Target That Lower Belly Pooch With This Effective Workout

If you're looking to tone your abdomen and lose excess body fat in your lower stomach region, you may be struggling to find a healthy and effective way to go about this. While belly fat is notoriously stubborn and hard to lose, it's not impossible. That being said, there's no magic fix, either. Everyone's body distributes fat differently (via Healthline). Sometimes this is due to age, genetics, and hormones, and sometimes it has more to do with certain lifestyle factors.

Regardless, experts at Healthline recommend taking the same basic approach to weight loss, which includes eating a healthy and well-balanced diet and creating a calorie deficit. This means adding foods that are high in protein and fiber and low in fat to your everyday diet and not burning more calories than you consume. One way to do this is by upping your fitness game. In addition to limiting foods that are high in sugar and fat, you can lose belly by establishing a regular workout routine.

Simply working out your core is not enough to effectively target and lose body fat around your lower stomach region (via Prevention). However, there are certain exercises that work more than others. In fact, some of the exercises most commonly associated with core strength are not the only thing needed to lose belly fat. That's because they only work the muscles in one area of your body. While crunches and other similar exercises can certainly help strengthen your muscles, they won't help you get rid of any excess fat.

In other words, you can't target fat loss to specific regions of the body. This is known as spot reduction. "Spot reduction isn't a viable approach to losing belly fat," Corey Phelps, a fitness trainer, nutrition expert, and the creator of the Cultivate by Corey Fitness Program, told Prevention. "But there are some great core-focused exercises that will torch fat all over the body, resulting in a strong and more chiseled core."

As a matter of fact, experts agree that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best way to lose lower belly fat, according to Self. HIIT is a fitness technique that involves alternating between short bursts of intense exercise and brief periods of rest or active recovery. Unlike crunches, HIIT is a great exercise method to lose belly fat because it combines strength training with intense cardio, the goal of which is to elevate your heart rate.

"Several studies have shown that HIIT is effective in reducing overall abdominal fat and can help in the mitigation of symptoms of metabolic syndrome," Jacqueline Crockford, an exercise physiologist and education specialist at ACE Fitness, told Self. While most HIIT workouts last for 20 to 30 minutes, celebrity trainer David Kirsch recommends extending this to 45 to 60 minutes. According to Kirsch, working out longer will help you elevate your heart rate for a sustained period of time, which can help you burn more calories and belly fat.