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5 Best Exercises To Lose Your 'Stomach Donut' For Good

These moves combine strength training with high-intensity conditioning work.
FACT CHECKED BY Alexa Mellardo

A common area where people store fat is in the mid-section, aka the "stomach donut." It's an incredibly frustrating area to trim down, considering it's where your body seems to lose fat last. To burn belly fat, it's essential to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. This starts with eating at a calorie deficit, strength training, and getting in regular cardio exercise. When you do these things consistently, you will lose weight, and the fat around your stomach will shrink. To help you out with the workout part of the equation, I have the five best exercises to lose "stomach donut" fat for good.

These moves combine strength training with high-intensity conditioning work. They help you trim down the stomach area because they are compound movements that target multiple muscle groups. This increases calorie burn, which helps elevate your heart rate and metabolism. Higher-intensity cardio enhances blood flow to your body and may release fat around the stomach.

If you want to get rid of your stomach donut, here are the exercises to include in your fitness routine.

Table of Contents

Dumbbell Clean, Squat, to Press

Dumbbell Clean
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
  1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Keep your chest tall and core tight, and press your hips back.
  3. Then, pop your hips forward and clean the weight up to your shoulders.
  4. Squat down until your hips are parallel to the floor.
  5. Drive through the heels and explode up.
  6. Use the momentum of the squat to press the weight up, then lower it back down to the starting position before performing another rep.
  7. Complete a total of 8 reps.

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Renegade Row

dumbbell Renegade Row
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
  1. Assume a pushup position with a wide stance, with a dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Keeping your core tight and glutes squeezed, take one hand and row the weight up by driving your elbow toward your hip.
  3. Return the dumbbell to the ground, and then perform a row with the other arm.
  4. Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps on each arm.

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Dumbbell Walking Lunges

trainer demonstrating walking lunges
Shutterstock
  1. Stand tall and hold a dumbbell in each hand.
  2. Step forward with one leg and firmly plant your foot into the ground.
  3. Lower yourself under control until your back knee gently touches the floor.
  4. Walk forward with the other leg, and repeat.
  5. Complete 10 to 12 reps on each leg.

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Rower Intervals

rowing row machine
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
  1. Hop on a rower and warm up for 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Once you're warmed up, sprint hard for 60 seconds and see how many meters you can row in that timeframe.
  3. Rest for 3 to 5 minutes.
  4. Complete another 60-second round, trying to match the distance from your first sprint.
  5. Rinse and repeat for 5 rounds total.

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Bike Sprints

bike sprints
Tim Liu, C.S.C.S.
  1. Warm up by cruising at a comfortable pace for 2 minutes.
  2. Begin sprinting as hard as you can for 15 to 20 seconds.
  3. Cruise at a slow pace for 20 to 40 seconds.
  4. Repeat again for 6 to 10 rounds.

This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.

Tim Liu, C.S.C.S., CSCS
Tim Liu, CSCS, is an online fitness and nutrition coach based in Los Angeles Read more about Tim