These five exercises are very effective at busting up stubborn postmenopausal fat.

You do not have to keep this fat. It’s yours to LOSE. Even if you’ve failed before.

Having excess fat is no breeze. It can lead to acid reflux, knee pain (especially when exercising), higher cholesterol or blood pressure, and many other ailments.

You do NOT have to accept weight gain as a normal part of menopause or the years after.

One of the biggest mistakes that postmenopausal women make is assuming that duration and continuous movement are the magic elixirs for weight loss. 

Good news: Movement does not have to be continuous for 45 minutes. You CAN take rests.

And you don’t have to spend two hours in the gym every day to get rid of even the most stubborn fat.

If you’re practicing portion control with a plant based diet and limiting your consumption of high calorie foods such as pizza, giant burritos, pancakes soaked in syrup, ice cream, cookies, donuts, etc., you should be able to get rid of the rolls in your middle, the chunk in your thighs, and even the fat in your back.

Do These Five Exercises to Burn Fat After Menopause

Squat

Shutterstock/sarocha wangdee

Deadlift

Shutterstock/SerdyukPhotography

Bench Press

Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images

Leg Press

George Stepanek, CreativeCommons

Lat Pull-Down

Shutterstovk/sklyareek

The Fat Burning Formula

#1     Eight to 12 repetitions with a weight load that makes a 13th repetition impossible or very difficult.

#2     Sixty to 75 seconds in between each set

#3     Four sets each, with three to four minutes in between each set

#4     Do twice a week

Feel free to add your favorite ancillary exercises such as the seated row, the bent-over dumbbell row and hamstring curl.

Give up the side bends, seated twists, crunch machines and sit-ups.

The squat, deadlift and lat pull-down will work your core when done correctly.

The more muscles you work, the more fat that’s burned for energy. These five exercises work a lot of muscles at once; economy of exercise.

Mistakes that Will Sabotage Your Weight Loss Goal

#1     Failing to adhere to the above formula. When I say that a 13th rep should be impossible or very difficult, I MEAN IT. I also mean 60-75 seconds of rest in between each set of a particular exercise.

Avoid talking or using your phone, as this will lengthen your rest time.

#2     Failing to first learn proper form for the squat, deadlift and lat pull-down, which are among the most commonly done exercises with BAD form.

Proper Squat Technique

Proper Deadlift Technique

Proper Lat Pull-Down Technique

One final note: Keep doing your cardio, but consider a more effective form called high intensity interval training (HIIT).

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health. 

 

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Top image: Shutterstock/Nadino