Fitness
The 13 Best Exercises To Lose Belly Fat & Slow Aging
As you grow older, your body begins to change quickly—and these changes are challenging to accept. Gaining extra girth around your belly, for instance, is far from the best feeling. After all, you want to live your best life—and look like it, too. An annual physical can be stressful just by stepping onto the scale. But there are some crucial tweaks you can make in your daily regimen to turn back the clock and slim down. We have some of the best exercises to lose belly fat and slow aging that trainers highly recommend adding to your routine.
Killing two birds with one stone always sounds appealing when it comes to maintaining your physical fitness and leading an overall healthy lifestyle. You’re likely aware of the benefits of staying fit as you age. You lose lean muscle mass and may experience health issues such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and back pain as you get older, OrthoInfo reports. Regular physical activity can help strengthen your bones and lessen muscle and joint pain. So, we’re here to share some pretty stellar exercises that’ll help you lose belly fat and slow aging. What’s better than that?
Keep reading to learn more, and when you’re finished, be sure to check out these 11 Strength Exercises To Regain Muscle Mass as You Age.
Barbell Landmine Squats
Ready to lose belly fat and slow down aging? Start this first exercise by positioning a barbell inside a landmine attachment. If you don’t have one, anchor the end of the barbell against a wall for the same effect. Pick up the barbell, and grip the end of it with both hands. Take a tiny step back. Keep your chest tall and your core tight. Lower into a squat by pushing your hips back and sitting down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Drive through your heels to rise up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Perform three to four sets of 10 reps.
Chest-Supported Dumbbell Rows
Adjust the bench to an incline (at least 30 to 45 degrees). Grab two dumbbells, position your chest on the pad, and keep your knees on the seat of the bench. Straighten your arms, and begin pulling the two dumbbells in with your elbows, squeezing your lats at the end of the motion. Lower the dumbbells down for the full stretch before the next rep. Perform three to four sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Barbell Split Squats (Between Legs)
Assume a standard split squat position with a barbell between your legs. Keeping your chest tall and your core tight, squat down, reach down, and grab the bar with both your hands. Stand tall by driving through with the front heel of the leg, flexing your quad and glute to finish. Come down and all the way back up with each rep. Finish all reps on one side before switching over to the other. Perform three to four sets of 10 reps per leg.
Landmine Shoulder Press
Place a barbell inside a landmine attachment. If you don’t have access to a landmine, stick a barbell to a corner of a wall to get the same effect. Assume a staggered stance with one foot forward and one foot back. Grab the bar, keeping your chest tall and your core tight, then press it forward. Flex your tricep and shoulder hard at the top, then bring the weight back to the starting position. Perform all reps on one side before switching over. Complete three to four sets of 10 reps for each arm.
Dumbbell Goblet Squats
Vertically hold one dumbbell with both hands in front of your chest. Keep your core tight, push your hips back, and squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then, drive through your heels and hips to stand back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Complete three sets of eight to 10 reps.
Barbell Romanian Deadlifts
Grab a barbell, and position it right in front of your body. Keeping your chest tall and your knees soft, push your hips back while dragging the barbell down your thigh. Once you feel a solid hamstring stretch, drive your hips forward, squeezing your glutes to finish. Complete three sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
Lie down on an incline bench with a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the weights straight up above you with your arms fully extended. Pull your shoulder blades back and down onto the bench as you lower the weights toward your chest. Get a solid chest stretch at the bottom, then press the weights up to the starting position, squeezing your upper pecs and triceps at the top. Perform three sets of eight to 10 reps.
Cable Rows
Grab the attachment on a seated row machine, and place your feet firmly on the footpad. Pull the handle out, then completely straighten your legs. Make sure your chest remains tall as you drive your elbows back to your hips, squeezing your back and lats hard to finish. Straighten your arms, and get a solid stretch in your shoulder blades before performing another rep. Perform three sets of 10 to 12 reps.
Dumbbell Reverse Lunges
Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Take a long stride back with one leg. Firmly plant your heel down into the floor, then lower yourself until your back knee touches the ground. Push through with your front leg to come back up, then repeat with the other side. Complete three sets of 10 reps for each leg.
Incline Treadmill Walk
To perform this steady-state exercise, set your treadmill at the highest incline (usually 15 degrees), and set the speed at 2.5 to 3.5 mph. Walk at this pace and incline for at least 20 minutes, and watch your heart rate go up!
Climbing
Begin climbing on the stair climber. If you’re a first-timer, go at a comfortable pace you’re able to maintain for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Once you build up more endurance (or if you’re a bit more of an intermediate level), crank up the speed, or climb for at least 30 minutes.
