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Home » Health Articles » Exercise To Lose Belly Fat 2 Ways You Must Change Your Workout

Exercise to Lose Belly Fat - 2 Ways You Must Change Your Workout

Do you have trouble trying to lose belly fat with exercise? If so, you are probably making some very simple mistakes. Learn how to fix them once and for all.

If you answered yes, then you are certainly not alone! Chances are that you are making some very common mistakes when you exercise. These mistakes are stopping you from being able to effectively lose belly fat with exercise!

This article will explore 2 very important aspects of your exercise routine that you must have correct if you want to finally start to lose tummy fat.

1. Circuit Training to Jump Start Your Metabolism

Many people simply do not know that you can lose belly fat with exercise by strength training in a circuit of different exercises.

It is interesting. The more muscle you work when you exercise, the higher the number of calories you will use during the actual working and in the hours after you are finished. To many, this is counterintuitive.

Many people think that strength training is a form of exercise that adds massive amounts of muscle, not helping to lose stomach fat.

I really want to help you see how weight training will help you increase strength, raise your resting metabolism, shape your muscles, get past frustrating plateau's, and last but not least, help you lose belly fat!

I do want to warn you though, do not make the common mistake of just doing "3 sets of 15 reps" on the machines in the gym. Machines can sometimes be a decent way to begin, but they are simply not the most optimal way to help you lose belly fat.

A more ideal alternative is to use circuit training exercise to help you get more work done in less time. Try using your own bodyweight and some functional equipment instead of the machines and you will see what a difference it makes!

Here is an example circuit training routine:

First, do a 5-10 minute warm-up

1. Inverted pushups ' 12 reps

2. Bent over dumbbell row ' 12 reps

3. Bodyweight squats ' 12 reps

4. Stability ball leg curls ' 12 reps

5. Side planks ' 5-10 seconds per side

6. Standing overhead DB press ' 12 reps

7. Stability ball crunches ' 15 reps

Try going from the beginning to the end with 0-30 seconds of rest in between each exercise. If you do this entire circuit 2-3 times, you will get a great workout that will help you lose belly fat and gain muscle in about 20-30 minutes.

This is just a sample exercise routine that illustrates that basic structure of a fat loss circuit training workout With this circuit training workout, you will exercise to lose belly fat as well as get stronger!

Always try to rest at least one day in between each workout to give your body a chance to recover. Remember that your muscles build up and get stronger while you are at rest after an exercise session.

2. Interval Training as Opposed to the "Average Cardio Routine"

If you have never tried interval training instead of the average long, boring, and arduous cardio routine, you are totally missing out!

The truth is, going slow on a cardio machine for 30-60 minutes like most people is not an efficient way to exercise to lose belly fat. All you are doing is training your body to adapt to the same workout, which in turn will have you burning fewer calories with each exposure.

Interval training help you lose stomach fat because it has a huge impact on your resting metabolism. This means you burn calories after the session is over.

One research study found that interval training burned calories for up to 36 hours after the exercise session was over. The same study found that people who used interval training burned more calories than those who did the normal slow cardio routine.

Here is the bottom line: if you want to exercise to lose body fat in the quickest and most efficient way possible, then interval training is a must.

With interval training, you merely alternate between high and low intensities instead of going at the same speed the whole time. If you use interval training directly after a circuit training workout, you will get a lot more work done in less time.

You will crank up your metabolism for several hours after you are done working out. This will help you burn many more calories that if you did the standard long, slow, boring cardio routine.

Now that you see a basic structure for your workouts that will help you finally lose belly fat with exercise, it is time to go give it a try. Losing fat does not have to be arduous and slow.

With the right exercise routine combined with the right diet, you should lose 1-3 lbs of belly fat each week, depending on what condition you are in when you begin. Good luck!

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Entelechy Speaks to Dr. Jay Conger about Leadership Development

"At senior levels of an organization, the ability to adapt, to make decisions quickly in situations of high uncertainty, and to steer through wrenching change is critical. But at a time when the need for superior talent is increasing, big U.S. companies are finding it difficult to attract and retain good people. Executives and experts point to a severe and worsening shortage of the people needed to run divisions and manage critical functions, let alone lead companies. Everyone knows organizations where key jobs go begging, business objectives languish, and compensation packages skyrocket." Elizabeth Chambers etal, McKinsey & Company, The War for Talent

In a recent interview, Dr. Jay Conger states, "Business organizations are not designed to be great training grounds for leadership development. They are great training grounds for execution of an existing business model and, if [the business model is] right, all you need are managers. The problem is that every few years that business model comes under attack and, when it does, you need leaders. Now the problem is that you haven't been developing them, so you get blown out of the water." ("Why Chief Executives Fail," May 2003, Management Today)

I've had the pleasure and honor to meet some of the world's greatest leaders and leadership gurus, from Sir Richard Branson, General Tommy Franks, and Captain Mike Abrashoff to Dr. Warren Bennis, Dr. Henry Mintzberg, Tom Peters, and most recently Dr. Jay Conger.

