How to Work Out to Lose Belly Fat and Get Abs

If I had a pound for every time someone asked me how to lose belly fat and get abs, I'd be very rich. As a trainer, it's my job to keep it 100 percent with you. Spot reduction doesn't work, which is why I always recommend people focus on losing overall body fat instead of just belly fat. Doing so will allow you to increase your lean muscle mass and decrease the total amount of fat mass you have. Because muscle is more metabolically active than, the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn.

Instead of worrying about getting your abs to show, I always advise focusing on strengthening your core. There's nothing wrong with wanting to see your abs, but having true core strength is more important, in my opinion. A strong core will help stabilise your spine, improve your posture, help prevent lower-back pain, and help you perform explosive movements like sprints better.

If you're a beginner (someone who has never worked out or rarely works out), I recommend starting with two to three days of strength training and one to two days of cardio a week to lose belly fat. Follow this weekly format for at least four to six weeks in order to build your base strength foundation. If you're more experienced, I recommend doing four to five days of strength training and two days of cardio per week. Go on a run, sprint, do HIIT workouts, swim, cycle, or dance — just get moving.

Because I'm not working one-on-one with you, you'll more than likely have to experiment with your training split to find what works best for you. Strength training three days per week and doing cardio twice a week may work for some and not for others. Most importantly, find something that you're excited to do. The last thing you want is to go into a workout dreading it.

Here are a few strength and ab workouts to get you started:

Image Source: Getty / Nastasic