16 Best Floor Exercises To Melt Belly Fat
Contrary to popular belief, the best way to lose belly fat isn't through jogging and just performing endless sets of crunches, sit-ups, and side bends. The secret to losing fat in your stomach area is to perform strength training regularly and to get in a mixture of both steady-state and interval cardio training. Pretty plain and simple! That's why we've rounded up some of the best floor exercises to melt belly fat. When you keep up this regimen along with eating a healthy diet, then the pounds and inches will start coming off.
These exercises will help increase your calorie burn, daily activity, and also keep your muscles stimulated to aid in fat loss. If you're not a gym person and prefer to stick with bodyweight movements for now, this is a great option. Keep reading to learn the best floor exercises to melt belly fat. And when you're done, be sure to check out 9 Lazy Ways to Lose Weight All Month Long.
Reverse Crunches
This list of floor exercises to melt belly fat kicks off with the reverse crunch. Lie down with your lower back flat on the floor. Keep your core tight. Raise your feet back toward your body, and flex your abs hard. Then, lower your legs slowly, maintaining tension in your core before performing another rep. Complete three sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Bicycle Crunches
Lie flat on your back with your hands at the back of your head. Rotate your body up by taking one elbow and bringing it toward the opposite knee. Fully extend the other leg by reaching your heel straight out. Flex your abs hard as you finish, then repeat with the opposite side. Complete three sets of 30 reps.
Side Plank Hip Lifts
For the side plank hip lift, set yourself up against a wall with your heels, butt, and shoulders touching the surface. Align your shoulder with your wrist, and stack your feet on top of each other. Keep your core tight and your glutes squeezed as you tilt and flex your hips straight up and down, maintaining tension in your obliques. Perform three sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Hand-Release Pushups
Assume a pushup position with your shoulders in line with your wrists and your back straight. Keep your core tight and your glutes squeezed, and lower yourself under control until your whole body is on the floor. When you reach the bottom, take your hands off the ground, then place them back to push yourself up. Flex your triceps and chest at the top to finish before performing another rep. Complete three sets of 10 to 15 reps.
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Figure 8
Lean back with your feet fully extended. Lift your legs a few inches off the ground, and begin drawing a figure 8 (or infinity sign) with your legs, crisscrossing while maintaining tension in your core. Once you complete one loop around and draw a figure 8, that's one rep. You can continue drawing in the same direction, or go in reverse for the next rep. Complete three sets of 8 to 10 reps.
Duck Walks
Start your duck walks by getting into a deep squat with your hips at least parallel to the ground. Keep your chest tall and your core tight, and take a mini step forward with one leg, then with the other. As you walk in this position, make sure you stay low while keeping all the tension in your legs. Walk down forward, then reverse the motion and walk backward to the starting position. Perform three to four sets of 15 reps, forward and backward.
Feet-Elevated Pushups
To perform feet-elevated pushups, begin by placing both hands in line with your shoulders in a pushup position while positioning your feet on top of a stable surface. Keep your core tight, hips high, and chest tall, and use your control to lower your body, coming down until your chest is an inch or two above the floor. Then, push yourself back up, flexing your upper pecs and triceps to finish. Perform three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Side Plank with Leg Raise
Get into a side plank position with your elbow in line with your shoulder and your feet stacked. Keeping your abs tight, begin to raise your top leg up. Lift the heel as high as possible, as you squeeze the glute hard at the top. Lower using control, then perform another rep. Complete three to four sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Split Squats with Pulse
Begin split squats with a pulse in a staggered stance—one foot should be in front, and the other foot should be behind you with your toes firmly planted. Keep your chest tall and your core tight, and lower yourself until your back knee touches the floor. Come up 1/4 of the way, then return to the lowered position. Drive through the heel of the front leg to come all the way up. That counts as one rep. Perform three to four sets of 10 reps on each leg.
V-Twist
For the V-Twist, get into position by lying flat on your back with your knees bent 90 degrees. Keep your core tight, curl up, and reach to one side while extending your legs out at the same time. Crunch hard at the top, return to the starting position, and then crunch up on the other. Perform three to four sets of 10 reps on each side.
Judo Pushups
This exercise is a great variation of the pushup, as it stretches out your core and improves your shoulder mobility. Start by getting into a classic pushup position. Drive your hips up toward the ceiling, and stretch the hamstrings. Swoop down toward the ground, leading with your head by your chest. Right before your body reaches the ground, push yourself back up, flexing your triceps to finish. Complete three sets of 10 to 15 reps.
Heel Elevated Single-Leg Glute Bridge
Place your heel on top of an elevated sturdy surface with your knee bent and your other leg up in the air. Keep your core tight, and push through the heel and the hip of the working leg, extending your hip up. Flex your glute hard at the top, then lower back to the ground, keeping control, before performing another rep. Perform three sets of 15 reps for each leg.
Floor Dips
Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your arms behind you. Push yourself up by driving through your palms, extending your arms out as far as you can. Flex your triceps hard at the top, then come all the way down until you're seated before performing another rep. Perform three sets of 15 to 20 reps.
Side Plank Oblique Crunches
Assume a side plank position with your bottom leg in front of the top one. With your top hand holding your head, perform a side crunch by bringing the top elbow toward the bottom knee. Flex your oblique hard, then return to the starting position before performing another rep. Perform three sets of 10 to 15 reps for each side.
Supine Vacuum Pose
Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Once you're in this position, exhale all of your air, and hollow out your stomach. Draw your belly button in toward your spine as much as you can. This will activate your transverse abdominis muscle. Hold this position for 15 seconds to start, then build yourself up to a longer hold, up to 60 seconds.
Hollow Body Hold
This list of floor exercises to melt belly fat wraps up with the hollow body hold. Lie flat on your back with your arms extended over your head and your feet straight out and together. Press your lower back into the floor, and slightly curl up, lifting your legs and arms in the air. Your body should be in the shape of a banana.
Be sure to keep tension in your core at all times and try not to compensate with your lower back. You can regress the exercise by raising both your legs and arms higher until you get the strength to have it lower. Do the hollow body hold three times for 20 to 30 seconds.
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