Most people know weight loss can be achieved by eating less and moving more. After losing a few pounds, dieters will often want to tone up and build visible muscles. Burning belly fat is no easy task but combining both cardio and abs exercises can give the best results and help slimmers see definition.
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While a healthy diet is definitely important for weight loss, regular exercise will speed up the results.
To tone up the midriff and see definition, dieters will need to do more than just sit ups.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mays Al-Ali, nutritionist and yoga teacher at HealthyMays.com, explained the best exercises for slimmers.
By performing five ab exercises, slimmers can start to slim down their waistline.
Best ab exercises
Plank pose
Mays said: “This one is a burner for sure. Start with a one minute hold. See if you can hold longer than one minute.
“Plank pose is an all over body toner, but it works the core hard. Repeat three times.”
Side plank
“If you want strong obliques, this is the pose you’ll want to hold as you lift those hips high to the sky. Place your palm on the ground for more advanced or resting on the forearm for a little easier, stack both feet on top of each other with straight legs and lift the hips up and hold for one minute.
“Need more of a challenge? Lift the top leg up in the air. Even more of a challenge? Hold the big toe of the top leg out to the sky. Hold, as long as you can. Switch sides. Repeat three times on each side for maximum ab burn.”
Navasana / boat pose
“Lie on the ground – keep that chest lifted and shoulders away from the ears,” Mays explained.
“Take a nice big inhale, and as you exhale, toes and face come away from the ground so the body can hover right above. Hold for a slow count of five working up to 10, then release.”
Legs up
“Hold this restorative posture long enough and you will be screaming for mercy. Make sure the lower back is pressed into the ground and the legs are together.
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“Begin with feet flexed, slowly lower legs halfway, point the toes and lift the legs back to the sky. Try and work your way up to 50.”
Yoga bicycle
Mays said: “Lie on back with both legs bent in the air at the knees. Extend the left leg and point toes, keep right knee bent.
“Touch left elbow to right knee whilst twisting through the midsection. Then reverse, extend right leg and point toes, keep left knee bent and touch right elbow to left knee whilst twisting through midsection.
“Suck the belly in and exhale as you twist. Count to 50 as you move from one side to the other and work up to 100.”
Ab exercises will create definition but it is also important to add cardio exercises to burn belly fat.
So, what is the best fat-burning exercise?
Mays said: “It’s no secret that squats are the key to a nice butt. Add a jump for even more cardio burn.
“Just be careful because improper squat posture can cause some lower back issues. Start with your feet slightly further than shoulder width apart.
“Bend down keeping the spine straight until your thighs are parallel with the floor. As you’re coming up, add the jump. Land on the balls of your feet.
“Viola! If the jump is too much on the lower back then just squat without the jump.
“With the jump do three sets of 10 working up to 20 and without the jump do three sets of 20, working up to 30.”
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