Whether you’ve had it for a long time or it appeared after a long period of your absence from the fitness hall, losing that belly fat is not that hard, but it needs some dedication.
If you are wondering how many squats you need to do in a day to lose belly fat, we have some bad news and some good news for you, but before we get into that let’s have a look at some facts.
The Importance Of Staying Fit And Healthy
Wanting to stay fit and strong is essential if you want to lead a healthy life, and it’s evident that almost all folks these days understand this.
Gyms are extremely popular, healthy food is becoming trendier, and people are acknowledging and taking into account the importance of calories and ingredients on labels.
However, we live in a world where secret ingredients are in almost every packaged food and we sometimes simply have no time and, thus no option, but to eat something store-bought or from a fast-food restaurant.
Leading an unhealthy life where the amount of unhealthy food we eat ‘outperforms’ the raw fruits and vegetables we consume can have detrimental effects on our health and look. In combination with a sedentary life, the appearance of belly fat is a given.
Can I Lose Belly Fat With Squats?
Squats are one of those staple movements in almost any lower body workout. Some people choose to do classic squats, others do unilateral single-leg squats, and others (who we all admire) do jumping squats.
It is a fairly basic and easy-to-learn exercise, something that might trick you into thinking that it is also easy to do. It’s not. When done right, squats will make your entire body burn!
So yes, to give you the short answer: squats can burn belly fat. But here’s what you should know: you cannot spot-reduce.
Losing belly fat when doing squats over some time means that you are losing fat and recomposing your entire body, not just your abdominal area.
There might be exercises and movements that are included in a training routine that are targeting certain muscle groups, though.
For example, on a lower body day, you are targeting your leg muscles which include your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and so on.
Similarly, squats are working for the lower body muscle groups since you are mostly using your legs. However, thanks to the engagement of your core in squats, you are engaging the abdominal muscles too.
This way, you are working on your lower body and your abs at the same time. And if you’ve done squats before, you know what that feels like!
How Many Squats Should I Do In A Day To Lose Belly Fat?
Like with all exercises, there is no and shouldn’t be any quick fix. While we will suggest some squat options and reps you can do to promote your fat loss, losing weight takes time. And that’s a good thing.
Calories
Squats take a lot of effort, and the hard work you put in will reflect in your weight. The harder you work out, the more weight you will use, as you will start burning more calories.
As we said, these calories you will burn will not all be from your belly, but some will.
But if you don’t follow a healthy diet and consume more calories than you burn, that is simply not going to happen.
Therefore, you must follow a healthy diet that promotes muscle growth and fat loss, which includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole foods, and, why not, protein shakes.
Make small dietary changes to start losing body fat.
Fast, extreme dietary changes will harm your metabolic activities, and you will end up losing lean muscle tissue mass and weakening your metabolism, making it more difficult to lose fat.
Reduce your calories by 250 per day in the beginning, focusing on saturated fatty acids that are in fatty red meats, egg yolks, and butter.
Sugary carbohydrates such as refined sugar, fizzy drinks, and potato chips should be avoided.
If you are not satisfied with your improvement after a month, you can reduce your calorie intake even further.
Squats For Belly Fat Loss
If you would like to shed some pounds by doing squats, you must be consistent. The first results will be visible as a result of this consistency.
If you would like to shed some pounds by doing squats, you must be consistent. The first results will be visible as a result of this consistency.
You’re still probably wondering how many squats you should do per day to lose weight. There is no precise number.
It all varies depending on your body composition, metabolism, level of engagement, and amount of workouts you do every day and week.
Nonetheless, it is recommended that an individual with a normal BMI does 4 sets of 15 reps per day.
And yet, this number should keep increasing as your body adjusts to the volume and level of intensity.
So, if after a week you see that after 4 sets it feels as if you haven’t worked out at all, then add some reps in every set or do more sets per day.
Squat Variations
Another option that is very beneficial is doing variations of squat exercises.
Instead of doing the classic squats, try some pulse squats, jumping squats, or single-leg squats to feel that burn and burn more calories.
Alternatively, try to tweak your tempo; instead of going out and coming back up from the squat at the same speed, try to go down slower (e.g. count 3 secs), stay down for 1 second, and then quickly go back up.
Changing the tempo and trying some squat variation will not only help you burn more calories when your body starts to get used to the intensity of the workout, but it will also make it more fun!
The Bottom Line
There is no magic number of squats per day that will help you lose belly fat.
However, regular exercise that includes squats and an increase in intensity, combined with proper nutrition, is the way to lose that belly fat.
