Skip to content
Weight-management — Yoga — Fitness — Health-and-wellness — Fitness-and-exercise — Exercise — Workout — Science — Wellness

Essential Core Exercises for Reducing Abdominal Fat Beyond Age 40

Sculpting your midsection by performing basic standing exercises that target belly fat, engage the abdominal muscles, and increase caloric burn, eliminating the need for traditional crunches.

,   and  Administrator
3 min read
Exercises focusing on your core in a standing position can help reduce deep abdominal fat,...
Exercises focusing on your core in a standing position can help reduce deep abdominal fat, stimulate your abdominal muscles, and enhance calorie burning—eliminating the need for traditional crunches.

Essential Core Exercises for Reducing Abdominal Fat Beyond Age 40

Aging can bring on some unwanted problems, especially when it comes to belly fat. Visceral fat, the fat that wraps around your organs, tends to increase as you grow older, particularly for women. This type of fat quadruples between the ages of 25 and 65. To tackle this issue, it's essential to focus on the right exercises to address the problem area.

We spoke with Alwaleed Alkeaid, ACSM-CPT, a strength-and-conditioning coach, Ironman finisher, and all-around fitness guru, who shared the top standing core exercises that target deep belly fat. Here's what he had to say.

Standing core exercises are highly effective because they require greater muscle recruitment. By staying upright, your transverse abdominis and obliques are forced to brace against gravity and limb momentum, elevating heart rate and boosting calorie burn.

Now that you understand the importance of reducing belly fat through standing core workouts, here are the best moves that will help you achieve your goals. Complete 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps of each exercise:

Standing Pallof Press

  1. Attach a resistance band to a sturdy pole at chest level.
  2. Stand sideways, with your feet hip-distance apart, as you hold the band with both hands by your chest.
  3. Step away from the anchor point to create tension on the band.
  4. Push the band straight ahead of you, completely extending your arms.
  5. Hold for a moment before returning your hands to your chest.
  6. Perform all reps on one side before doing the same on the other.

Single-Arm Overhead March

  1. Hold a dumbbell in one hand and press it overhead, locking out your elbow as you do so.
  2. Stand tall with your feet hip-distance apart and your core braced.
  3. Start marching in place, lifting one knee to hip level, then switch to the other.
  4. Keep a straight posture without allowing the weight to move forward or to the side.

Diagonal Wood-Chop

  1. Stand tall with your feet shoulder-distance apart.
  2. Hold a medicine ball with both hands.
  3. Extend your arms overhead, above your right shoulder.
  4. Activate your abs as you twist or "chop" the ball diagonally across your body, bringing it toward your left hip.
  5. Reverse the motion.
  6. Repeat on the other side.

Reverse Lunge with Knee-Drive Twist

  1. Hold a dumbbell or medicine ball at chest level.
  2. Bring one foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering your back knee to the floor.
  3. As you rise, bring your back knee forward, driving it toward your chest.
  4. At the top of the drive, twist your torso toward the raised knee, keeping your arms extended.
  5. Use control to return to the start.

Standing Hip-Hinge "Good Morning" With Band

  1. Loop a resistance band around your upper back and below your feet.
  2. Stand on the band with your feet hip-distance apart, holding onto the band at your shoulders.
  3. Slightly bend your knees and hinge at the hips, pressing your buttocks back while maintaining a neutral spine.
  4. Lower your torso until it becomes parallel to the floor.
  5. Squeeze your glutes and press through your heels to return to standing.

By incorporating these exercises into your routine, you'll be well on your way to achieving a slimmer waistline. Happy exercising!

Enrichment Data:The top standing core exercises for targeting deep belly fat are those that engage the deeper core muscles, improve stability, and recruit multiple muscle groups simultaneously. These exercises are effective because standing movements require the whole body to stabilize, making the transverse abdominis act as a deeper "corset" muscle. Standing core exercises also elevate heart rate and increase calorie burn, making them an excellent choice for reducing belly fat.

In addition to the exercises mentioned above, incorporating exercises like kettlebell around the world, overhead carry with knee raise, dumbbell woodchoppers, and single-leg Romanian deadlift with twist can also help reduce deep belly fat. By incorporating these exercises into a well-rounded fitness routine, you'll be able to create a stronger core and see a reduction in your belly fat over time.

By focusing on standing core exercises, one can effectively tackle the problem of increased visceral fat associated with aging, particularly in women. Alwaleed Alkeaid, a fitness expert, recommends the Standing Pallof Press, Single-Arm Overhead March, Diagonal Wood-Chop, Reverse Lunge with Knee-Drive Twist, and Standing Hip-Hinge "Good Morning" With Band as the top exercises to target deep belly fat. These exercises engage the deeper core muscles, improve stability, and recruit multiple muscle groups simultaneously, making them highly effective in reducing belly fat. Furthermore, incorporating exercises such as kettlebell around the world, overhead carry with knee raise, dumbbell woodchoppers, and single-leg Romanian deadlift with twist can also aid in weight management and health-and-wellness. Combining these exercises with a proper fitness-and-exercise regimen can lead to a slimmer waistline and overall improvement in fitness, science, and health-and-wellness.

Read also:

    Related

    Latest