Circuit Training Tips for Getting Rid of Belly Fat

In previous posts I discussed how to get rid of belly fat with resistance training and with interval training by applying one of the most fundamental fitness principles for muscle building and fat loss, intensity. Increasing intensity from one workout to the next is the principle of progressive overload, where our bodies are pushed past previous levels of strength and endurance in order to elicit an adaptive hormonal response to training. This keeps our bodies from plateauing, and allows us to make consistent progress in the quest to get rid of belly fat.

For beginners and beginner-intermediate trainees, resistance training and interval training should be the core of your belly fat battle plan. But once you progress past the basics to where your strength has increased (remember that as you become stronger, you should weight train less frequently if you’re lifting to failure) and your endurance can carry you through three to five intervals, it’s time to introduce a new method of training. The two methods above are more than sufficient for getting rid of belly fat, but even the most determined trainees could use some variety and new challenges to keep things interesting. And that’s where circuit training comes in.

Circuit training combines weight training and interval training into one action packed intensity filled workout guaranteed to burn the belly fat. But this type of training should not be undertaken by those without sufficient strength and lung capacity to make it through a resistance training and interval training session that I’ve described previously. Circuit training, as the name implies, sets up a series of different exercises into a circuit. Each exercise is to be performed with little or no break in between until the circuit is finished. And depending on ones level, rest times between circuits can be kept to a minute and a half to three minutes, or can be disregarded if the circuit is very demanding.

Circuit training for getting rid of belly fat is and should be full body training, selecting exercises that require a great deal of energy in a short amount of time, and that call into play many muscle groups through compound movements, much the same as in our resistance training exercises. The main difference is that weight lifted should be reduced in order to sustain continuous flow throughout the circuit, which ought to be a minimum of three exercises and can be as many as ten to fifteen. My personal preference is to keep the circuit under six exercises and to spend my energy on large compound movements to ensure the highest intensity in the shortest amount of time.

Some of the most preferable exercises for belly fat reduction are bodyweight movements and plyometrics, as the process of transitioning from exercise to exercise and going through a full range of body motion is great for calorie expenditure. Some of these exercises are pushups, squats, jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers, running in place or sprinting, jumping jacks, rows, upward rows, shoulder presses or side raises, and carrying weight while walking. And there are two ways to stack these. You can predetermine a number of reps per exercise, say 10 repetitions of each, after which you move on to the next, or, as I prefer, allow 30 seconds of an exercise before you change. Six exercises done back to back then will take you 3 to 4 minutes with transition time. And a circuit can be performed 2 to 5 times depending on intensity and your endurance level.

Here are a few sample circuits guaranteed to get rid of belly fat:

Beginner:
Pushups (if you’re not strong enough, can perform from knees. If can’t do knees, you can hold a pushup position)
Squats (bodyweight)
Crunches
Do each exercise for 30 seconds. Rest for 2 minutes after the circuit, and perform again. Do three sets three days per week, or as a replacement for your resistance or interval training session.

Intermediate:
Bent Over Rows (with barbell or rubber bands)
Pushups
Shoulder Press (with barbell or rubber bands)
Lunges (holding dumbbells)
Mountain Climbers (a pushup position where you bring one knee in toward your elbow and then set it back, and alternate. Great abdominal work.)
Perform each exercise for 30 seconds. Rest for 2 to 3 minutes after each circuit. Repeat for 3 to 4 sets. Perform 3 to 4 days per week, maximum; or can be used one day per week to supplement resistance and interval training.

Advanced:
Upward Rows (with barbell or rubber band)
Explosive Clapping Pushups/ or Decline Pushups with Elevated Feet
Jumping Lunges (Lunge, then jump and in the air switch legs, landing on the other side)
Burpees (squat, put hands on ground, feet jump back to pushup position, do a pushup, feet jump to hands, and jump straight up off the ground)
Body Bend V-Sits (arms extended over head, curl body to touch hands to feet)
Sprinting or Running in Place
Do each exercise for 30 seconds or 10 to 15 repetitions each. Rest for 3 minutes after each circuit. Do 3 to 5 sets. Do this no more than 3 days per week. If you perform this circuit 3 days per week, do no more than 4 sets of the circuit per session.

As with any program designed to get rid of belly fat or develop overall fitness, these routines can be performed for 2 to 3 weeks, but should then be changed in variety or intensity in order to keep your body from plateauing. Notice here that there is no more attention paid to working the midsection than any other group. This, as we’ve covered previously, is because when it comes to getting rid of belly fat, it’s a game of calorie expenditure, and not localized fat reduction. We cannot remove fat from just one spot on our bodies. It comes off uniformly, and so it’s essential that we focus on things which boost our caloric expenditure and raise our metabolism. These total body circuits are therefore ideal for getting rid of belly fat and toning up all around.