Your belly is one of the hardest places to lose fat and so many people really struggle with it. It’s one of the areas of the body that people are so keen to change but it’s usually the last place that people lose weight from.

If you want to burn belly fat effectively, you need to cut calories and do a good combination of cardio, ab exercises, and weight training. That’s fine for people that don’t mind hitting the gym but if you can’t stand the idea of running on the treadmill or lifting weights, what are you supposed to do?

One of the best ways to burn fat effectively if you don’t like the gym is to get involved in sports that involve a good amount of cardio and work the right muscles. These are some of the best sports for losing fat around the stomach.

Boxing

Boxing is one of the best workouts there is, regardless of what your training goals are. It’s a great combination of cardio and strength training.

A short boxing session will help you to burn a lot of calories because you’re getting an intense cardio workout. It also works your arm muscles a lot, as you’d expect, so it’s a good alternative to weight training.

But it’s not just your arm muscles that you engage when you’re boxing, it also uses a lot of core strength which is ideal for burning fat around the stomach.

Tag Rugby

Team sports are so great if you want to increase your cardio activity because, instead of sustained running, you’re doing short bursts of intense activity.

Short sprints with small breaks between them are more effective than sustained jogging if you want to burn fat quickly. You also engage your core regularly when passing the ball.

Contact rugby isn’t for everybody and there is a risk of injury so you might be better off with tag rugby instead. Visit corktagrugby.ie to find a local club that you can join. Tag rugby still helps you to burn fat around the stomach but it’s a lot safer and more inclusive.

Basketball

PBasketball is another good team sport for burning fat around the stomach. It’s a high intensity cardio game that works a lot of different muscle groups. Jumping to catch the ball and take shots works the core a lot over the course of the game, so you’ll see a big difference in no time. You also need a strong stance to block players that are trying to snatch the ball and that involves engaging the core and the legs.

Rowing

Rowing is one of the best activities for a full body workout. There’s a lot of resistance there so you’re giving your muscles a good workout as well as getting some good cardio in.

A lot of the power comes from your ab muscles so it’s ideal for tightening up your stomach. Rowing on the machine in the gym can be pretty boring so why not see if there is a team nearby that you can join instead?

Burning fat around the belly is always tough and if you aren’t too keen on the gym, these sports are the best way to do it.

Bonus tips

When it comes to losing body fat from your stomach, if you struggle with motivation, why not do it with a friend? for example, you could do a: 

• Charity boxing match
• Mini Olympics
• Obstacle Courses
• Tough Mudder
• 5km race 

Maybe you could do something with your work colleagues? 

You could create a competition at work and make a prize. For example, looking at custom sports trophies – where you design a cool looking trophy to give to the winner. You could also give out prize money where all of your colleagues put £10-£50 into a hat where the winner takes it all. 

Sports are a great way to lose fat because they require activity but are also mentally fun and challenging, taking away the focus from the pain of exercise and instead engaging the brain, where you are in the present moment reacting to what’s in front of you. It’s a form of meditation, and that’s why sports can become so addictive. 

Alongside the above 4 sports, there are plenty of interactive sports to choose from, such as:

• Cricket
• Rounders
• Tennis 
• Squash
• Badminton
• Golf 
• Hockey 
• Ice Hockey
• Football 

All of the above will burn calories, make you feel good both mentally and physically, and provide social interaction which is good for the human soul.