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Lose weight What to do to lose fat in the abdominal area
To reduce abdominal fat, you have to eat a balanced diet and exercise frequently, but not just any exercise: work all the main muscle groups intensely in the same session
“The Abdominal fat it is synonymous with poor health, so you have to take care of yourself and keep it at bay ». This is the first thing the personal trainer Rubén Río when asked what abdominal fat is.
Although for most it is an aesthetic problem, several studies link it to an increased risk of metabolic diseases: insulin resistance, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular and liver problems, among others.
And as with other parts of our body, in order to reduce abdominal fat, we must eat a balanced diet and exercise frequently: «The best way to lose abdominal fat it is with intense work with loads and a negative energy balance ”, explains Rubén Río. What does that mean? That you have to train hard (at home or in the gym) and consume a amount of daily calories that makes us enter a caloric deficit (consume less than we burn).
«It is essential that this caloric intake is regulated based on macro and micro nutrients in order to lose fat, stay healthy and preserve as much lean mass (muscles) as possible ”, warns the fitness expert.
Exercise not only for the abdomen
Unlike what is always believed, that to lose abdominal fat you have to focus attention on the abdomen and do planks, for example, the truth is that as the personal trainer says, what you have to do first is to train intensely all the time. body and having a caloric deficit: “The body does not understand zones to choose from where it wants to lose fat.”
When we train with free weights, says Rubén Río (@rubenrrsalud), our abdomen already works hard to stabilize us in conjunction with other muscles: «However, including specific abdominal work is interesting for them to gain some size and easier to make them appear under our skin».
Apparently, as you say, a good way to put our “metabolic furnaces” to work is with full body routines. These circuits, which other coaches like Miguel Ángel Peinado or the Pin Twins also advise so much, try to get us to work our entire body. An example of this would be to do push-ups, squats, cross climber and chest raise, so that no part of the body is isolated. “Working all the main muscle groups intensely in the same session is a good way to burn fat,” says Rubén Río.
Another way to say goodbye to a few kilos would be to practice HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training): work with the maximum individual intensity, that is, each person has to give themselves thoroughly within their limitations or capabilities. Stationary bicycle work is the most successful within this sporting discipline since if people not used to sport intersperse three pedaling sprints for 20 seconds with two minutes of rest during which they continue pedaling more smoothly, a most exhausting training session would be terminated with a total of five minutes -the excuse of time disappears in one fell swoop-.
The importance of food
As mentioned before, it is not specific foods that accumulate in the abdomen area. As Rubén Río and nutrition experts advise, the ideal is to consume unprocessed foods and perform a balanced diet, saying goodbye to high-calorie foods and eating healthier, fresher and more real food daily. With this and the practice of exercise, a considerable improvement in body composition will be noticed.