3 Best Dumbbell Exercises To Lose Stomach Fat

Do you want to lose stomach fat?  What does your current workout program look like?  Is it full of stuff you'd find in a health club or full of bodyweight and dumbbell exercises?  Here are 3 of my favorite dumbbell exercises to lose stomach fat.

By: Ed Scow, NSCA-CPT: Certified Fitness & Nutrition Expert to the True Superheroes - Busy Moms & Dads and author of Fat Loss To Go

I don’t like health clubs.

To put it more bluntly, I pretty much hate them.

That may sound harsh (and is quite a way to start an article!), but they’re largely wastes of time and money for busy moms and dads. Sure they have lots of pretty equipment and an endless array of classes, but the overwhelming majority of people who pay for a health club membership don’t use it and they don't use it because it's inconvenient and tough to stay consistent with.

What they’re not telling you is that you can lose all the stomach fat you want from the comfort of your own home just by doing dumbbell exercises and bodyweight exercises.

This is the best way for busy moms and dads like you to lose stomach fat because they’re easy to use; they work A LOT of muscle during one movement (as opposed to machines which try to isolate muscles) and don’t take up very much space, which is nice if your house looks anything like mine with toys and other kid paraphanelia strewn about :).

There are a few dumbbell exercises I recommend to all my clients, no matter if their goal is to lose belly fat, get stronger, or simply stay fit and strong.

First up on my list of favorite dumbbell exercises is the Dumbbell Swing.

The dumbbell (or Kettlebell) swing is an excellent full body fat burner, plus it’s great for the abs.

To do this exercise, grab 1 heavy dumbbell, stand up straight and tall with your feet slightly wider than your hips and your arms hanging straight down while holding onto the dumbbell (with both hands).

While bracing your abs, bend forward from the hips and slightly from the knees, while allowing the dumbbell to swing between your legs a little bit, then explosively stand up while swinging the dumbbell straight out in front of your chest.

In one continuous movement, let the dumbbell swing back down between your legs and go into the squat and repeat.

This exercise isn’t really a shoulder movement; it’s more a full body "metabolic" movement where you’ll let the momentum of standing up swing the dumbbell in front of your chest.

It should almost look and feel like an RDL because it's a hip dominant movement, NOT a squat and not a shoulder movement. The momentum of you explosively thrusting your hips forward is what should get the weight to swing...not you actively flexing the shoulder muscles.

You can also do the 1-Arm Swing variation for a little variety. This is actually my favorite exercise to lose stomach fat because it's so explosive and targets the abs just right.

My second favorite dumbbell exercise isn’t thought of too much because it’s not a "sexy" exercise and doesn’t work the "mirror" or "beach" muscles, but it’s very important nonetheless.

It’s the Bent Over Row. The Bent Over Row works your entire back, biceps, and core making it a huge muscle worker and great for burning fat and losing belly fat.

To do it, stand up straight and tall with your abs braced. Bend forward from your hips while keeping your back straight and knees slightly bent, and allow your arms to hang straight down from your chest.

Pull the dumbbells up toward your hips.

Pause then slowly let the dumbbells return to the starting position.

Last, but not least, is the Squat. The squat is the king of the lower body exercises and you should do it on a regular basis.

You need to make it difficult – so make sure you pick a weight that will make it difficult for the prescribed reps - if you can comfortably do 20 reps with the weight being used, but your workout calls for 8, then you better jump the resistance up quite a bit.

To keep your form in check, do the squat as follows…

Stand up straight and tall while holding a dumbbell in each hand either at your sides, or at your shoulders.

Brace your abs, keep your chest up and out (military) and bend forward from your hips first (imagine sitting in a chair, or thinking to yourself "stick my butt out"), then the knees.

Keep your heels planted firmly into the ground and lower yourself until your upper thighs are at least parallel to the floor, if not lower.

Pause then stand up by pressing your heels into the ground (they should always remain in contact with the floor...but think about pressing them into the ground), squeezing the butt muscles and pressing your hips forward.

Make sure you keep your abs tight throughout the movement and always think, "Stick my butt out" and "squeeze my butt cheeks". Those are weird things to think, but it’ll help make sure you keep good form.

There you have it. There are my 3 favorite dumbbell exercises to help you lose stomach fat and get rid of some extra weight.

Make sure you do those 3 exercises regularly in your workouts and you’ll not only lose belly fat, but you’ll be stronger, have better posture and have more energy.

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