The presence of a small amount of fat in the lower abdomen is a fairly typical problem for male athletes. Since gaining muscle mass requires increased nutrition, excess calories can provoke an increase in body fat – even with regular workouts.
At the same time, the usual methods of getting rid of fat (for example, reducing calories) are not always suitable, since many men are afraid that this will negatively affect muscle volume. Below in the material we will consider tips that allow you to remove fat in the lower abdomen – without losing muscle.
Fat in the lower abdomen in men – how is it different?
Fat cells in the body have five types of receptors. Although a single cell typically contains several types of receptors, there are instances in fatty regions where a dominance of specific receptor types within fat cells can be observed.
It is believed that the abdominal region in men predominantly contains fat cells with alpha-2 receptors. The work of these receptors is closely related to hormones – including, they react differently to adrenaline (produced during training) and insulin (depending on carbohydrates in the diet).
There is an opinion among trainers that “regular” fat cells (with beta-2 receptors) respond better to fat burning than fat in the lower abdomen – and this explains why such fat becomes cold during training, even if the rest of the body is noticeably warmer.
What exactly does it affect?
Although the work of fat cell receptors is actively studied by science, the exact mechanism is still not clear. Probably, cells with alpha-2 receptors require low levels of insulin in the blood to trigger fat burning processes, while cells with beta receptors are less sensitive to this hormone.
In practice, this means that fat in the lower abdomen starts to burn either after 30-40 minutes of regular cardio training (or after 15-20 minutes of high-intensity HIIT training) – or right away, provided that the training is conducted with low blood sugar levels (such as right after waking up or 3-5 hours after eating).
In addition, the process of accumulation of subcutaneous fat depends on the age of a person – upon reaching 20 (and then 60 years), the metabolism of men slows down.
Problem Fat Strategies
Although the general strategy for losing belly fat is similar to the general strategy for losing weight (in particular, cutting calories is a must), there are a few fundamental points that allow you to quickly lose such fat:
How to lose belly fat?
1. Avoid Fat
In the process of losing weight, fat cells do not disappear, but only decrease in size – moreover, with an excess of calories, they can activate the accumulation of energy and excess fat. The best way to prevent this process is to constantly monitor so that belly fat does not increase.
2. Avoid stress and overtraining
Lack of sleep and stress at work increase levels of the hormone cortisol (lowering testosterone), the same hormone that rises with overtraining. If you want to remove fat from the lower abdomen, make sure that the general parameters of the body are normal.
3. Strengthen your core muscles
Pumping the lower press, although it does not directly burn fat, still has a positive effect on both strength indicators and capillary density in this area – with regular training, this will help burn fat as quickly as possible and without losing overall muscle mass.
4. Do Cardio Regularly
An emphasis solely on strength training is a typical cause of fat deposition in the lower abdomen. To successfully burn this fat, you will need either regular cardio training or brisk-paced light strength exercises (such as circuit training, crossfit, or workout).
5. Control carbs in your diet
Many believe that to burn problematic fat, it’s necessary to moderately restrict carbohydrates in the diet, with them constituting about 20% of total calories. Furthermore, individuals should consume the majority of these carbohydrates before and after strength training sessions.
How to speed up fat burning?
If you really want to get rid of the last vestige of subcutaneous fat from your lower abdomen, you will need either long enough and regular cardio or short high-intensity workouts with low blood glucose levels.
One of the most effective methods of burning such fat is morning cardio before breakfast. In the absence of carbohydrates, low glucose levels will keep insulin production to a minimum, maximizing the fat-burning potential of adrenaline.
An alternative solution would be to use intermittent fasting combined with short, high-intensity workouts (such as circuit training , HIIT workouts , or Tabata workouts ).
Contraindications
It is important that low blood sugar training is only suitable for healthy people who exercise regularly. Non-athletic people may experience nausea, dizziness, or even pass out.
Individuals with specific conditions such as diabetes or during pregnancy, as well as other medical circumstances, should strictly avoid this training strategy.
Losing fat from the lower abdomen necessitates either consistent and extended cardio sessions or engaging in low blood sugar workouts. In both cases, it is assumed that you are already controlling the calorie content of your diet and avoiding high glycemic index carbohydrates.