Eliminate Belly Fat

Nobody wants to have belly fat. Belly fat is hard to disguise and it can take some time to transforming your "muffin top" into a "six pack." That said, here are a few exercises that you can do to help eliminate belly fat and tone your abdominal muscles:

1. The Bicycle Crunch

This exercise is considered one of the best exercises for the "rectus abdominis" (the long and flat muscle that runs vertically between the pelvic area and the fifth-seventh ribs). Here is how to do the bicycle crunch:

Start out by lying down flat on your floor and pressing your lower back all the way to your floorboards/carpet. Your hands should be beside or behind your head and your thighs should rest at a forty five degree angle to your pelvic area. Start moving your legs as if you are pedaling a bicycle. As you are "pedaling," touch your right elbow to your left knee and then your left elbow to your right knee. Do this for a few minutes and make sure to breathe evenly as you pedal.

2. Vertical Leg Crunch

The vertical crunch is another very effective exercise for helping to eliminate belly fat. Not only does it work out the "rectus abdominis" but it also affects the "external obliques" (the muscles located on both sides of the rectus abdominis" whose fibers run down from the ribs and in toward the pelvis) and the "internal obliques" (the muscles under the oblique muscles—they attach at the three lower ribs and to the lower back). Here is how to do a vertical leg crunch:

Start out by lying on your back and stretching your legs upward while bending your knees slightly. Contract your abdominal muscles and raise yourself up until your shoulder blades are no longer resting on the floor. Don't pull on your neck and keep your chin pointed upward. Make sure that your legs stay in a stationery position and raise your upper body in the direction of your knees. Lower your upper body back to the floor and into your starting position. Do this between twelve and sixteen times.

3. The Plank Exercise

This exercise is often referred to as a "core strengthening exercise" and will help other muscle groups as well as helping you to eliminate belly fat. Here is how to do the plank exercise:

Your starting position should be the "plank" which is where your body forms a straight line. Your toes should be touching the floor (with the soles of your feet facing behind you) and your forearms should be resting flat on the floor as well.

Make sure that your torso remains rigid and straight and keep your body in as straight a line as possible. Don't let your stomach sag or your knees bend. You should relax your head and you should be staring at the floor below you. Hold this position for ten seconds and over time try to work your way up to sixty seconds.