THE 7 BIGGEST MISTAKES WHEN TRYING TO BURN BELLY FAT AT HOME!
So, you want to burn belly fat?
THE GOOD NEWS: You can burn belly fat with home workouts!
THE BAD NEWS: burning belly fat will be a struggle if you don’t AVOID these common at home workout mistakes!
ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYTHS…. YOU NEED A GYM TO BURN BELLY FAT!
I’ve been telling people for years that home workouts can be a great way to get and stay fit. Many people thought that the only way to get fit was at a gym. This is not true. The increase in fitness apps, the PELOTON BIKE, Virtual fitness companies, books, home exercise equipment just to name a few.. has made getting fit at home so much easier.
Home workouts no longer have to be picking up soup cans, waving a broom, performing push ups and running up stairs. Working out at-home has evolved and is a great way to saving money, avoiding gym rats and saving time. However, there always are cons that tag along with the pros of working out at home.
So, lets avoid these 7 AT-HOME WORKOUT MISTAKES so you can START BURNING BELLY FAT!
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #1: NOT HAVING BASIC WORKOUT EQUIPMENT
One of the biggest factors in building muscle (makes you look leaner and increases your metabolism) is to increase the resistance of exercises when exercising. Training at a gym gives you complete access to an array of weight training machines and heavier dumbbells. So, you need access to basic pieces of exercise equipment to replace gym workouts at home. This will give you the ability to increase resistance gradually.
Yes, you can perform more push ups, squats or hold a plank longer but after time, you can only increase resistance so long before you start to get wear and tear on your ligaments and tendons. You need to purchase exercise equipment for your home gym.
BASIC HOME EXERCISE EQUIPMENT FOR FAT BURNING WORKOUTS:
- ASSORTMENT OF DUMBBELLS: purchase an array of dumbbells to perform multiple exercises. It’s important to have a range of dumbbells. I recommend getting a pair of 2lb., 5lb., 8lb., 10lb., 12lb., 15lb., 20lb. and a 30lb. or heavier (optional). TOTAL BODY EXERCISES
- FITNESS BALL (55 CM): make sure it has ridges to prevent slipping. ABS, LEGS, BUTT
- WIDE RESISTANCE BANDS: purchase a set of medium and difficult resistance bands. LEGS, CARDIO, BUTT
- RESISTANCE BAND WITH HANDLES (BLUE OR RED): difficulty is coordinated with color (black = most, blue = medium, red = easier. ARMS, SHOULDERS, CHEST, LEGS
- SLAM BALL (15 LBS): best to get one that smooth. Ridges can make it difficult on hands when slamming. ARMS, LEGS, CARDIO, ABS, BUTT
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #2: HAVING AN UNHEALTHY KITCHEN
You can’t get fit unless you have a good diet that supports YOUR BODY challenging workout plan AND MOST IMPORTANTLY YOUR BUSY LIFESTYLE. Yes, some of you have great genetics and can look great even when you eat pizza and drink wine.
Just look on INSTAGRAM or Facebook. You see the women with amazing figures who show off eating an ice cream and pizza in their bikini. Don’t be fooled. They have a few things if not all; they are in their twenties, have amazing genetics (metabolic machines), workout out 2 hours a day (cardio and heavy lifting) or simply are lying to you. In reality, 99% of the population needs to stay on a healthy and lean diet to make a big change.
To lose weight you need to eat less calories than burning and the calories need to come from foods that consist of veggies, lean protein, good fats and a few complex carbs. To gain weight you need to eat more calories than burning, lift weights and choose calories from complex carbs, good fats and protein sources. To get healthy you need to eat a balanced portion of foods much like a Mediterranean diet.
Summary: you need to make sure you’re eating a healthy diet and make eating healthy a lifestyle NOT A GIMMICK! The best way to start is by eliminating any foods that are causing you to overeat and be unhealthy from your kitchen and daily routine.
Hence, you can’t get results from your HOME WORKOUT unless your cabinets and fridge consist mostly of healthy foods. Junk food should be very minimum and most importantly, junk food CAN NEVER CONTAIN PRESERVATIVES, CHEMICALS OR ARTIFICIAL SUGARS.
IMPORTANT TIPS TO BURN BELLY FAT:
- Drink 1 gallon water per day with at least 1 electrolyte pack in one of servings
- Start Day with a Smoothie OR Green Drink for a healthy mindset Smoothie: 1/4 cup frozen organic fruit, scoop Natural Whey or Veggie Protein Powder, Unsweentened Coconut or Almond Milk / Green Drink: 12 ounces One or all ( Carrot, Beet, Ginger, Celery, Super Greens, Spirulina, Watermelon, Lemon).
- Try to Perform Cardio first thing in morning on empty stomach. Mix cardio with low intensity for 2-4 min and high intensity for 30 seconds and repeat. Example: jog 30 min, jog 6.0 mph 2 min, sprint 8.5 for 30 sec and repeat both for 30 minutes.
- Drink green tea and/ or organic broths
- Add spicy seasonings to food for flavor
- Pick only restaurants with healthy options and skip the bread basket!
