The secret to losing belly fat has finally arrived! No, the answer is not doing 1,000 crunches a day. A bunch of ab workouts will strengthen your muscles, but that won’t make the flab go away. In fact, getting little in the middle is about mixing it up.
When it comes to exercising, you want to avoid working out at a consistent pace. It’s all about the intervals. What are intervals, you ask? Interval training is all about incorporating bursts of high-energy exercise into a moderate workout. For example, if you are walking at a steady pace, sprint for 20 seconds every other minute.
A workout study, using exercise bikes, was conducted between two groups of women. The study revealed that women, who rode exercise bikes for 20 minutes, doing 8-second sprints and 12 seconds of moderate cycling, lost more fat than those who cycled at a consistent pace for 40 minutes. What this means is that your workouts will be a half as long, but you’ll burn more fat.
You can incorporate intervals in almost any activity or exercise routine. Use the examples below to boost your workout!
Use Time
The clock can help keep you on track with your workout itinerary. So many people like to socialize during their workout, which means they aren’t exercising at a sufficient pace to lose weight. Go at a normal pace for two minutes and then amp up your workout for 1 minute. Repeat this cycle for 30 minutes.
Use Music
A lot of people like to workout to different playlists. Use music to your advantage by having an even mix of upbeat and moderately paced songs. You can walk, run, dance, Zumba, or bicycle to the music.
Use Visual Goals
If you are exercising outside, jog or bike at a comfortable pace. Keep your eyes ahead of you and sprint to, for example, a stop sign that is roughly 20 yards away. When you reach your target, go back to your original pace. When your breathing returns to normal, set another marker to sprint to, and so on and so forth.
Make This Drink
Ingredients:
- 6 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1/3 cup mint leaves
Instructions:
- Mix all of the ingredients together in a pitcher and store it in the fridge overnight, so that the flavors can infuse. Drink it all the next day. It will help flush fat from your body.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
