Shrink Hanging Belly Fat With a Top Trainer’s Bodyweight Workout

If you've tried to get rid of hanging belly fat, you know how stubborn it can be. Fat around the midsection is probably the hardest to get rid of. The great news is that with just several simple bodyweight workouts per week and an effective diet for losing weight, you can blast stubborn belly fat for good. Check out the #1 bodyweight workout to shrink hanging belly fat, and reclaim your waistline.

There are a few reasons I like bodyweight workouts for burning belly fat. The first is that you can perform them with little-to-no equipment. Second of all, the exercises are simple and do not have a major learning curve before you start seeing results. Finally, bodyweight workouts are quick and effective, going against the need to spend hours in the weight room just to see results.

The following bodyweight workout hits the main muscle groups across your whole body and allows you to increase or decrease your intensity depending on your current fitness level. Perform each exercise for three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Rest for 60 seconds between sets, and perform the workout up to three times per week.

Keep reading to learn more, and next, don't miss 6 Tips for Women To Lose Belly Fat & Keep It Off.

Lunge Jumps

jump lunges illustration to shrink hanging belly fat — Shutterstock

Lunge jumps are excellent for blasting your quads and upping your metabolism while building strength, power, and stability. This is also an excellent move to include in a workout to shrink hanging belly fat.

Begin in a lunge position, and quickly lower toward the bottom. As you push your front foot down to stand up, explode through both feet and legs to clear the floor at the top. Absorb the landing, and immediately drive into the next repetition.

You can decrease the difficulty of this exercise by skipping the jump and performing regular lunges. For increased difficulty, switch your legs midair, and land in the opposite stance.

Get Rid of Hanging Belly Fat With This Cardio & Strength Workout

Plyo Pushups

Plyometric pushups increase the difficulty of pushups without adding equipment.

When performing plyo pushups, lower toward the floor in a plank position by bending your elbows. Then, quickly push through both hands forcefully, and clear the ground. Absorb your landing, and immediately explode into your next rep.

To decrease difficulty, perform standard pushups. To increase the difficulty, elevate your feet. Be sure to avoid letting your hips sag by keeping your core engaged the entire time.

Squat Jumps

fitness duo performing jump squats at the gym — Shutterstock

Any bodyweight workout that doesn't include squats is out of the question—unless you have a physical reason that prevents you from squatting. That being said, squats hit the major lower body muscles very effectively. Additionally, training the functional movement of squatting itself helps you maintain mobility and independence as you age. Jump squats are a great explosive squatting variation you can use to jack up the intensity of your bodyweight workout.

To perform jump squats, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a half squat down, then quickly drive upward through both feet and jump off the ground, raising your arms overhead.
As you land, absorb the landing with a full-depth squat, then explode into the next repetition.

Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are one of my favorite bodyweight core exercises to include as part of a belly fat reduction program.

Begin in a plank position. Elevate one foot off the ground, and bring that knee toward your chest. As your thigh makes contact with your torso, quickly extend your leg, and switch off to the other side. Find a rhythm back and forth with each repetition, and complete 20 total repetitions per set, which is 10 on each side.

Burpees

Burpees are a full-body bodyweight blaster exercise that revs up your metabolism and trains explosiveness in a variety of muscle groups. Including burpees is a great way to add full-body power to your fat-loss routine. Additionally, the metabolic boost goes a long way toward keeping your fat-burning machine churning at full steam.

Begin each burpee with a jump squat. As you land, quickly drop down into a plank position. You can perform a quick pushup for extra intensity. Quickly bounce back with your feet under you in a crouch position. Then explode upwards into the next jump squat, and repeat for 10 repetitions.