Many fitness goals can be challenging at 50, and losing belly fat is the most common agenda people have. Besides enjoying the way your clothes fit and perhaps a new size, reducing the amount of fat you’re carrying in your gut helps improve your overall health and quality of life. Being mindful of this is so important—especially when you get into your 40s and 50s. So we’ve put together some effective gut-reducing exercises to add to your routine ASAP.
It’s never too late to get started on a good track. If you want to drop the fat around your stomach, it’s important to maintain the right healthy habits. Besides eating a diet high in lean protein and vegetables, you have to perform aerobic exercise and resistance training throughout the week. If you’re 50 or older and trying to lose your gut, you specifically want to make strength training a priority. The reason for this is your metabolism drops as you enter your late 30s and 40s, and you lose lean muscle mass. Don’t stress, because you’ve got this. If you want to focus on losing fat, staying lean, and keeping your metabolism up, it’s important to lift weights in order to build and maintain your lean muscle. We’ve come up with the best gut-reducing exercises that are exactly what you need in your routine at 50.
Performing weight training exercises that target multiple muscle groups—aka compound movements—is key. These exercises will give you the biggest results for the amount of time you put into them. They will help you burn more calories, and help you reduce the fat around your midsection. Here are five movements that you need to put into your workout program. Aim for 3 sets of each of the gut-reducing exercises below, and next, be sure to check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.
Begin this exercise by holding a pair of dumbbells up to your shoulders. Keep your core tight, push your hips back, and squat down until your quads are parallel to the ground. Then, drive through your heels and hips to stand back up, flexing your quads and glutes to finish. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.
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Place your feet firmly on the pad of a seated row machine, and grab the wide grip handle with both hands. Pull the attachment out and position yourself so that your back is straight and your legs are almost fully extended. Keeping your chest tall, core tight, and knees soft, row the attachment towards your body, squeezing your shoulder blades together at the end. Then, straighten your arms fully until your shoulder blades extend before performing another rep. Complete 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps.
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Begin this exercise with the dumbbells up next to your shoulders and your palms facing each other. Keep your core tight and glutes squeezed, and press the dumbbells up, flexing your shoulders and triceps at the top. Lower the weight under control before performing another rep. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.
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Begin by placing your hands on a medicine ball or weighted exercise ball and getting into a pushup position. Keeping your chest tall and core tight, bring one knee up towards the ball, flexing your abs. Bring the knee back, then alternate with the other. As you’re performing this movement, keep your hips high, back straight, and have tension in your stomach the entire time. Perform 3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Start this exercise by wrapping a resistance band and tying a knot over a sturdy pole or beam above you. Stand below the band, and grab it with both hands and pull it down to your chest. Keeping your core tight and legs straight, perform a standing crunch, curling all the way down, and flexing your abs hard at the bottom. Resist on the way back up before performing another rep. Complete 3 sets of 15 to 25 reps.
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Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach based in Los Angeles Read more
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