Today, I’m going to bring you a big secret to slimming down your belly—not the well-known sit-ups, but “mountain climbing”! You may ask, what is mountain running? Don’t worry, let me slowly reveal this mysterious weight loss secret to you.
01 Sit-ups vs Hill Run
First, we need to understand why sit-ups are not the best option for slimming down your belly.
Although sit-ups can exercise our abdominal muscles, it is unrealistic to rely solely on this action to lose weight. Because the essence of weight loss is to reduce body fat percentage, and sit-ups are more about strengthening our abdominal muscles rather than burning fat. Moreover, if you only do sit-ups without other aerobic exercises, it may lead to weight gain due to muscle gain, thus causing misunderstandings and confusion about weight loss.
So, what is mountain running? To put it simply, mountain running is to run in place by simulating the movements of mountain climbing. Its main feature is to quickly alternately raise the legs to simulate the pace of mountain climbing, while swinging the hands together to maintain body balance. This action can exercise the muscles of our abdomen, legs, buttocks and other parts at the same time. It is a very efficient aerobic exercise.
02 How to practice mountain running
Next, I will give you a detailed introduction to the specific operation methods and precautions of mountain running:
- Operation method
- Preparation position: First, we need a flat ground, and then place our hands and feet on the ground in a plank position. Pay attention to keeping your body in a straight line and don’t slump your waist or raise your hips.
- Action essentials: Then, we start to simulate mountain climbing actions. Start by raising the knee of one leg forward toward your abdomen, while using your arms to push your body forward. Then quickly bring your leg back and lift the knee of the other leg forward. During this process, we must try to keep the body stable and not sway from side to side.
- Breathing rhythm: When performing mountain running, we must pay attention to maintaining a stable breathing rhythm. Generally speaking, we can combine breathing and movement, inhaling every time we raise our knees and exhaling every time we retract our legs.
- Duration: For beginners, it is recommended to control the time of each mountaineering run between 30 seconds and 1 minute, and then rest for about 10 seconds before continuing. As physical fitness improves, we can gradually increase the duration and decrease the rest period.
- Precautions
- Keep the body stable: When mountain running, we must try to keep the body stable and not sway from side to side. If you find it difficult to control your body balance, you can appropriately reduce the difficulty of the movements or increase the support area (such as using a yoga mat).
- Pay attention to breathing rhythm: Breathing rhythm is very important for the effect of mountain running. We should try to maintain a stable breathing rhythm and not hold our breath or breathe too fast.
- Moderate exercise: Although mountain running is a very efficient aerobic exercise, we must also exercise moderately according to our physical condition and fitness level. Don’t overdo it and cause injury or fatigue.
03 Reasons Why Mountaineering Can Lose Belly Quickly
So, why is mountain running the best choice for slimming down your belly? The main reasons are as follows:
- Comprehensive exercise of abdominal muscles: Mountaineering can exercise our upper and lower abdominal muscles at the same time, so that the entire abdominal muscles can be comprehensively exercised and tightened. This comprehensive exercise method can more effectively promote the burning and reduction of abdominal fat.
- Aerobic exercise burns fat: Mountain running is a very efficient aerobic exercise that can quickly increase our heart rate and breathing rate, thereby promoting fat burning and metabolism. Compared with simple sit-ups, mountain running can reduce body fat rate more effectively.
- Enhance cardiopulmonary function: Mountain running can not only exercise our muscles, but also enhance our cardiopulmonary function. Through continuous aerobic exercise, our cardiopulmonary function will be improved, which will be more conducive to losing weight and maintaining a healthy body.
Finally, what I want to say is that losing weight is not an easy task and requires persistence and hard work. But as long as we choose the right exercise methods and eating habits, and stick to them consistently, we will surely reap the double rewards of health and beauty! Click to watch and let’s take action together! Use hiking and running to slim down your belly!