Jul 12, 20238 min read

Best Exercises For Belly Fat Over 60

How to combat belly fat - Trainer Cheryl Coppa brings you 6 effective exercises to get rid of belly fat naturally after 40, 50, and 60

By Cheryl Coppa

Can you lose belly fat even after 60 or as a senior? YES!

It’s one of the biggest complaints we hear in the fitness industry from all ages, but especially now as women over 40, since most of us experience a sudden and significant increase in the size of our waist and belly.

I’m going to share with you the most effective exercises to combat belly fat, but before I do, let’s cover some important facts to keep in mind.

Your Genes Determine Your Body Shape

I would suggest letting go of an expectation of having a flat stomach or 6 pack abs, hear me out why: The way YOUR healthy body looks is determined by your genetics, we are all built differently. We can all follow the same exact diet and the same exact workout plan, and come out with different-looking bodies. So, right away you should ditch comparing your body with someone else’s. Let’s learn how to work WITH YOUR body.

Different Foods Can Trigger Gut Inflammation

Another thing to keep in mind is what you are eating and drinking. Nutrition is very personal and different for everyone. Certain foods can cause inflammation in your gut, so no matter what kind of exercises you are doing, if you are eating foods that are causing you inflammation you will still have that bloated look.

Let me give you an example, I have a sensitivity to nightshades. This would be foods like; eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and chili peppers. These sound like healthy foods, right? Well, not for me! If I have too much, I will get a psoriasis outbreak, and bloat in the belly. So, in the morning, I can have a decent-sized belly and by evening I can look 6 months pregnant. Nutrition plays a HUGE role in the appearance of your midsection. Get to know your body, what it needs, and what you might want to avoid.

According to our in-house Dietitian-Nutritionist, Maryann Gallucci, a balanced diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins, and healthy fats is the general recommendation. Limit intake of sugary and processed foods as these will contribute to fat gain and inflammation. You will also want to eliminate sugary beverages and even “diet drinks” with alternative sweeteners. Stick with water, herbal tea, or sparkling water with lemon.

“Whether it be walking or doing HIIT classes, you need to be burning calories. Excess calories will be stored as fat. So all those extra steps, or parking further away at the grocery store, or taking the stairs will all matter when it comes to fat loss”, Trainer Cheryl Coppa

Stress and Lack of Sleep May Cause Belly Fat

Stress also plays a role in belly fat. It’s important to manage stress. We all have stress and will always have stress, it is necessary for survival - that fight or flight response! It’s just a problem when you don’t manage it. Too much stress will affect your cortisol levels which in turn increases belly fat. Exercise is an amazing and effective tool to manage/relieve stress. Other options are deep breathing exercises and meditation. All of which you can find here at Ola Ka Ola.

Sleep is another important component. As we talked about in last week’s blog, sleep plays a huge role in hormone regulation. Keeping your sleep schedule regular and getting enough sleep to keep hormones steady and not contributing to belly fat.

Now, let's get to the fun part; the top exercises we can do to combat the belly bulge! Two things I want to mention when it comes to belly fat and exercise:

👉🏽 Patience - In addition to the top exercises, patience is going to be very important, especially when it comes to battling belly fat! Just as I mentioned in the beginning, your genetics determine a lot about how you look. Your genetics also determine where you lose fat first and where it sticks around longer. This is why patience and consistency are crucial. Maybe you have already experienced this yourself or have seen it in someone else. When someone loses weight, you notice in their face first, then arms, then legs then belly. The order is different for everyone. So be patient, stick with it, and know you are well in your battle to fight belly fat.

👉🏽 You cannot spot reduce fat - While you can do that when training for the strength of a muscle, it cannot be done for fat. For example; you want a stronger core so you do core exercises. This will help with core strength. You want to lose fat in your belly, so you do ab exercises, this WILL NOT help with fat loss. Again, your genetics and your DNA decide where the fat comes off first regardless of what muscle you are training. This now leads me to What are the best exercises to do for belly fat:

Top Exercises For Belly Fat

The exercises that BURN FAT are going to be your TOP EXERCISES for belly fat. Knowing that as long as you are burning fat, with your consistency and patience you will get to the belly fat.

The bigger muscle groups burn more fat. For example; squats (working the big leg muscles) or Glute bridges (working the biggest muscle on the body, the butt) are going to burn more fat than let's say bicep curls or tricep kickbacks (arm exercises). So, for fat loss and belly fat think BIG MUSCLE groups and Full body exercises, so you get the BIGGEST burn! These strength training exercises will build lean muscle which can boost your metabolism and help you burn calories even when you are not exercising. This is why working towards and having muscle mass is the most effective way to burn belly fat.

