20 Exercises That ‘Burn Belly Fat’ (Spoiler: It’s Not What You Think)
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Sit ups
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Squats
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Lunges
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Walking the dog
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Sleeping for 8 hours (every night)
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Handstands
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Deadlifts
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Carrying all the food shopping in from the car in one go (you know you do it)
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Kettlebell swings
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Press ups
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Bent-over rows
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Lifting cooked chicken into your mouth
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Dancing around the kitchen to Beyoncé
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Sitting still
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Cooking
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Cleaning the car
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Laughing (big belly laughs, the kind that makes your eyes leak)
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Yoga
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L sits
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Jiujitsu
You think I’m joking. I am... but also, I’m really not.
I get asked almost every day: “How do I lose belly fat?”
Here’s the truth: It’s not about doing 1,000 crunches, 2,000 sit-ups, or 3,000 leg raises (good luck moving after that lot!).The answer to losing belly fat is both simpler and more complex than that.
🧐 The Truth Bomb
You cannot lose fat from just one area of your body. Let’s think logically: Have you ever seen someone with shredded abs but “bingo wings” or chunky legs? No. Your body doesn’t work like that. If it did, we’d all look like strange action figures.
To lose belly fat, you have to lose overall body fat.
Turned off yet? No? Good — you’re my kind of people. And by the way, I have a six-pack, so this advice is coming from experience, not just whimsy.
💪 Wait, are you actually asking how to get a six-pack?
If that’s your question, I got you. The answer is basically the same as above, with a twist: You need to build the muscle you want to see so that when the fat reduces, it’s revealed. In the immortal words of Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.”
I train core A LOT because I think there are far better reasons to build a six-pack than purely for aesthetics. Don't get me wrong — I love a six-pack look, but there’s so much more to it.
A strong core supports your spine, improves posture physically and mentally, prevents injuries (and can even help heal them), and makes you feel like a total superhero in daily life (hello, carrying kids and shopping bags without your lower back screaming at you to "please make it stop").
Your core isn’t just your abs — it wraps all the way around your body: front, back, and sides.
Crunches and sit-ups have their place (even if I rarely program them and almost never do them myself — they’re easy to cheat, and they can overwork your lower back if done wrong). If you want some of my favorite options, check them out [here].
Want better core exercises? Think squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, and press-ups. These challenge your core functionally, build total body strength, and tick multiple boxes at once. Think of “core-specific” exercises as accessory work. Efficiency is queen.
🏋️♀️ The Gym Alone Won’t Save You
Here’s the kicker: You don’t burn all your fat in the gym. Your workouts help, no question, but we all know people who train hard and often but don’t have visible muscle.
What really moves the needle happens outside those sessions.
And guess what? I can’t correct your form while you’re ordering two takeaways in one day, sitting on the sofa for nine hours, or getting four hours of sleep because you’re either too wired from TikTok or your brain won’t switch off. Those are “you problems.” but I am here for guidance so you are not alone.
This is where you need to feel your body (yes, here comes the “woowoo” nervous system stuff again — but trust me, it’s not as woo as you think).
🌙 Let’s Talk Sleep (Yes, Again)
Sleep is one of the most underrated fat-loss and recovery tools.
When you’re underslept, your body increases ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and decreases leptin (the “I’m full” hormone). Translation? As if you were a Looney Tunes character, everything starts to look like food — and you want all of it.
Notice next time: After a bad night’s sleep, have you inhaled breakfast in a flash, demolished your lunch by 10:30, and spent the afternoon foraging for chocolate? I know on my 5am coaching days, by 8am I’m ready to eat everything. On my 7am “lie-in” days, I can often wait until lunch. Same activity, just better sleep.
I know sleep isn’t always simple. I see you: shift workers, menopausal queens, parents, people with snoring partners… the list goes on.
My usual advice:
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Magnesium supplements (if your doc says OK)
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Eat as healthy and protein-rich as you realistically can
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Limit caffeine in the afternoon
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Eat at a sensible time before bed if you can — but don’t sacrifice sleep just to space out meals perfectly. Prioritise enough time in bed for a good 8-hour window.
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Use a sleep mask and make your room as dark as possible
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Try to go to bed at the same time each night (even if your “night” is 7am post-shift)
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White noise machines or Alexa sleep sounds can work wonders
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Ear plugs if noise bothers you
I want to say keep pets out of the bedroom, but who am I kidding? My dogs sleep with me and I love it. In my experience, the better I sleep, the better they sleep too — they’re not like kids in that regard. If you like to read and you want to know more about sleep, please read Matthew Walker's book 'Why We Sleep' it is fantastic (not sponsored, I just learned a lot from it.
💛 Embody Joy
Move because it feels good.
Take your dogs for an adventure walk. Run around with your kids like a total goof. Laugh (the kind that makes your eyes leak). Read a book that lights you up. Have lunch with a friend who lifts your soul.
Feeling good inspires better choices. It rewires your nervous system and helps you crave real-life joy instead of mindless TV marathons and autopilot snacking.
Every joyful movement burns calories. Every mindful moment supports recovery. ALL of this builds a stronger, happier you.
And maybe — just maybe — you’ll stop fixating on chasing the aesthetic of a six-pack and start focusing on becoming a healthier, longer-lasting, radiant version of yourself.
Someone you look at in the mirror and smile at.
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