How to Lose Belly Fat at a Gym

Belly fat can be unsightly and embarrassing. Unfortunately, short of cosmetic surgery, there is no way to solely target belly fat when you are at the gym. This, however, will work out to your advantage, as getting rid of that belly fat requires you to get your entire body in shape. Getting rid of belly fat at the gym requires a lot of cardiovascular exercise, patience and motivation.

Things You'll Need

• Exercise equipment
• Target heart rate calculator
• Caloric needs calculator

Step 1:

Cardiovascular exercises, such as biking, jogging and elliptical trainers, are the most effective way to burn fat. However, in order to burn that fat, you must maintain a certain heart rate. There are a variety of websites that can help you find the heart rate that you should maintain during your cardio workout. Changing Shape is a detailed guide to finding your target heart rate, no matter your level of fitness. (Res. 1.)

Step 2:

Any exercise is better than no exercise. Too often, people make the excuse that they don't have enough time to go all the way to the gym. In order to get rid of belly fat or lose weight in general, you must make time. Ideally, you will set a schedule where you make time to exercise at least five days a week. However, doing 15 minutes of exercise is better than not doing any exercise at all. Prepare yourself for those days when you don't have time or you just don't feel like working out. If you have already planned a course of action for these situations, you are far more likely to overcome them.

Step 3:

Tone your abdominals. While toning muscle without doing cardio to burn fat is worthless, eventually you will have to tone those abs. Fortunately, there are dozens of ways to do this. Traditional crunches and oblique exercises haven't loss their ability to sculpt. If you're looking for more exciting options, Pilates is a great way to strengthen your core. Check out your local video rental store for ab videos or your local gym to ab-themes classes. With this many choices, toning your abs will never get boring.

Step 4:

Don't forget about your diet. Just because you are exercising doesn't mean you should eat whatever you feel like eating. In order to successfully lose weight, you must be burning more calories than you take in. Small dietary changes, like replacing juices and sodas with water, can cut hundreds of calories from your diet a week. To calculate what your caloric intake should be use Free Dieting's caloric needs calculator. (Res. 2.)

Step 5:

Be patient. While you can target muscles that you want to tone, you cannot choose where your body is going to drop fat from first. It can be discouraging when you don't see the results that you want, but do not lose motivation. Patience and healthy choices will pay off.