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Jay Conger to discuss the topic of leadership development and succession planning. Dr. Conger has found that companies who are successful at identifying and developing leadership talent address each of the following key components:

• Sponsorship â€" personal, active, and regular involvement at the highest levels.

• Selection â€" matching capabilities with organizational needs; avoiding complex competency models; acknowledging and addressing things that will derail a potential leader.

• Assessors â€" objectively and subjectively measuring performance and results.

• Participants â€" engaged and personally committed potential leaders, resulting in greater self-direction and organizational loyalty.

• Development linkages â€" using stretch goals and a myriad of assignments, participants are being developed â€" not merely identified â€" for succession in a purposeful and planned manner.

• Tracking â€" measuring the effectiveness of the leader â€" and the leadership selection and development process â€" to ensure continual improvement in developing the leadership bench.

In his book, Growing Your Company's Leaders: How Great Organizations Use Succession Management to Sustain Competitive Advantage, Dr. Conger outlines the characteristics of companies who are winning the war for talent through their leadership development systems. These characteristics include:

First, the most effective systems are simple and easy to use. All participants â€" not just those running the systems but candidates as well â€" have easy access to them. Data is secure but open to those who need it. The winning systems are nonbureaucratic, uncomplicated processes. As an element of that simplicity, there is a unified approach to succession management to ensure consistency and to maintain objectivity of succession management between different business units, organizational levels, and geographic areas.

Second, the best systems are developmentally oriented rather than simply focused or replacement oriented. System processes are clearly more concerned with the continuing growth and development of the employee than with an ultimate job title. They introduce a discipline into the organization that continually reminds everyone that leadership development and talent retention are critical priorities and every manager's responsibility. The system becomes a proactive vehicle for managers and executives to reflect on the progress of their talent and the opportunities they require for genuine development.

Third, highly effective systems always actively involve the very top players of the organization. The CEO and the executive team are committed sponsors and champions-proactively participating in determinations of talent and in "next steps" to ensure the maximum development of their talented employees. Effective succession management is seen as a critical strategic tool by senior executives for attracting and retaining their most talented leaders.

Fourth, best practice succession systems are effective at spotting gaps in talent and at identifying important "linchpin" positions. They highlight existing or emerging needs where there are potential shortages of talent within the firm. They focus intensively on linchpin positions-a select set of jobs that are critical to the overall success of the organization. These positions and the individuals who fill them merit and receive regular and intensive attention. The better systems also identify the best jobs for development and whether there are a sufficient number of these or shortages.

Fifth, succession planning still does the job of monitoring the succession process, enabling the company to make certain that the right people are moving into the right jobs at the right time and that gaps are being spotted early. The best systems incorporate frequent checkpoints throughout the year. These checkpoints monitor who is where and where the person should be going next. A checkpoint function is built into the system to spot a problem before it becomes a problem! Succession management is so important that the best practitioners don't ignore this function for even a quarter.

Finally, the most successful systems are built around continual reinvention. One of the clearest insights from our research is that effective succession management is a journey, not a destination. Best practice companies did not succeed in their first efforts at succession management. Similarly, none have rested on their laurels since having their process up and running. They continually refine and adjust their systems as they receive feedback from line executives and participants, monitor developments in technology, and learn from other leading organizations. To avoid the ever-present danger of becoming bureaucratized and mechanical, best practice systems therefore actively incorporate dialogues and debates about talent and about the succession process. There are continuous "conversations" about what is needed for the future of each candidate, about who should be where, and when. There are continuous conversations on the part of the guardians and designers about the planning process and how its utilization can be improved.

(Growing Your Company's Leaders, pp 12-15)

Leadership Development/Succession Planning Capability Scorecard

Entelechy has created a Leadership Development/Succession Planning Scorecard based on Dr. Jay Conger's research to help you determine the strength of your company's (or department's) succession planning/leadership development process.

If you would like to receive a complementary copy of Entelechy's Leadership Development/Succession Planning Capability Scorecard, click on the link below:

http://www.unlockit.com/docs/Leadership Development Scorecard.pdf

(Note: you must have Acrobat® Reader® installed to view the attachment.)