Stubborn belly fat that simply won’t go could be blasted in weeks – by doing short 20 to 30 minute workouts from the comfort of your own home each day. According to the most recent Government data, 63 percent of UK adults are overweight or obese. Both are major risk factors for serious medical issues.
Storing fat in the belly is particularly dangerous, as this likely means you have too much visceral fat – a type of fat found around the organs. A certain amount of visceral fat is needed to protect and insulate the organs but having too much has been linked to deadly conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
An excess of visceral fat will typically present itself as having a large belly. A rough guide for checking involves measuring your waist.
For women, having 35 inches or more means you’re at risk for health problems stemming from visceral fat. For men, the number is 40 inches or more.
Luckily there are certain exercises that have been shown to target unwanted belly fat, getting the best results.
One of the most effective ways to shed unwanted belly fat is high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
These workouts involve short periods of high-intensity or “burst” exercises followed by brief recovery periods which are often repeated several times over a 20 to 30 minute period.
This is especially good news for people who don’t have a lot of time to spare, as HIIT training can be done in quick, short bursts – and it doesn’t require a costly gym membership either.
A study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2022, found that this form of exercise “increases fat burning more than aerobic exercise”.
Researchers, from Victoria University in Australia, explained that HIIT has many benefits not just during the sessions themselves, but also by increasing fat burning during other physical and daily activities.
They said: “Engaging in HIIT can improve burning fat, with larger effects expected for longer training regimens and individuals with overweight/obesity,” they explained.
They added that fat metabolism “will improve after only four weeks of HIIT”, and it will “continue to improve over time”.
Moreover, HIIT can be “important” for enhancing metabolic health and managing obesity, they said.
While people could also improve their fat metabolism by engaging in aerobic exercise, this would require a much higher time commitment, and the “improvements would be smaller”.
“If that stubborn body fat isn’t going away, consider adding HIIT to your exercise routine,” said study author Professor Zeljko Pedisic in a university release.
As part of the research, the team analysed results from 18 controlled intervention trials on the effects of HIIT on the rate of fat burning during exercise.
These included a total of 511 adult participants who were split into three control groups – classified by whether they engaged in either supervised HIIT, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or didn’t exercise at all.
In almost all of the studies, participants engaged in three HIIT sessions per week from two to 14 weeks.
After 12 weeks of HIIT, each minute of physical activity burned around 0.13 grams of fat.
Prof Pedisic added: “According to the recent Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends, HIIT is among the most popular types of workouts. If you are not already doing it, maybe you should give it a go.”
Some HIIT workouts to try at home include:
- Mountain climbers
- Jogging on the spot
- Squats
- Jump lunges
- Burpees
- Planking
- Bicycle crunches
- High knees
- Push ups
- Star jumps.
Before starting your workout try a gentle exercise to warm up. Then perform an exercise for 30 seconds and rest for another 30 seconds.
Mix and match different exercises from the list, resting between each one.