- Eat veggies and salad first
- Eliminate sugar and read all labels
- Stick to 1 to 2 complex carbs per day in healthy portion (1/2 cup) i.e. brown rice, quinoa, yams, red bliss potato, oat bran, steel cut oats
- Focus on Variety With Each Meal: eat a little of Many Example: Lunch/super greens bowl: 1 cup super greens, 5 ounces lean protein, 1 tbsp. natural spicy hummus, 1/4 chopped avocado, 1/2 cup fresh fruit, 2-3 crushed no flour crackers ( MARYS GONE CRACKERS), 1/2 CUP chopped veggies (cukes, yellow and red peppers) 1 beet chopped up. All mixed with favorite dressing and 8 ounces glass of fresh carrot juice and 16 ounces lemon water.
- Take your vitamins daily: Probiotic Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Biotin and Glutamine.
- Make sure your healthy food taste good!!
FOODS TO AVOID TO BURN BELLY FAT:
- Honey, Agave, Syrup, BBQ Sauce, Gum (keeps you hungry), Fruit Juice, Fruit, Corn, White Flour, Crackers, Chips (tortilla and potato), salsa with sugar
- Fatty and Any Processed Meats: salami, bacon, pork, sausage, pepperoni, duck etc…
- Protein Baked Goods: cookies, waffles, pizza ( these have very little usable protein and more fillers which adds to an unhealthy diet)
- Baked Goods- unless made of whole foods 1x week healthy portion
SOME FAT BURNING FOODS TO ADD TO YOUR FAT BURNING DIET:
- Organic Nut Mix (limit to small handful a day: eat as a snack, add to stir fry, smoothies or salad)
- Steel cut oats (organic, quick oats)
- Organic Fruit (watermelon, berries, green apples, clementines)
- Protein (organic firm tofu, hemp seeds and nuts, chicken, fish, beef (lean cuts), quinoa and lentils, mushrooms and lentils, eggs, cottage cheese (organic)
- legumes (lentils, black beans)
- Marys Gone Crackers (limit to few a day: eat as a snack with hummus, crush over salads)
- Turkey Bacon: cook up and keep as snack or add to BLT with Ezekiel Toast, Mix with pan fried diced sweet potato and onion
- Plain Organic Greek Yogurt 5% add 2 tbsp organic natural preserves to entire container (mix well) only have 1/2 cup per serving and add some sliced almonds for crunch
- Protein Powder ( natural whey or veggie protein powder)
- Abundance of Super Greens and Herbs
- Chopped organic Small Yellow, Red and Orange Peppers
- organic celery with organic hummus
- Avocado
- organic mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheese (sparingly)
Some Liquids To Avoid IN YOUR DIET
Diet drinks, Fruit Juice, Sports Drinks, Milk, Cream, MIO Flavor Drops, Crystal Light,Creamers, Sodas, ALCOHOL AS BEST AS CAN:( Beer, Wine, Margarita If needed (organic vodka, organic wine 1-2 servings :1-2 x week only),
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #3: NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
Water is underrated as a top reason to getting and staying fit. Always remember that your Total Body Water Weight can be approximately between 55 to 60 %. Most of this water is within your cells which plays a role for all the organs and muscles. Especially the the brain and heart.
- Drinking Fresh spring water daily plays key roles in preventing injury and overeating, muscle development, metabolism, weight management and healthy bodily functions.
- Water flushes out toxins and muscle damage byproducts when exercising and lifting heavy weights.
- Helps to regulate body temperature through respiration and sweating.
- Assist transportation of minerals, protein, carbohydrates, electrolytes to our muscles and body during and after exercise.
- Contributes to saliva and joint function between bones.
HOW TO GET MORE WATER IN YOUR DAILY DIET:
Make it available everywhere:
- a jug of water in the workout room
- Keep a pitcher of water with fresh lemon in your fridge
- 2 water containers filled with water in your car
- Always keep a filled water bottle in your gym bag
- Drink sparkling or mineral water. Never soda water
- Eat foods with a high water content: cucumber, celery, watermelon, grapefruit
- Drink herbal teas, i.e. Green Tea iced or hot with lemon
- Every time you drink coffee drink double the intake of water. i.e. Drink 8 ounces coffee then 16 ounces water.
- Make your own pure water with a good Filtration Pitcher
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #4: NOT MIXING UP YOUR HOME WORKOUTS TO BURN FAT
Training at home can get monotonous compared to a gym workout. Especially if you only have dumbbells or no weight at all. Hence, you need to mix up your workouts by combining alternate days with Cardio and Weights, cardio only, HIIT Workouts plus Cardio, Weights Only, Stretching and Power Yoga, Set Reps with Timed Reps, Super Sets with Drop Sets. Sounds confusing? Well, it can be to most who aren’t expert in fitness.
However, an expert HOME WORKOUT PLAN can give you everything you need to progressively make gains with gym equipment. One important factor when changing your workouts is the overall plan must have your goal in mind.
