Forget crunches. For a workout that really flattens your belly, get up and move your feet. Studies show walking is one of the best ways to shed belly fat, in less time than you think. Researchers reviewed 40 years of studies on exercise and belly fat and found that just 2 1/2 hours of brisk walking a week--about 20 minutes a day--can shrink your belly by about 1 inch in 4 weeks.
Why does walking work so well? It appears to help reduce deep belly fat (called visceral fat) first, explains Tim Church, MD, MPH, PhD, of Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. "If you exercise enough to lose 10% of your body fat, you may actually reduce visceral fat by 30%," says Church.
All walking burns belly fat, but for best results, crank up your weekly MET (metabolic equivalent) hours--the number of calories you burn. "Shaking up the intensity with on-again, off-again bursts of energy will give you the most time-efficient, calorie-burning workout possible," says exercise physiologist Peggy Pletcher of Source Endurance, an online coaching service based in Austin, TX.
The Experts
Exercise physiologist Peggy Pletcher, consultant for Source Endurance, an online fitness coaching service, helped design the walking plans. Celebrity trainer Valerie Waters developed the firming moves.
What to Do
6 or 7 days a week: Do one of the Flat Belly Walks, following our pace guidelines, below. If your goal is to whittle your waistline with the bare minimum exercise, follow Plan 1. If you have more time and want to rev up your results, dive into Plan 2. To shed inches all over, go with Plan 3.
Find the Right Pace
Use a scale of 1 to 10. It's the best way to determine how hard you should be working, with 1 being very easy and 10 an all-out effort. If you're on a treadmill, try our suggested speeds, but adjust the speed according to your effort level.
Warm-up/cool-down: 2 to 3 (treadmill at 3 mph). You can chat with ease.
Brisk pace: 4 to 5 (3.5 to 3.8 mph). Your breathing is pleasantly harder. Can still talk, but with pauses.
Push pace: 6 to 7 (4 mph). Some huffing and puffing. One- to two-word replies.
Power pace: 8 to 9 (4.2 to 4.5 mph or uphill at 3.5 mph). No talking possible.
3 Flat Belly Walks
Plan 1: Speedy Waist Whittler
Time: 20 minutes a day, 7 days a week
- Start: Warm-up
- 3:00 Brisk pace
- 6:00 Push pace
- 9:00 Brisk
- 12:00 Power pace
- 13:00 Push
- 15:00 Brisk
- 18:00 Cool-down
- 20:00 Finish
Total calories burned: About 100 (based on a 150-pound person)
Plan 2: Lose-a-Size Tummy Trimmer
Time: 40 minutes, 6 days a week
- Start: Warm-up
- 3:00 Brisk pace
- 6:00 Push pace
- 13:00 Power Pace
- 15:00 Repeat minutes 3 through 15 (brisk walk for 3 minutes, push for 7 minutes, power for 2 minutes)
- 27:00 Brisk
- 37:00 Cool-down
- 40:00 Finish
Total calories burned: About 200 (based on a 150-pound person)
Plan 3: Total-Body Fat Blaster
Time: 60 minutes, 6 days a week
Note: If you're doing this workout indoors on a treadmill, start with a 3% incline for the hills, working up to 5%. If you're outside, try to find a loop with two hills about midway through that will take you about 5 to 6 minutes to climb.
- Start: Warm-up
- 3:00 Brisk pace
- 5:00 Push pace
- 20:00 Brisk
- 22:00 Uphill Brisk
- 28:00 Brisk
- 32:00 Uphill Brisk
- 38:00 Brisk
- 42:00 Push
- 57:00 Cool-down
- 60:00 Finish
Total calories burned: About 330 (based on a 150-pound person)
