It seems that no matter how hard you exercise, how much you diet, how hard you work, your belly fat doesn’t seem to change. Love handles, which you know as those pockets of fat on your torso’s sides, never seem to go away. Here’s why belly fat is so hard to lose – and how to change that.
What Causes Belly Fat and Love Handles? – Sorry to say, this part of your body had more fat cells than other parts of your body. And, when you eat more calories than your body can use, it stores that extra fuel as fat – and your body will store fat in places where there’s already more fat. And, it pulls from those areas for extra fuel last, not first. So, that’s why you seem to pack on extra inches there first, and loose it there last. Lack of workouts, bad diet, and extra calories all add up to make this worse.
Why It’s a Struggle to Lose Fat From Your Belly – Once fat appears there, biology is designed to keep it there. Your body is designed to store extra fuel for times where food may not be available. And, it’ll keep it there until your biology determines you’ve not been fueling up for awhile. That’s fine, unless you have access to more food than you need, which at this point in our civilization, we do. Your belly is an easily accessible spot for your body to find fuel, but that fat is also designed to protect your internal organs. Your body keeps fat around your belly for your protection.
And, unlike your arms, chest, or legs, you don’t have these big muscles found there around your belly. So, doing an excessive number of crunches won’t burn belly fat like squats burns fat off your legs, hips and glutes, either.
So, How Do I Get Rid of Belly Fat? – The best way to burn fat is to have a plan of muscle conditioning exercises, done on a regular basis, and with the right diet to accompany your workout plan. Your goal should be to work your muscles to the point where you’re adding muscle. This picks up your metabolism, not only during your workouts, but also giving you an “after burn” effect, keeping your metabolism peaked for hours after your workouts. Exercises such as squats, upper body pulling and pressing, or core work (planking type movements) every other day, plus high-intensity interval training on alternate days, is a great way to keep your body burning fat on a continual basis.
And, don’t go crazy working your core muscles. Spot training your core not only isn’t effective for trimming belly fat, but you’re more likely to hurt your neck and back. But, combining cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet can help impact your overall fat loss.
At Fitness 4 Home Superstore, we carry the fitness industry’s top lines of cardio and strength equipment from top equipment brands. Stop into any of our three Phoenix area stores, as well as our selection of pre-owned fitness equipment. Find the perfect equipment choices to help you trim that belly!
