Losing belly fat is necessary for men who want a shredded set of abs instead of an ever-growing “dad belly.” Unfortunately, belly fat tends to be the most stubborn form of fat, requiring a combination of a disciplined diet for fat loss and the best exercises to kick your metabolism into high gear, build muscle, and add an extra torch to your fat-burning machine. We’ve done the hard work for you and put together six stellar, no-equipment exercises for men to lose belly fat.
Generally speaking, some form of resistance training is necessary to have the best shot at losing belly fat. However, if you don’t have a gym membership or equipment, you’re certainly not out of luck. Plenty of great exercises are available that do not require equipment and seriously boost your fat-burning potential.
The following are six of the best exercises for men to lose belly fat without equipment. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds at a moderate pace. Rest for 30 seconds, then move to the next exercise. Work up to at least five rounds of the circuit.
Jumping Jacks
The jumping jack is a light plyometric activity that burns calories and warms your body. You can add speed and rhythm to boost its metabolic benefits. While jumping jacks alone are insufficient as a workout, they are a great addition to an overall fat-loss circuit.
- Stand with your arms by your sides.
- Jump up, and spread your legs apart as you reach your hands out to the side and upward.
- Land with your arms overhead and your feet wide.
- Quickly bounce out of the position and return to the starting position.
- Repeat as quickly as possible while maintaining an effective rhythm.
Sprints
Most people do not think of sprinting as a form of resistance exercise. While running and jogging, in general, are not adequate stimuli for muscle growth or major post-exercise metabolism boosting, sprinting is different.
Sprints are an all-out effort to run for shorter distances and then rest. The goal is less about getting “cardio” and more about maximally exerting your muscles with speed, which pushes your body into using anaerobic energy. This level of intensity provides post-exercise calorie burning and builds skeletal muscle in itself.
- Lift your knees as high as possible on the stride leg while pushing off with the planted foot.
- Press your foot down into the ground as opposed to reaching with the front leg.
- Aim for a high stride rate; do not focus on increasing the distance between each stride.
- As part of the circuit, perform three 50-meter sprints with 10 seconds between each sprint, then move to the next exercise.
Squats
Next up in our top exercises for men to lose belly fat is the squat. Whether you have access to equipment or not, you need to include squats in your workout program. Perform your bodyweight squats with a rhythm for the 30-second interval.
- Begin with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Sit back and down by hinging at the waist and bending your knees.
- Push through both feet to return to the starting position.
- If bodyweight squats are too easy, add a jump at the top of each repetition.
- If you burn out on jump squats, you can regress back to regular squats.
Pushups
There’s a reason why pushups have been included in virtually every military fitness training regimen created. Requiring little to no equipment, pushups work your entire anterior chain. Most of the focus goes into the chest and shoulders. However, your core and lower body muscles must contract isometrically to keep your hips from sagging. This adds a little bonus training to those areas even though you focus on the upper body.
- Begin this exercise in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders.
- Lower your whole body to the floor, keeping a tight plank position the whole time.
- When your chest, abdomen, and hips are just above the floor, push through your hands to return to the starting position.
Burpees
If you need a full-body metabolic blast without equipment, burpees are your best choice. The combination of movements in a burpee results in a total-body conditioning workout and increases your explosive power.
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- Begin this exercise standing, then jump up and reach overhead as high as possible.
- As you land, absorb the landing by dropping down into a plank position.
- Quickly bounce from the plank position and pull your feet back under you.
- Explode through both feet to jump up and reach again before.
- Drop down into the next repetition.
Lunges
Lunges are the final exercise in this belly fat-melting circuit. You can perform walking lunges or alternating lunges in place.
- Begin standing with your feet shoulder-width distance apart.
- Take a deep step forward with your right leg.
- Bend your right knee while you bring your left knee to the ground.
- When your left knee is about one to two inches off the ground, push through your right foot to stand back up.
- Bring your left foot forward to the next step if performing walking lunges.
- If you’re lunging in place, bring your right foot back to the original position before beginning the next repetition.
