A lot of us, men and women included, have a tendency to store fat around the lower back area. This can be extremely frustrating as it seems that, no matter what you do to burn fat around this area, it just won’t budge. In this article we directly confront this problem and reveal the best way to lose back fat for good as part of your weight loss plan to lose excess fat.
Before We Begin
Before we begin to reveal the three strategies that really work for permanent and effective loss of back fat, we need to discount the idea of spot reduction. It is scientifically impossible to lose fat from one specific part of the body and not others so the idea that you can just do exercises focused on the lower back and lose fat from that area is simply not true. To get rid of back fat, you need to do exercises that burn calories from all over your body. You won’t be able to control where the fat comes off: it will do so uniformly from the whole-body.
A Three-Pronged Approach to get rid of back fat
The real solution to lower back fat comes down to following a simple three-pronged approach involving diet and exercise:
* Reducing your daily calorie intake
* Calorie burning cardio workouts
* A specific workout routine to build and tone the muscles of the lower back
Reducing Your Daily Caloric Intake
The only way to lose body fat is to cut calories and create a daily caloric deficit. That means that you are burning up more energy in the form of calories than you are taking into your body. In order to meet that extra need your body has to rely on its stored energy. In the form of body fat as we’ve mentioned you can’t tell your body to take directly from your lower back; it will take it from all over the body.
To create that caloric deficit, you need to be eating 500 fewer calories per day. To do that you will first need to figure out how many calories you are consuming. We suggest making use of an act such as my fitness pal and tracking your food intake for three days. Divide by 3 to work out your average daily caloric intake. Now subtract 500 calories from that number. The Mayo Clinic reports that a 500 calorie daily caloric reduction can lead to one pound of fat loss per week. Please read article if you want more information.
In addition to reducing your daily caloric intake, you also need to clean up what you are eating. We all know what foods pile body fat onto our bodies. They are those that are laden with sugar and contain empty calories. Your first step is to remove these foods from your home and your diet. Stop buying sodas, processed foods, fried foods, pastries, donuts and sweets. Instead, fill your shopping cart with lean proteins like chicken, fish and eggs, along with healthy snacks like nuts and fruit.
Calorie Burning Cardio Workouts
Once you’ve got your nutrition under control and are managing to consistently consume 500 fewer calories per day, you will be ready to move on to the next strategy; calorie burning exercise. This will allow you to burn around another 3500 calories per week. With a pound of fat containing 3500 calories, the combination of these two strategies should allow you to lose 2 pounds of fat every single week.
The best exercises to burn the most calories are those that get your body moving through a full range of motion consistently. You could do this with cardio exercises such as the treadmill, stationary cycle or rowing machine. Another option is to make use of compound exercises in the weights area of the gym that require a massive amount of energy to complete. Resistance training is also an option if it is preferred.
A great example of this is to do squats. While most people think of the squats as an exercise for your legs, it is also a tremendous calorie burner. By using a relatively light weight with high reps and low rest periods between sets, you can burn more calories than you ever would on a treadmill or rowing machine.
That is why, I recommend doing three squat sessions per week on alternate days. Keep the weigh to 50% of your one rep max or lower and perform four sets of 20 reps during each session. Allow yourself only two minutes maximum rest between sets. This is as exhausting as it sounds but it will allow you to burn a ton of calories. It will also bring on the EPOC, or excess post exercise oxygen consumption, effect. This will allow you to have a heightened metabolic rate for at least 24 hours after your high reps squat work out.
Specific Back Workout
The third part of your three-tier strategy to lose lower back fat involves performing upper and lower back exercises. This will allow you to build muscle shape and tone the muscles of the lower mid and upper back in order to make your entire back look more impressive and minimize the effect of any remaining lower back fat. There are three exercises that you should focus on in this back workout:
* Pull ups
* Supermans
* Reverse Hip Raise
Pull Ups
Grab a pull up bar with an underhand grip. Wrap your thumbs around the bar and strongly retract your scapula. Open up your chest and tense your lats. Pull up from your back and arms to bring your sternum up to the bar. Your goal is to bring your chin over the bar in the top position. Slowly lower but do not go all the way to a fully extended position. If you do go into the dead hang position, you will lose the load in your back and shoulders. Do not allow momentum to assist your ascent.
Perform 3 sets of 8-10 reps on this exercise.
Supermans
Lay face down on the floor with your feet together and arms up in front of your body. At your lower back to form a bow shape as your legs and arms come off the floor. Hold the top position for a count of three as you tense the lower back. Lower and repeat.
Perform three sets of 12 reps on this exercise.
Reverse Hip Raise
Ideally you should perform this exercise while balancing your torso on an exercise ball. If you do not have an exercise ball available, you can use a chair. In the start position, lie on top of the ball so that your groin and lower belly are resting on it. Place your hands on the floor for support. Bend your knees slightly as you squeeze your butt cheeks together and lift your legs up without further bending at the knees. The movement should come from your hips and lower back. Then slowly lower to bring your feet back to the floor.
Perform three sets of 12 reps on this exercise.
You should perform these three exercises back targeted workout three times per week on alternative days. On two other days perform full body workouts that include chest exercises as well as those to target the legs and belly fat.
In addition to these set exercises, try to maintain a good diet and lifestyle of active physical activity to burn calories consistently even when not formally exercising.
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Wrap Up on getting rid of back fat
Follow this three-pronged approach to burn fat around your lower back. The combination of calorie burning nutrition and exercise with targeted and smart moves to strengthen, shape and define the muscles of your lower back while also widening and thickening the muscles of your upper back will make you look a whole lot more impressive from the rear. Keep it up and no one will be talking about your lower back fat; they’ll be too impressed with how wide and rugged you look from behind!
Also make lifestyle changes if required, opt for healthy eating and a healthy diet overall. This will help you to lose weight faster and in particular get rid of lower back fat and losing upper back fat.
There are also many supplements (fat burners) which can help you. Make sure they have been reviewed by someone qualified like a certified personal trainer. Also be sure to ask a personal trainer if you are unsure on technique or approach based on your circumstances (for example target heart rate, appropriate exercise targets, suitable cardio exercises or lower back exercises.)
