Be it zipping up your jeans, tucking in your shirt, flaunting that new bodyline dress or simply draping a saree, that bothersome, annoying belly fat bulging out can be a real buzzkill and ruin you’re A-game. If that unappealing, excess fat idling around your abdomen just won't seem to take a cue to leave, you my dear are not alone. The flabby, rounded tummy encompassing your abdomen is a common condition plaguing a lot of people nowadays that goes by the name 'Potbelly’.

What Is A Potbelly?

A pot belly is a condition which describes the accumulation of excess fat or adipose tissue around the belly. In a general sense, if the fat around the stomach area is more than one inch in thickness, it will give the appearance of an inverted pot depicting it as a potbelly. When combined with weak abdominal muscles, the potbelly becomes much more prominent.

Belly fat is of two types; mainly Subcutaneous fat and Visceral fat. While subcutaneous fat is the fat that is accumulated right beneath the skin, visceral fat is the fat that is usually stored around the organs. It is the visceral fat that gets accumulated in the abdominal region making the potbelly so stubborn and difficult to get rid of.

What Causes Potbelly?

A potbelly mainly occurs due to excess body fat which is often the result of following a diet which has too many calories, or not burning enough of it, or sometimes even a combination of both. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle characterised by consuming high-fat and high-calorie foods and no exercise increases the incidence of a potbelly. Even consuming too much alcohol, genetic factors and a poor sleep schedule make a person more prone to storing fat in the abdomen.

Also Read: Struggling With Belly Flab? Try These 5 Tricks For A Flat Tummy

How To Lose Belly Fat?

While modifying the diet into a healthier version and including a plethora of fresh fruits, vegetables, fluids and fibre-rich components and reducing the intake of sugar, oily, spicy and fast food, can extensively help a person adapt to a healthier lifestyle. But it is also extremely necessary to incorporate exercises into the routine life to burn excess calories and get rid of pot belly fat.

Certain exercises like cardio and strength training activities when done on a routine basis can help a person lose the stubborn fat around the belly. Apart from cardio, crunches and ab exercises, one should, more importantly, emphasize strength training at least 3 times a week, as they burn more calories than normal cardio workout, builds and maintains lean muscle mass, strengthens the core abdominal muscles and bolsters the overall metabolism.

Also Read: Yogasana For Flat Tummy: Spectacular Yoga Poses To Reduce Belly Fat

However, to maintain a healthy weight and impressive physique, one needs to follow the tips and tricks of proper diet and exercise and more importantly stick to them religiously!

So, without further ado, jump into an activewear ensemble, play the best upbeat music to pump your mood and perform these 5 exercises that speed up weight loss in no time and help get rid of a potbelly stomach naturally!

3 Best Exercises To Get Rid Of Potbelly Stomach

Flutter Kicks

Lie down on your back while facing up. Keep both your hands beneath your buttocks. Now, while keeping your lower back on the ground, lift your legs slightly past the height of the hips and keep your core engaged. Criss-cross your legs one over the other, switching off which leg is on top, and keeping both your legs off the ground the entire time. For increasing the intensity of the workout, heave your head and neck off the floor. The wider one brings out the legs with each cross, the more pull you’ll feel in your ab muscles. Repeat this exercise for up to 30 seconds, take a minute break and do it in a set of 5.

Crunches

Lie down on your back. Place your feet on the floor, keeping them hip-width apart. Now, bend your knees and place your hands across your chest. Contract your ab muscles and take a deep breath. While breathing out, lift your upper body and keep your head and neck relaxed. Inhale and return to the starting position. Do it for 30 seconds, relax for a minute and continue four more times.

Plank

Get down on the floor. Keep your elbows directly underneath your shoulders and straighten up your legs. Balance your entire weight on your elbows and your toes. Now, squeeze your glutes and abdominal core muscles to create full-body tension as if you are pulling your belly button towards your spine. Contract your lower back so that it forms a straight line. Ensure that you don’t let your pelvis come down or your buttocks rise. Keep your gaze down and your neck in a neutral position. Be in that stance for 30 seconds and come back to the standing position. Repeat the exercise 4 more times.

High Knee

Stand straight with your feet placed hip-to-shoulder-width apart and your arms on either side of your body. Look straight ahead, open your chest and engage your core muscles. Start the exercise by bringing your right knee towards the chest, slightly above the waist level while also simultaneously, moving your left hand into a pumping motion. Swiftly lower your left leg and right hand and repeat with your right hand and left leg. Alternate with your left and right leg for the desired time and continue this for 1 minute.

Russian Twist

Start by pressing your feet into the floor or extending them straight out as you get a stretch for the movement. Breathe deeply and exhale with each twist and inhale while returning to the centre. Now, as you twist, keep both your arms horizontal to the floor or reach down to tap the floor beside you. Engage your back and abdominal muscles throughout the exercise. To ensure more stability of the core muscles, cross your legs and avoid slouching or bending your spine.