Women aren’t the only ones who want to try to lose belly fat, yet all the information out there tends to be geared specifically toward women. If you want to shed those extra layers of belly fat to reveal the glorious six-pack beneath, then you will want to read on and learn how to lose body fat for men.
1. Men Have the Upper Hand
When comparing men and women, men tend to have a naturally lower percentage of body fat. Women’s bodies store extra fat to prepare the body for childbirth. This is yet another part of childbirth that men just don’t have to worry about. Less fat in your body equals less fat in the midsection. This is a great starting advantage.
Men also tend to have faster metabolisms, because they have a higher muscle mass and lower percentage of body fat. It takes the body more energy to maintain muscle than it does fat, so you will naturally burn more calories with less effort. At least some of those calories burned will be fat calories.
2. Use Strength Training and Bulking to Your Advantage
You probably already strength train on a regular basis, and this is a great way to ensure that you lose belly fat, even if you aren’t specifically trying to target your abdominal muscles. In addition to building bigger muscles, strength training exercises increase your muscle mass. A body that has a higher percentage of muscle will burn more fat. When you bulk up and try to increase your muscle mass, you will also try to drive your fat percentage as low as possible. This is the most effective way to lose belly fat quickly, as well as fat from the rest of your body.
3. Incorporate Cardio into Your Workouts
It’s quite unfortunate that many men feel that cardio exercise isn’t masculine enough for them. Cardio exercise may be boring, but its health benefits are well worth the time spent pounding the pavement. Cardio exercise promotes good heart health and gives you a lower resting heart rate. But most importantly, it is one of the best ways to burn more fat.
Whenever you burn more calories, you will also be burning extra fat. When you combine intense cardio with strength training, you maximize the fat burned, and minimize the fat gain from your food consumption by adding muscle mass.
4. Work Those Ab Muscles
You will not be able to get a set of six-pack abs if you do not build up those muscles. The only way to do that is to give your abdominal muscles a good workout, through crunches, sit-ups and more advanced ab exercises. A higher intensity ab workout will be more effective, so be sure to work out as hard as you can. Be sure to do a variety of ab exercises, so each muscle group gets worked on.
While you are focusing on lowering your body fat, you cannot forget to work your abs. The best approach to lowering belly fat and producing impressive six-pack abs is a well-rounded approach that attacks the problem from every angle.
5. Don’t Think You Can Lose Belly Fat by Focusing On Exercise Alone
If you take a look at the guys with the best bodies, they all have one thing in common. They follow a very regimented diet plan in addition to getting plenty of workouts in. If losing belly fat and getting a six-pack is a priority to you, you will just have to suck it up and put yourself on a strict diet and nutrition plan. The following tip will help you create the ideal plan to maximize your fat loss.
6. Create a Well Rounded Nutrition Plan
No amount of exercise can compensate for a poor diet. You will not see results if you continue to eat whatever you want whenever you want. It might be easy to make time to work out every day, but it takes a lot of discipline to follow a strict nutrition plan. Here is a step-by-step plan to improve your nutrition to maximize your fat loss, especially belly fat.
- Step 1: Eat More Proteins: This part sounds easy right? Not so much. You’ve got to be sure to eat the right types of proteins, which are lean proteins like chicken, turkey, fish, and nuts. You can eat red meat, but you should definitely eat it sparingly.
- Step 2: Cut Your Fat Intake: You won’t lose belly fat if you regularly binge out on fatty foods. You will have to strongly limit your fat intake to fats that are healthy and not nearly as damaging to your midsection. Monounsaturated fats are the best type of fats to eat. They are the so-called “healthy fats” that your body actually needs to have, so don’t cut out fats completely. The best types of foods with healthy fats include nuts, peanut butter, and different kinds of oils such as olive oil and soybean oil. Avoid saturated fats and trans fats because they provide almost no nutritional benefit.
- Step 3: Cut Carbs Your body needs carbs for energy, but we tend to eat too many carbs. Reduce your carb intake so your body doesn’t convert the extra carbs to extra fat, and counteract all the hard work you are doing to lose belly fat.
- Step 4: Up Your Intake of Water, Fruits, and Veggies: Man cannot subsist on meat alone. Balance out your diet with plenty of water, fruits and vegetables, to insure you are getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs.
7. Don’t Let Alcohol Be Your Downfall
It is extremely important to remember that alcohol is made up almost exclusively of carbohydrates, and your body will be converting those extra carbohydrates into fat. It is amazing how damaging a few beers a day can be to your belly fat. They definitely call it the beer belly for a reason. If losing belly fat is your goal, you will have to cut back on the beers as well as any other type alcohol consumption.
In order to reveal a set of six-pack abs, you will have to learn how to lose belly fat for men. There are no short cuts and no secrets, just a lot of hard work and the right exercise and nutrition strategies. Follow these tips and you will shed that extra belly fat soon enough.
