So Long, Muffin Top

A fat-burning, belly-toning routine that’s guaranteed to whittle down your middle. By Martica Heaner, M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness

Are you noticing more ab flab with each passing year? An estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of the amount of fat in your midsection is said to be dictated by the genes you inherit. But how you live and changes that your body goes through as you age also play a major role. Hormonal fluctuations that can start in a woman’s mid- to late-30s, are often accompanied by an increase in waist size. Too much stress, too little sleep and eating too many calories can also contribute to belly bulge. Your level of activity also affects your shape—more active people are more likely to be leaner all over, including in their bellies.

But before you drop to the floor to perform what seems like the obvious antidote to expanding abs—crunches and other “core” exercises—realize that a bigger belly is caused from excess fat in the area, not weak muscles. So pummeling away at abdominal muscles won’t have the flattening effect you might think it will. What core exercises can do is strengthen your abs and surrounding muscles. Providing that these moves don’t stress your spine, too, a strong core provides spinal stability. And that core strength also helps you move more powerfully when you do cardio.

And that’s a good thing since what you need to do to slim down is more cardio to burn excess body fat (and cutting out extra calories in what you eat helps, too). By using up extra energy with aerobic workouts, your body pulls from fat cells all over the body. The good news is that ab fat has a higher lipolytic activity than lower-body fat. That means that more fat-burning enzymes are circulated in ab fat cells. And this may explain why many studies show that increasing the amount of cardio you do each week has a direct effect in helping to reduce your waist size.

Our workout has a fat-zapping effect because it includes high-intensity cardio bursts to help you burn more calories in between each of six super core-conditioning moves. For a maximum belly blast, complete the entire routine once through, then repeat two more circuits.

HOW TO DO IT: • All but one of these ab-toning moves uses your body weight and focuses on isometric contractions where you simply hold the muscle tight. • Wear supportive sneakers so that you can work at a high-intensity during the cardio bursts. • Work up to complete three entire circuits of this routine, alternating two-minute cardio bursts with a core move. • Do this workout four to six times a week. • Modify this workout to match your fitness level. Follow the recommended moves, or adapt them as needed by clicking on a similar exercise that is easier or more challenging. • Lower the intensity or time of each cardio burst if it feels too challenging. Slow down or stop if you feel too breathless or dizzy. • For move No. 4, choose a light weight that is three to eight pounds. If your shoulders feel fatigued during this move, lighten the weight. What you need: one weight and sneakers