You don't have to go to the gym to burn body fat. Work these seven tricks into your exercise routine to meet your goals.
For many people, reducing body fat is one of their top fitness goals. A balance of exercise and diet can lead to a whole-body trimmed physique. As little as 15 minutes of exercise daily can benefit you greatly.
Despite what you may've heard, you can't target a specific area for fat loss. Many studies have disproved spot-reduction techniques, such as abdominal exercises or upper-body resistance training. Fat cells from all over the body can be broken down when we exercise; they don't break down in one specific area.
Don't worry if aren't a fan of the gym. You can effectively lose body fat at home by being intentional about the habits and exercises you're following. These are the seven strategies you should start doing today.
1. Get your steps in
Walking is an ideal workout to do outside the gym. It can be done around the neighborhood or at a park. On good weather days, you can also get some much-needed fresh air. Plus, it's free and you can take your dog with you (if you have one).
Walking is also a body fat buster. One study found that healthy postmenopausal women lost 3.9% of body fat after 30 weeks of walking and 1.8% after 15 weeks of walking. While we can't target specific areas, walking can help lose belly fat.
According to Nature, 30 minutes of walking most days of the week showed a significant reduction in body weight and body fat percentage. The study even found that 30 minutes of walking may be as beneficial as 60 minutes (with a healthy diet).
2. Try intermittent fasting
One diet trend that has risen in popularity over the years is intermittent fasting. As the name suggests, this is where people fast for a certain time, and then eat at other scheduled times. One study review found that subjects who fasted intermittently had weight loss ranging from 0.8% to 13%. The idea is to force the body to use up its immediately accessible sugar stores and start burning fat.
3. Lift heavier weights
This point might seem counterintuitive since we just covered how you can't burn fat in one specific region, no matter how many stomach crunches you do. You can balance weight training to target multiple muscle groups or work on certain body parts as part of a whole-body workout. That may give you more balance and a lean appearance and help with body composition.
4. Start running or jogging
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Profile shot of man running on a treadmill at home
Azlin Nur Bakarudin/EyeEm/Getty Images
Another great exercise idea to lose body fat is to start running or jogging. Like walking, you can do it around the neighborhood or in a park, so it's free. If you are concerned about the weather, you can also find an indoor track at a gym or community center. You can also consider getting a treadmill to run or jog at home.
5. Focus on high-intensity interval training
This type of exercise, often shortened to HIIT, is where you exercise as hard as you can for short bursts and then spend some time doing lower-intensity training. A perk with this exercise is that it can be any activity that gets your heart pounding, from jumping jacks to stair climbing, so it's customizable based on how much room you have and what equipment you have around.
It's a fat buster too. It may result in a modest reduction of overall and abdominal fat.
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