From this position, move from left to right, trying to place your hands on either side. You can do this slowly or faster. Remember to breathe out as you place your hands on the floor, which will allow you to perform this exercise in excellent conditions, for optimal results. Keep your abs tight, because if you keep your abdominal muscles tight, you’ll be able to work your abs even better.

3rd exercise: the mountain climber

This exercise is very effective and develops several muscles such as the glutes, calves, and of course the abs. This exercise will allow you to obtain a flat stomach quickly by working the deep muscles of your abdominal muscles, such as the obliques and transverses. For your starting position, place yourself in a push-up position with the tip of your feet on the floor.

Stretch your legs and arms out. Your body should be in an upright, sheathed position, meaning that your legs should be in line with your buttocks, back and head. As you bend your right leg, come and place your right knee in close proximity to your right elbow without touching your foot to the ground. Then quickly reverse the position with your left leg. Repeat the same instruction. Above all, it is essential not to break the alignment of your body, which must remain well sheathed throughout the exercise. If you want to be sure that your body is in the right position, you can do your movements facing a mirror.

5 exercises to melt your belly at the office

1 – The Vacuum

This exercise requires no machines, mats or accessories. It can be done standing, sitting or on all fours. The aim of this exercise is to contract the transverse abdominal muscle. First, pull your stomach in as far as you can while inhaling deeply.

Once you have taken in a large enough breath, exhale as much as you can while trying to pull your stomach in even more. Breathe out again until you feel an abdominal contraction. The inhalation lasts a few seconds. The exhalation can last even longer, depending on your abilities. It is best to do several sets in a row.

2 – Desk press

Sit in your chair with your back straight. Remember to place your elbows and forearms on your desk. Then, using the pressure exerted by your forearms on the desk combined with the contraction of your abdominal muscles, raise your knees until your feet are off the floor. Hold this exercise for about 1 minute or less depending on your ability. The muscles involved here are the rectus abdominis and the transverse abdominis.

3 – The right posture by contracting the stomach

You can do this simple exercise about three times a day at your desk, at the table and with friends for example. Contract the transverse muscle, the one responsible for your unsightly bulges. It is by acting on it that your abdominal muscles will regain their strength. Focus on good posture.

Place your ischiums, the pointed muscles of your buttocks, firmly on the seat of your chair. Your back is straight and your feet are flat on the floor. Your elbows and forearms are also resting on the desk. Contract your perineum, as if you were holding back the urge to go to the bathroom. Inflate your belly by taking a deep breath. Exhale calmly as you breathe out and press your elbows and forearms into the desk. Relax your arms and repeat this exercise.

4 – Raise your knees on the chair

Place yourself in a sitting position on your desk chair. As with the previous exercises, keep your back straight and place each palm on the front corners of your chair. With your arms contracted and stretched over these side surfaces, raise your knees until they are close to your chest. You can perform this exercise in 40-second intervals while holding this position. You are using the transversus abdominis and the rectus abdominis.

5 – Side bending

On your desk chair, still in a seated position, with your back straight and your gaze fixed, you will reach for your ankles with your hands with all your strength. To do this, bend your torso sideways. Proceed in sets of 100 repetitions on each side. This exercise is very effective for burning calories and for targeting fat storage areas such as the love handles. It also works the obliques and the rectus abdominis for a slimmer waist.

5 exercises to lose belly at home

1 – Bending your chest

Stand with your legs slightly apart. Your feet should be about 1 metre apart. Your arms should be loose at your sides. Standing on your fitness mat, bend your torso to one side and then to the other, pushing your hand down as far as possible each time. Hold this position for 6 breaths in and out. Perform 15 movements on each side in series.

2 – the roll-up

Lie on your back, with your arms spread out on each side and your hands flat. Bend your legs, feet crossed, and bring your knees as close as possible to your chest. Lift your lower back and hold this position for about ten seconds.

3 – pedal boat

Stand with your back to the floor, arms under your head, elbows out. Bend your knees and raise your legs to form a 90° angle with your pelvis. Contract your stomach muscles as much as possible and pedal your legs far out in front of you.

4 – Bust rotation

Stand on the mat, on your knees, with your chest straight. Your arms should be stretched out to the sides so that they are level with your shoulders. Turn your torso to the right side and point your right hand towards your left heel without touching it. Bring your upper torso back into place by pressing and contracting your abdominal muscles. Repeat this exercise several times in a row, changing sides each time.

5 – Chest rise

Your back should be flat on your mat. Your heels are on the floor and your toes are raised. Your hands are crossed behind your neck. Tighten your stomach muscles as much as you can and lift your shoulders, keeping your chin slightly up. Hold this position as long as you can and then rest your shoulders on the floor before releasing your muscles completely. Contract again.

What sports can help you get a flat stomach?

While sport in general is an excellent way to lose belly fat quickly, there are several sporting activities that are more effective than others. Among them, jogging – or running – is very effective in burning calories quickly. It can be done outside alone or with others, but also at home with a treadmill and cardio equipment.

The exercise bike is also an excellent tool for losing weight. Cycling, on the other hand, burns a lot of calories and fat. It is a gentle sport that can be done in the open air or at home on an elliptical. The effort produced is continuous and the body is constantly trying to find its balance, which makes it possible to dip into our body’s fat reserves, mainly in the pelvis and stomach area.

In addition, it is a sport that considerably improves blood circulation, heart rate and breath. Rugby is known to be a very tiring sport. It is ideal for people who want to work out a lot. The intense and continuous physical effort is a real ally for burning fat.

Another energetic sport is climbing. This unusual sport is particularly hard on the upper body. It forces your body to make unusual movements and your abdominal muscles become more muscular, removing a lot of fat. Jumping rope and rowing are also very interesting sports for losing belly fat and can be practised in a gym or at home.

The calorific expenditure is substantial and is associated with an increase in the tone of the abdominal muscles. Finally, swimming is a sport that is particularly recommended for people who want to lose weight. This sport allows a significant expenditure of calories thanks to its thermoregulatory effect. In addition, swimming is excellent for the mind and provides an intense sense of well-being.

My flat stomach fitness programme in 1 week

Monday: half an hour to start.

1 – a little vacuum. Do 4 sets of 10 seconds each, with 10 seconds of recovery between each set.

2 – a little bit of bodyweight training. Do 4 sets of 10 seconds, with 10 seconds recovery between each set. Then repeat until you reach the end of the half hour of exercise.

Tuesday: Half an hour. You can choose the exercises you want. For example, resume the vacuum or focus on bodyweight training.

Wednesday: Half an hour of exercises focusing on abs and waist work. Start with 10 minutes of plank, in sets. Then, you can do the banana mason and then come back to the plank.

Thursday: Today we’ll do fitness exercises for about 20 minutes. We’ll focus on rolling and bending exercises.

Friday: about 20 minutes today as well. 10 minutes of chest presses and 10 minutes of pedalling.

Saturday: also 20 minutes today. We start with the plank for 5 minutes. Then for 10 minutes we do the mountain climber, a fat burning exercise for example. We finish with the plank for the remaining 5 minutes.

Sunday: Today we do about 30 minutes. You can choose the exercises you prefer, remembering to breathe in and out and to hydrate. Between each set, take a break of about 10 seconds.

For more practical information on how to get a flat stomach, see our dedicated articles.