Example: YOUR GOAL: GET TONE LEGS
You can use all the different workout options mention above but they must utilize the best exercises for your goal. Below are a few leg exercise example:
- Cardio Exercises: jump and squat, sprinting, bike sprints, jump rope, kicking
- Leg Exercises with Weights: squats, lunges, jump n squat, side lunges, dead lifts
- HIIT exercises: mountain climbers, sprints with weight, ladder drills, plyometrics, kickboxing.
So, make sure you change up your workout plan at least every 4 weeks!
If you need an expert home workout plan TO MIX IT UP tap here.
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #5: ONLY DOING CARDIO WORKOUTS
CARDIO workouts TO BURN FAT have their place in a good home workout routine. However, you need to add weight training exercises to your HOME WORKOUT FOR WOMEN to increase lean muscle and burn more calories throughout the day. Yes, spinning for an intense 30 to 60 minutes can burn 500 to even 800 calories. Post exercise you can gain those calories in just 5 minutes with a tall glass of orange juice.
On the other hand, You can burn calories during and after your workout by combining a 30 minute intense spinning or punching bag session with a 15 minute challenging weight training workout. The 15 minutes of weight training will help you build lean muscle which increases your metabolism. An increase in metabolic function allows you to burn calories hours after your workout. Remember, fat cells don’t burn calories. Muscle cells do!
I highly recommend purchasing at least one set of heavier dumbbells that challenge you with a main exercise such as squats, flat dumbbell chest press, curls, kettle bell swing, one arm row, lunges, bridges and shoulder press. For a majority of you, a pair of 15 to 25 lb dumbbells will be sufficient.
Lifting heavier weights will fatigue your muscles faster and give you more results. You won’t get bulky as long as you’re eating a lean and healthy diet! Heck, some of you have great genetics and the heavier you lift the faster you’ll get lean.
Summary: set up your workout plan with alternate days of cardio, cardio and weights and weights only. By the way, running and sprint are both great workouts for the days when you’re just performing cardio. This only takes a good pair of running shoes and motivation!
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #6: NOT HAVING AN EXPERT WORKOUT PLAN FOR WOMEN
There are many apps, body weight workout plans and body weight routines on the market. Yet, to get gym quality results it’s going to take more than just body weight, picking up jugs of water and doing burpees.
To get real body changing results its going to take an expert plan and some exercise equipment that brings you from where you are now to where you want to be in 30, 60 and 90 days. Three months with consistent training and a good diet should give you amazing results. You should start seeing results within 30 days. If not, then change things up.
Just like creating a retirement. You need a road map to help you get fit at home THAT EXPEDITES YOUR RESULTS. Short-term and Long-Term. If you’re just starting to workout, start with micro goals to achieve them quicker. One of the best forms of motivation is hitting your goals and seeing results. Just like a prize fighter. They didn’t jump into a ring with a world champion. They start with amateur fights. Same goes for you. Start with shorter workouts, less weight and add in some intensity based upon your fitness level.
Work your way up. I suggest building your cardio level, tendon and ligament health for phase 1. Phase 2 you’ll add more intensity along with weight training. Phase 3 should be a big uptick with heavier weights, intensity, endurance combined with short burst cardio. Again, this is just one scenario. Everyone has different capabilities,medical restrictions, fitness levels, goals, budget, time schedule and so on..
Summary: Get a home workout plan that fits you and your goals!
BURN BELLY FAT MISTAKE #7: NOT HAVING A GOOD FITNESS AND DIET PLANNER
Having a fitness and diet planner helps you stay accountable. You can set short and long term goals. Write down your daily food intake, exercise performed, track good and bad habits and even summarize your daily set backs and victories. A good planner allows you to also set up your next days goals. Each night you can see how you did and reflect on the past weeks and even months.
One of the most important aspects of a Fitness Planner is the ability to view everything you eat. Hectic days seem to all blend together. If a coach asked you what you ate 2 days prior to a coaching meeting. You probably won’t remember. However, you can look back in your planner and know exactly what you ate which will tell your fitness coach either why your progressing or worse, not reaching your goal.
You can set your menu for the week and try to stick to it. Your menu will contain not only the foods but the portion sizes and percentage of macros to reach your goal.
A fitness planner allows you to evaluate whether your staying on track daily, weekly and monthly. Writing these daily goals the night before sets you up the next day. Also, if you have any obstacle the next day, your fitness planner will tell you whether your upcoming workout and food menu is feasible for that day. If not, you can adjust your timing, menu and/or workout to keep on track.
Should you use an app or paper planner?
Apps can be great but I recommend writing down your workouts and any notes on a paper planner. You won’t be distracted by facebook or instant messenger dinging on your phone. You can focus on your planner and flip back and see in your own writing the accomplishments and hardships you’ve had much like a diary.
Summary: get a good paper fitness planner and start on your fitness journey!
Those are 7 of the MOST IMPORTANT MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN WORKING OUT AT HOME. I hope this post helped you in your journey to workout at home. As always, I’m here to help.
Please share and comment. Thank you in advance!
FAT BURNING WORKOUTS :