Incline Treadmill Runs
Stand with your legs outside of the belt. Set your treadmill to a 10% incline and the speed a little higher than your typical jog pace. Once the incline and speed are set, hop onto the belt, and sprint hard for 30 seconds. Once you sprint for 30 seconds, grab the handles on the side, and carefully jump back onto the stable non-moving part of the treadmill. Rest for 30 seconds, and then repeat this workout for 10 rounds.
Bike Sprints
Hop on the exercise bike, and begin pedaling hard for 20 to 30 seconds. Once you sprint the prescribed amount of time, cruise at a slower pace for 30 to 45 seconds before sprinting again. Aim for eight to 10 rounds total.
Fitness
Why you should do strength training at 70: try these exercises
A decline in health and fitness isn’t inevitable once you cross into your seventies. Just take look at the recent snaps of Pierce Brosnan — age 70 — shirt off in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park. Or think of Angela Rippon, 79, high-kicking it on Strictly; Helen Mirren, 78, on the red carpet; or the verve of Bruce Springsteen, playing a three-hour set in Hyde Park, London, in the summer at the age of 73. These are just four examples of a host of septuagenarians and octogenarians who have demonstrated that vitality is possible at any age — if you’re prepared to work for it.
Skeletal muscle mass and strength decline more rapidly as we age and can affect physical performance, but this
Fitness
Running heel taps to warm up for your workout – Today's Tip
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Fit this workout into your day!
Thursday, December 26, 2024 12:34PM
Shoshana shows us how running heel taps can quickly bring your heart rate up!
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Fitness
Gyms aren't always accessible spaces, but these PTs are working to change that
Many people would see cerebral palsy as a barrier to a physically demanding career.
But Connor Johnstone has refused to allow his disability to hold him back.
He’s a fully qualified personal trainer with a degree in sports science and a masters in strength and conditioning.
Now he’s determined to help other people with a disability who struggle exercising in the gym.
But he hasn’t always been so self-confident.
“I may not have been able to perform the movements in the gym that everyone else could, so that used to always be at the back of my mind, or I felt like I wasn’t smart enough,” he said.
“I think that’s just, all those things you tend to label yourself [with], rather than what actually is reality.”
Encouragement from his parents and therapists helped.
“One of the biggest things for me is always trying to find a way to adapt,” he said.
It’s something he also teaches his clients.
“At one of my other practices, there were a lot of children with autism, and I was finding fun ways to do things because they don’t find generic exercises as stimulating or fun,” he said.
Challenging perceptions
Shaznaye Bin Kali, 15, also challenges perceptions of what a typical gym-goer looks like.
She lives with hemiplegia, a condition that has affected the left side of her body, impacting her arms, legs, and facial muscles.
But at her weekly sessions with her dedicated personal trainer, Grant Gillon, she’s found a space where she feels empowered and supported.
“Shaz started, and she hasn’t looked back. She looks forward to coming to see me every Friday,” Grant said.
Shaznaye said she enjoyed playful banter with Grant as she exercises.
“I like lap pull downs, bench press, jumping on the bike, tennis, footy, and frisbee,” she said.
Empathy helps
One of the things that bonded the two was Grant’s later-in-life ADHD diagnosis, which he believes has helped him positively connect with clients who have a disability.
“How I think is very similar to a lot of other people with disabilities, and I can be quite sporadic, and I often need to take a step back and try and settle myself,” he said.
“I know for myself there’s often things that I needed to be repeated quite a few times.”
Grant said he’s learned to be more accommodating.
“That’s probably the biggest one. And thinking on my feet,” he said.
Grant said if things don’t work out during his training sessions with clients, he tries to “keep the momentum going” by moving onto the next thing.
“You can’t dwell too much on it,” he said.
Grant said working with Shaznaye meant a longer set up time to make sure she could train safely.
“We make sure that she’s got a firm grip, or often, I’ll be holding my hand over the top first making sure her grip doesn’t fall off,” Grant said.
“And sometimes we’ll be changing different attachments and handles to see if we can actually get her a little bit of a better grip.”
Grant said he wanted to become a personal trainer because fitness had always been an important part of his life and he wanted to make sure others had the opportunity to participate.
“[The gym] is not always accessible to everyone,” he said.
“I guess that’s probably one of the main motivating factors [for me].”
Push for more PTs with a disability
Grant would like to see more disabled personal trainers in the industry.
“I think the one thing that hinders some people is that they feel inadequate, which can depend on the disability,” he said.
“People might think they won’t be respected due to their disability, or they don’t feel they’re up to par.”
Grant’s advice to any aspiring personal trainer who has a disability would be just getting out there and getting involved in learning through experience.
“I’m very passionate what I do, and I enjoy seeing results,” he said.
“I don’t see what I do is anything like amazing or special. I almost feel selfish because it’s something that I really enjoy.”
Connor feels the same way.
“If you’re passionate about something, you can always make it work.”
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