Have you been struggling to lose belly fat while at home?  It’s probably the most common area women want to lose weight.  Nothing makes you feel more unsexy than rolls in your waist.   But why is it so difficult to lose?  This post with discuss the best exercise to reduce belly fat for females.

While you’re here, don’t forget to sign up for the free 5 day clean eating challenge, you’ll get a grocery list, a 5 day meal plan, and daily health tips throughout the 5 days. Sign up now!

For years I struggled with trying to achieve a leaner midsection.  I gave up dairy, bread, sugar, restricting calories to 1200 a day, paleo, keto-ish, multiple workouts a day, hours of cardio running or kickboxing.  All my attempts left me in the middle of a pint of ice cream or sleeping the day away from exhaustion.  The overly restrictive diets, starvation, or endless amounts of cardio never got me the results I desired.

Until…

I made the switch a few years ago that changed my life.  See I thought I was doing what I needed to get the body I wanted.  I thought I was eating right and working out enough.  

But I was so wrong.

In this post I’ll go over how to exercise to reduce belly fat for females at home.  I know you’re stuck at home but there are great exercises you can do.  I can’t wait for the day my gym reopens but until then, these are the exercises that will give you the best bang for your buck.

You might also enjoy…

How to Eat Clean for Beginners Losing Weight

How to Drink in Moderation. Here’s How I Stopped (Over) Drinking

Simple Healthy Habits for Busy Working Women

Macro Food List For Meal Prep

Dieting But Not Losing Weight? These 7 Things Could Be Sabotaging Your Weight Loss

5 High Protein Snacks You Can Take To Work

What does a healthy meal look like anyway?

Food Obsession | Here’s How I Changed My Relationship With Food

5 Secrets to Losing Weight Without Being Hungry

The Ultimate Guide to Stop Sugar Cravings in Their Tracks

What’s worked for me

First of all, my results are my results and by no means am I saying all people will have the same outcome but this is what’s worked for me, k?  

In the past, I used to workout all the time.  I was a “workout-aholic” as someone once said to me.  I’m sure some of you out there can relate ;).  My workouts back then looked a lot different than they do today.  I spent more time running, kickboxing, and some dumbbell training, which I considered resistance training at the time.  I focused on how many hours I logged in the gym getting my sweat on and how many calories I burned each day.  

The problem with this was, I didn’t get the results I was looking for.  I always wished for a six-pack or some semblance of abs.  With all the exercising I did, it was really frustrating that I didn’t get the results I wanted quite honestly.  

A little over two years ago I started CrossFit style workouts and heavy lifting.  It was the most I’d ever paid for a gym and I was highly resistant to join.  Who the heck pays almost $200 a month for a gym!

Also… Talk about gymtimidation.  How on earth does one perform an Olympic lift and where do I even start!  Had my husband not been begging me to join, I would never have considered it.  Lucky for me, I had him to show me the ropes and be my accountability buddy to workout every day.  It also didn’t hurt that our wedding was a few months away so I had some extra motivation.  

Fast forward 2+ years later and I’ve gotten over my gymtimidation.  I spend less time working out and even have some abs poppin out!  I have felt, from a body composition perspective, I’m the leanest I’ve ever been (pre-COVID-19).  

Long story short, I used to do more cardio-based and lighter resistance workouts, for many more hours a week, and still had more belly fat than I do today.

A great way to reduce belly fat in females is to use strength training.  Wait, no endless situps and mind numbing, hour long cardio sessions?  Yep, good ole resistance training.  That means – lift weights.

So why is that?

Think about it.  Why is it that bodybuilders and weightlifters seem to have the the leanest bodies, smallest waists, and poppin abs?  They know secrets the rest of us don’t.  They don’t starve themselves, they don’t go on yo-yo diets, and they don’t do hours of cardio or crunches all day.  

What’s the secret?  

Building lean muscle mass.  See, when you have more lean muscle mass, your body burns more calories than someone who is the same size or weight than you, with less lean muscle.  

Lean muscle also takes up less space (size) than fat per pound.  So when your body composition becomes more muscle, less fat, you become smaller overall.  The weird part, however, is you might weigh the same – or more!

To get a lean, toned body, a bodybuilder’s goal is to increase muscle mass while decreasing fat (I mean aren’t we all…).  But they do it differently than most..  

Here’s the catch.  Not every person needs the exact same thing.  An ectomorph doesn’t gain muscle easily, while an endomorph gains fat and muscle easily.  Then there’s mesomorph, the one in the middle, that a little bit of both ecto and endo combined. 

I consider myself to be about 75% mesomorph, 25% endomorph.  You can look up what you are here.

Varied styles of resistance training (lifting heavy weights) along with high intensity interval training seemed to be the most effective types of workouts for my meso-endomorph body.  

FAQ: Best exercise to reduce belly fat

How can girls lose stomach fat?

Intentional exercise, especially high intensity intervals like HIIT, resistance training.  But mostly, with a nutrition plan for your body type. 

Which exercise is best to reduce fat?

High intensity interval training (HIIT) and heavy lifting.

What exercise burns the most belly fat at home?

When you don’t have access to gym equipment, for HIIT, you do bodyweight types of intervals such as sprints, burpees, fast jumping jacks, etc.  For resistance training you can get creative with whatever is around you.  I like using a backpack stuffed with books to make it as heavy as possible.  There are many bodyweight exercises that count as resistance training as well.  Hey, push-ups are STILL hard for me.

How can I lose my belly fat at home with exercise?

Practice doing the exercises below 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps each.  This is a sweet spot for gaining muscle and losing fat.  The sprinting recommendations for HIIT are below.

Best exercise to reduce belly fat: Actual exercises I do at home

While you’re stuck at home you might need to be creative with your use of weights.  But have no fear, you own more things than you think that will help you with this.  

Grab a bag or backpack, stuff it with books, bottles of lotion, jars, etc.  Throw on that pack and get moving on the exercises below.

There is one caveat I’d like to mention…  

I don’t believe in a one size fits all fitness plan for all women.  The best workout for you is the one you’ll keep doing.  So, really it’s just a matter of what you enjoy doing!  If you don’t love the idea of doing weight training – then don’t and do what you love instead.  Exercise is just as much about the mental component as it is the physical.

Depending where you are in the world and more importantly what your climate is, you may not have the access to do what you normally would do.  

Maybe you love to get to Pilates class but since the studio is closed, you find the next  best thing – mat Pilates following a YouTuber.  

Or you might love Barry’s Bootcamp and can’t wait for the day you get your swole body pump and treadmill sesh on.  But in the meantime, you have to make the living room work.  

For me, it’s heavy lifting, functional fitness style workouts, and yoga group classes I miss.  To get my resistance training workouts in, I’ve been doing modified dumbbell workouts in the living room and have been loving CorePower’s live streaming on Youtube these days.

Summary

It’s been shown all types of exercises will help you lose belly fat, while some may be more effective than others, if you don’t love weights, don’t stress about it.  Hone in on your diet because that’s going to affect your belly fat more than anything.