“Muscles are your armour against fat.” Jack LaLanne

1. Squats

Squats challenge your big leg muscles so this is going to be so great for fat loss. Strength training your legs does result in fat loss. Squat it off and keep those squats challenging! A reason to never skip leg day (Leg workouts is Live every Monday at 8:30 am EST and also available on-demand), think of training your legs as your belly fat workout!

2. Lunges

Another form of leg training and more challenging than the squat. All variations of lunges are going to deliver an amazing fat burn.

3. Glute Bridges

The biggest muscle on the body. It’s no wonder when we first released our Booty Program three years ago, we were getting results and testimonials that looked like this:

“I had a Mother’s Day dinner with some friends and everyone commented on my weight loss and had to tell them what I was doing!”.

“Since day one of starting the booty program, I am down 14 lbs and 19 inches.”

These testimonials came after three months of doing the booty training 3x a week for 30 minutes. Booty training is also how I personally keep my belly fat in check. Learn more about the benefits of Booty training here.

4. Squat Press

This is a full-body exercise which is another way to get more fat burn out of your exercises. More muscles are working here at once, so there is more burn. Once you have mastered the squat and the overhead press, you can combine and do it together. You have the legs, back, shoulder, core, and arms all working - a great fat-burning exercise! An exercise that is a staple in my full-body training.

5. Brisk movements

Whether it be walking or HIIT classes, you need to be burning calories. Excess calories will be stored as fat. So all those extra steps, or parking further away at the grocery store, or taking the stairs will all matter when it comes to fat loss. I always recommend HIIT training, especially our exclusive one-of-a-kind HIIT training at Ola because it is not just cardio. This is a class that is combined with cardio, strength, mobility, and balance. When you get the muscles involved, you will always burn more fat because muscle burns fat. Having muscle on your body is like having a fat burner on your body all the time. Remember, building muscle will also burn fat.

6. Hypopressive / Low-Pressure Fitness

This type of exercise does not burn fat, BUT it does change the shape of your core and midsection without adding bulk. You can lose inches off your belly by learning this technique. This happens because this trains the inner corset muscles of the core. Many women, because of pregnancy, weight gain, sedentary life, or poor posture experience bulging in the belly. This is a result of the ab muscles separating. This technique will pull them back together and will result in a narrower waist even without the fat burn. Definitely, a technique I can’t skip over when recommending exercises for belly fat or the shape of one’s midsection. This technique is covered in PHASE 4 of our Core & Pelvic Floor Restore Program as well as in our weekly Core & Pelvic Floor Maintenance Class every Thursday morning (all of which are available on demand as well).

You Cannot Spot-Train Fat

This might come as a shock to you that burning belly fat is not necessarily about training the core muscles. In most cases, if one was to try to target belly fat by doing things such as abdominal crunches, you would get more of a bulkier look. You would be spending time doing exercises that are not burning fat. You might feel a burn in your abs, but you are just training a small portion of your core. And remember - you can not spot-train fat. This often leaves women feeling defeated when they see no change with all the time and effort they have invested. When it comes to fat burn, especially the stubborn belly fat, think big muscles = big fat burn, and do it consistently! This is why finding a sustainable program is important, something you can stick with long term because battling the bulge is not a 30-day challenge. Do something you can stick with so once you do burn the belly fat, you can keep it in check moving forward.

What Would a Belly Fat Fitness Plan Look Like?

I will give you a few examples as there is more than one way you can do this. You can get a plan that fits your life, your likes, and your availability.

These are just a few of the plans that have been successful for belly fat loss:

PLAN 1 - Booty class 3x a week

PLAN 2 - Full body class 5x a week

PLAN 3 - Lower body class 1x a week

HIIT class 2x a week

Full Body Strength Class 1x a week

*In all these plans including a pelvic floor / core training such as the Hypopressives/low pressure fitness to narrow the inner corset muscles.

These are just a few examples! These plans can always be changed/modified based on you. Having a guide is always helpful to keep you progressing based on your abilities.

If these recommendations sound too much for you, you need the “LET’S START” program! Everyone needs a safe and strong start and this is a program that teaches you the basics at a nice comfortable pace so you can start and continue the belly fat fight safely, confidently, and effectively.

Are you ready to burn belly fat? The next step is on you! Join now

I’ll see you in class!

Yours,

Cheryl

About Cheryl Coppa