Let’s be honest: No one wants a belly that hangs over their pants. Not only is it frustrating to deal with, but excess visceral fat can also predict future health issues. One of the best ways to target hanging belly fat is to boost your daily activity levels so you can burn more calories, keep your metabolism high, and feel great. They don’t have to be high-intensity, either! We’ve rounded up seven simple daily exercises to target hanging belly fat and help tone this area of the body.
The exercises below are of lower intensity, so you can do them daily to increase your daily movement without excessive fatigue. Start small with just a few reps or minutes each day, and always avoid pushing yourself to exhaustion. Then, as you build up your stamina, you can gradually do more while still feeling fresh.
Now, let’s explore some of the most productive, low-impact exercises to target hanging belly fat.
Walk
It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an Olympic-level athlete: Walk every day. Walking is hands-down one of the best things you can do for your overall health and fitness. It’s great for your physical health and mental health, and it’s especially amazing for keeping your waistline down.
Get some comfortable walking shoes and go for a nice stroll daily. Divide it into smaller walks throughout the day and aim for a total time of 15 to 20 minutes.
Jump Rope
Jumping rope is an amazing, low-impact exercise that can boost your cardiovascular health and fitness. Not only will it help you burn calories, but it also can increase your athleticism and foot and ankle strength. Start with a few minutes of skipping rope every day—as you improve, do longer durations or harder variations.
Squats
Squats are the perfect lower-body exercise to target many muscles and burn calories to melt belly flab. The good thing about bodyweight squats is that they’re low intensity enough that you can do a few reps every day.
How To Do It:
- Stand shoulder-width apart with your toes slightly out.
- “Sit” backward and spread your knees apart.
- Descend below parallel while keeping your lower back flat.
- At the bottom, drive through your heels and keep your knees apart.
Crawls
Crawls work almost every muscle in your body at once to help boost your heart rate and get your body working. If you haven’t crawled before, it might seem difficult at first, but you will quickly build up the endurance and stamina to crawl for longer periods of time.
How To Do It:
- Get on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips; keep your knees an inch above the ground.
- Crawl forward by taking a small step with your right arm and left leg simultaneously and alternate.
- Keep your hips low and your head up.
Hip Bridges
Hip bridges strengthen the muscles on your backside, increasing your calorie burn and keeping you slim. They also activate your glutes, which can help with your posture and relieve back or knee issues.
How To Do It:
- Lie on the ground with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
- Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to push your hips up.
- Repeat.
- Do not use your lower back you pull yourself up.
Dead Bugs
One of the best core exercises for all experience levels is the dead bug. It’s extremely simple to do, requires zero equipment, and targets all the muscles in your midsection in a safe way.
How To Do It:
- Lie on your back with your arms and knees in the air (like a dead bug), press your lower back into the ground, and lift your glutes.
- Reach out with your right leg and left leg at the same time while keeping your lower back flat on the ground, keeping your hips off the ground, and exhaling all of your air.
- Switch sides, and repeat.
Reverse Lunges
You can do lunges anywhere—while watching television, taking a walk, or taking a break at work. They work your entire lower body, yet they’re easy enough to knock out a bunch of reps periodically throughout the day.
How To Do It:
- Take a long step back—long enough so that your knees make two 90-degree angles at the bottom.
- Lower into a lunge.
- Pull yourself back up with your forward leg.
- Start with dumbbells and advance to a barbell in either the back squat or front squat position.
Anthony J. Yeung, CSCS