Fitness trainer’s 5 exercises to target belly fat, sculpt abs

Fitness

By Tracy Swartz

This routine will rock you to your core.

The director of an online boxing equipment retailer is sharing five exercises he claims will target belly fat and sculpt abs — planks with shoulder taps; dead bugs; bicycle crunches; hollow body holds; and mountain climbers.

Leon Bolmeer, boxing trainer and director of UK-based Geezers Boxing, told Gloucestershire Live that these moves should be performed in three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions, two or three times a week, with at least one rest day in between.

“Consistency is key,” Bolmeer said last week. “Stick to this plan and you’ll start to see and feel the difference in your core strength and definition.”

Plank with shoulder taps 

“Start in a high plank position, with your forearms on the ground, and your elbows stacked under your shoulders, with your body forming a straight line from head to heels,” Bolmeer explained. “Engage your core and tap one shoulder with your opposite hand, then return to the plank position. Repeat, alternating sides for the desired reps.”

Men’s Health notes that this exercise enhances core and shoulder stability, posture, and flexibility while testing balance and control. The outlet advises not allowing your body to twist, shift or lean, keeping your shoulders and hips square to the ground, and performing the movement at a moderate pace.

Dead bug

Start this low-impact pelvic stability exercise by laying on your back with your knees bent and your toes pointed up. Raise both arms toward the ceiling.

Extend your right leg in front of you and your left arm behind you at the same time.

“Then, slowly lower your extended arm and leg towards the floor, but don’t let your lower back arch,” Bolmeer told Gloucestershire Live. “Maintain core engagement throughout the movement and return to your starting position and repeat with the opposite arm and leg.”

Yorkville Sports Medicine Clinic in Toronto recommends keeping your spine in a fixed position throughout the movement, remembering to breathe, and exploring modifications to the exercise based on skill level.

Bicycle crunches

Lay on your back with your knees bent, your feet flat on the floor, and your hands behind your head but don’t interlock your fingers.

Lift your head and shoulders off the ground and rotate your torso as you bring one elbow towards the opposite knee. Extend the other leg long.

“Switch sides in a continuous motion, mimicking a pedaling action,” Bolmeer said.

Writing for Today.com, weight loss coach Stephanie Mansour argued that the bicycle crunch — intended to boost stability, coordination, and flexibility — is more beneficial than the standard crunch because it works the internal and external oblique abdominal muscles.

Hollow body hold

Lay on your back with your legs together and your arms extended behind your head.

“Engage your core to lift your shoulders and legs slightly off the ground, forming a slight ‘C’ shape with your body,” Bolmeer told Gloucestershire Live. “Hold this position for as long as you can maintain proper form, aiming to improve your hold time over time.”

Celebrity trainer Don Saladino grunted and shook as he demonstrated the move on Instagram in 2018.

Mountain climbers

Start in the high plank position — your hands should be under your shoulders and your shoulders should be over your wrists. Alternate bringing one knee to your chest and back out again to the plank position.

Bicycling magazine has five variations of the exercise that the outlet promises will “smoke your abs.”

But an obesity researcher recently contended that you can’t use exercise, diets, pills, and supplements to try to slim certain body parts.

“Spot reduction is a myth — we can’t control where our bodies lose fat,” Dr. Nick Fuller of the University of Sydney in Australia wrote for the Conversation last fall. “But we can achieve the results we’re seeking in specific areas by targeting overall fat loss.”