It is the holidays season, so do not lie to yourself that you are not going to eat delicious cakes, cookies and other tasty food. In order to help you fit your favorite dress or pants during and after the holidays season, I prepared top five exercises to help you lose belly fat.

These exercises do not require special equipment, so you can do them at your house, at the gym, beach or park – wherever you like! It is enough to do 3 sessions of each exercise with 15 repeats, 4 times a week. That means that you should dedicate half an hour to yourself and your body shape.

#1 Crunches

Crunches are your savior! These exercises will help you burn the belly fat faster than ever and get a nicely shaped flat belly. There are many types of crunches you can try:

Regular crunches,
Twist crunches,
Side crunches,
Reverse crunches,
Vertical leg crunches.

All of these are as simple to do as they get. You do not need much space or any additional equipment. You could use a simple yoga pad or something similar so you feel comfortable. Here is how to do them.

For any type of crunches, you should lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Lift your hands and place them behind your head or keep them crossed on your chest. For regular crunches, you should inhale deeply as you and exhale as you lift your upper torso off the floor. Raise your back just a couple of inches of the ground. Inhale again as you get back down, and exhale as you come up. Don’t jerk your head forward while doing crunches.

Twist crunches as a bit complicated version of regular crunches, meaning that while lifting upper torso you have to lift just your right shoulder towards the left, keeping the left side of your torso on the ground. Then do the opposite with your left shoulder.

The only difference between twist crunches and side crunches is that you need to tilt your legs to the same side simultaneously with your shoulders.

Reverse crunches are similar to twist crunches. In reverse crunch, you need to tilt your legs behind simultaneously with your shoulders.

For vertical leg crunches lie on the floor or on the mat, with your legs extended upwards (towards the ceiling) and with one knee crossed over the other. The rest is all the same as when doing other types of crunches.

#2 Bicycle exercise

You do not need a bicycle for this one. As well as when it comes to crunches, you do not need additional equipment and you can do it in any location in Dubai. At Personal Trainers Dubai I recommend periodically working out outside, it is good to breathe the fresh air and train in nature.

To do the bicycle exercise you need to lie on a floor (or a mat) and keep your hands by your sides or behind your head. Lift both legs above the ground and bend them in knees. Bring your right knee close to your chest, while keeping the left leg away. Then take the right leg away and bring your left leg close to your chest. Keep doing this like you are riding a bike.

#3 Plank exercise

You probably already heard about plank. It is amazing exercise often used to build strength and endurance. Make sure plank is a part of your exercise routine, whether in a gym or a part of fitness training or any other type of training. My clients are always happy with the effect of this exercise.

For plank exercise, you should position yourself above the floor with your elbows on the ground. Support your legs on the toes. Your neck should be aligned with your spine. Look forward. Keep breathing normally. This is a plank pose. Stay in this pose for 30 seconds.

#4 Captain’s chair

Spoiler alert: you will need a chair for this exercise! Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should do it only at home, neither that you should bring your own chair to practice in the park. Just use a bench in the park.

Sit on the chair with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed. Keep both hands beside you with your palms beside your hips, facing downward. Inhale deeply and as you exhale bring both legs upwards such that your knees are close to your chest. Hold for five seconds. Don’t bend forward and arch your back. Bring down your legs slowly and repeat.

#5 Bending side to side

Bending side to side is yet another great exercise for reducing belly fat, and yet so simple! You don’t need any additional equipment for this exercise.

Stand erect with your feet together and your hands to the sides. Keeping your legs grounded, bend your body to the right as much as possible until you feel a strain on your left waist. Ensure your right hand is on the right hip, and the left hand is raised upwards. Stay in this position for 30 seconds. Then return to the original position and bend to the left, retaining this position for 30 seconds.

Additional tips

These exercises will make your belly flat, but only if you combine them with these simple pieces of advice about nutrition.

Cardio is your friend. Cardio is an easy and effective way for you to accelerate the process. If you are not running type of person, just walking or jogging will be of enormous help. Other possibilities are cycling or swimming. Cycling can be an amazing exercise for people who love being outside. Take a ride through the park, for example, it will do good for your mood and belly fat. Also, I mentioned swimming. Swimming has so many advantages for your health and body shape, that it needs a separate blog post (stay tuned!). For now, I will just say it is a great choice for cardio exercising.
Drink water. You should always bring a bottle of water with you and prevent teasing the thirst with other (unhealthy) drinks. One should drink 6 glasses of water a day, but this depends on your body shape.
Eat the right food. Reducing abdominal fat is 80% about nutrition. Nutrition is that important that all Personal Trainers Dubai clients get free specialized nutrition program according to their needs (health and body shape). Most important thing is to avoid takeaways and fast foods. Some other rules of eating right are no sugar, reduce sodium intake (use sea salts for example), include fat burning foods (garlic, onion, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, tomato etc.), include healthy fats and do not skip breakfast. Read more about the right nutrition in our blog about intermittent fasting.

Now you have all the information, so there are no more excuses. Do the exercises and you will look and feel better than ever!