August 14, 2018 | Categories: Fitness
That roll of pudge hanging over your jeans isn’t cute. Here, celebrity trainers share their best belly-blasting exercises to target your core from every angle for a sleek waist, flat belly, and sexy obliques.
The Best Exercises to Eliminate Your Muffin Top
Remember when muffin tops were a good thing? It meant you got to nibble the firmest part of a delicious muffin. Now, “muffin top” represents that flab and fat that hangs over the waistband on your pants, from the front belly to the side of your pants, even to fat that can creep over the back of your pants. Unless you’re able to tuck all of that jelly into a pair of high-waisted jeans, these probably aren’t the curves you want to show off on your figure.
Luckily, by following a clean diet and doing a combo of cardio and strength exercises, you can lose fat all over, and minimize that muffin top overhang.
“I’d recommend cardio exercise to help target that core area,” says Liz Josefsberg, CPT, author of Target 100: The World’s Simplest Weight-Loss Program in 6 Easy Steps (BenBella Books, December 19, 2017) “I’d suggest running always. If you can’t run, even fast walking, just because you are twisting that abdomen area. Kickboxing would also be good for targeting that area,” says Josefsberg.
Get trainers’ tips for shredding belly fat, trimming your waist, and turning that muffin top into a flat stomach in no time.
“You have to think of abs as 360 degrees around your body,” says Josefsberg. “It’s not just the front panel that makes you have good abs.” Doing twisting exercises that work the obliques are great ways to work that muffin top area, she says.
Start in a plank position, arms fully extended. Bring your right knee in towards your left elbow, then straighten that leg and place foot back on the floor. Repeat on the other side. Aim for three sets of 20 seconds of this exercise, says Josefsberg.
“What you want to do is tighten—when you want to get rid of muffin top, you really want to tighten the abdomen and lower back,” says Josefsberg.
To do a superman from the floor, lie facedown on a mat, with arms extended out and legs straight back. Tighten your core and glutes and lift up your legs and arms simultaneously, so you look like a flying Superman. Hold for one count and then rest back on the floor. Aim for three sets of 20 seconds of Superman lifts.
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“This exercise works your glutes and hamstrings but also targets your lower back,” says Michele Sotak, a Chicago-based trainer. Especially when you’re lifting one leg up, that calls for stabilization and activates lower back muscles. Remember, you want to get rid of that back fat.
Lie on the floor facing up with feet flat and knees bent, arms by side with palms facing down. Lift hips all the way up while squeezing your glutes and keeping core engaged. Your body should form a straight line front shoulders to knees. Hold for 3 counts at the top then slowly lower for another count of 3 and quickly come back up. As a progression, lift one leg up pointing to the ceiling. 15 reps on each side.
See 8 Lazy Ways to Flatten Your Belly.
This exercise with a bodybar or a barbell targets the lower back big time, says Sotak. Get situated on the back extension at your gym, but don’t go too heavy with the load or overdo the reps. “In the beginning it might feel like a breeze but you’ll definitely feel the tension build towards the end of your set!” says Sotak.
Hold a barbell on the upper back with a firm grip to keep bar from sliding forward. It should rest on the traps and be aligned with your shoulders.
Face down on 45-degree incline back extension machine. Bend forward towards the floor, then raise back up, making sure not to bend torso too far at the top of the hyperextension, just parallel to the bench so that your body creates a straight line. Slowly lower your torso down slowly with a quick up. Do 12 reps in a set, suggests Sotak.
Read the full article Exercises to Blast Your Muffin Top on MuscleandFitness.com.
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