Cross trainers are one of the best and most popular machines in the gym for getting that cardio session in, wether you are doing a 30 minute steady session or a full on HIIT workout, you can do this all on a cross trainer.

But how effective is it for cutting belly fat? Well, the answer to that is very, however it all depends on the speed and resistance you are using and how consistent your are with your exercise regime.

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Using a Cross Trainer for cutting belly fat

When using a cross trainer with a goal of weight loss, you want to be making sure you are doing intense and consistent workouts so as you can keep your heart rate up and burn the most amount of calories possible, this can be done by following a variety of different exercises for a set amount of time per week.

You need to achieve a good balance between pushing yourself and being able to maintain your workout at the same time, if you combine this with a calorie deficit and a healthy diet then you will be losing belly fat in no time.

Cardio, HIIT or Resistance?

Cardio, HIIT and resistance exercises are great for burning calories and increasing stamina, however there are pros and cons to each type of exercise and how they will aid in fat burn.

Cardio

Doing a cardio session on your home cross trainer or at the gym is an effective way to lose weight, for example, not only does this kind of workout increase your endorphins and get your blood pumping, but a one hour session at a medium intensity can burn up to 600 calories easily on your machine!

HIIT

HIIT is a great exercise to burn belly fat due to its high intensity which allows you to burn a large amount of calories in a short amount of time, great if you need to get a quick cross trainer workout in before work.

Using the HIIT method enables you to continue to burn calories for 24 hours after your session too!

The whole objective of this exercise is that you work at high intensity for a period of intervals followed by a rest and repeat process, this torches your body fat as it taps into your sugar and fat reserves to power through the high intensity, therefore is more effective in aiding fat loss.

Resistance

Doing a resistance style workout on a cross trainer is not be underestimated in terms of helping you lose weight. By upping the resistance on the machine you can burn even more calories by doing the exact same workout for the same amount of time. This also helps tone your legs and build muscle.

Ensure your diet is clean

Now we've got into how you can lose belly fat by using specific exercises on a cross trainer, you have to know that diet also comes into play to cut belly fat.

You can spend all the hours doing cardio or HIIT sessions on a machine, but if your not eating clean and at calorie deficit you will likely not see a change in your body.

The recommended amount of calories to cut per day for fat loss is 500 calories, or 3,500 calories a week in total which will result in a pound of fat lost each week, although if you are factoring in an HIIT session each day on the machine, then you may need a smaller deficit as this will already help in burning your existing calories.

Not only is a slight calorie deficit important when using a cross trainer to burn belly fat, but also so is what you eat.

You need to be eating a balanced diet of healthy fats, carbs and protein (don't forget some chocolate now and then) so as you can have enough energy to do your high intensity cross trainer workouts and burn maximum fat.

Tips for losing belly fat on a cross trainer

So now we know that having a healthy diet and getting enough cardio on your cross trainer are the magic mix for burning belly fat. There are few other tips and tricks that can super charge your fat burning journey while using your cross trainer.

Make a schedule

Organise how many times as week you want to train and stick to it but make sure you include some rest days for your body to recover, for example if you do two HIIT sessions a week followed by one resistance or cardio, make sure you schedule it in and rest on the other days.

Surprise yourself

If you keep to a regular boring exercise regime when using your cross trainer then your body will get used to this style of exercise and your fat burning might plateau.

A solution to this is by doing HIIT workouts and cardio alternately so as your body can stay surprised and continue to lose weight.

Another solution is to increase the intensity of your workouts some days and lower it on others.

Use proper form

• Back- Your back should be straight with your head over your shoulders, don't look down otherwise this may cause neck strain. Also keep your shoulders in front of your hips as this will keep your upper body working.
• Arms and hands- Don't hold the handle bars too tightly, this may cause you to lean and reduce your fat burn/strength gain.
• Legs and feet- Keep your legs and feet going with the motion of the cross trainer, keeping your feet flat as it goes down and lifting them as it goes up.

Enjoy it

Find a style of workout to do on your cross trainer that challenges you but also that you enjoy, if you dread going on that cross trainer everyday then your likely to not be consistent with your training.

If you make sure you enjoy what you are doing then your more likely to keep up with it, thus giving consistent weight loss results.

An easy way to enjoy something is to set yourself challenges, for example, bumping up the resistance and speed every week so as you can see yourself getting fitter.

Rest

Rest days are important so as your body can recover and refuel itself for your next training day. The more muscle you have from training will also help your burn calories when resting.

Don't over do it

If your over do your workouts this will inevitably put stress and strain on your body, once your body gets stressed its goes into something will call 'starvation mode', meaning your body will try and store more than it expands, making it harder for you to cut belly fat.

This means it's important to rest and not go too overboard with your training.

Benefits of using a cross trainer

Using a cross trainer for workouts doesn't just help you cut fat, it also has numerous other benefits too.

Weight loss

As we already know, using a cross trainer can torch calories easily and give weight loss effects when combined with a healthy and nutritional diet.

Stress

By doing regular exercise on a cross trainer you will experience positive side effects such as anti-anxiety and mood stability.

Cardio exercise also lowers cortisol levels and increases the positive endorphin chemical instead, therefore raising your mood.

Low impact

Using a cross trainer to exercise is very impact free due to your feet never leaving the pedals which is different to exercises such as running, which are very impactful due to the motion of your feet hitting the ground.

This reduces the chances of injury and strain on your legs in comparison to other exercises.

Leg targeting and toning

A cross trainer is effective on your whole body, however they can give even greater toning benefits to you glutes, hamstrings and quads.

You can change the intensity of this toning by adding up resistance to make your leg muscles work even harder.

Strength

Due to its cardio and resistance a cross trainer not only improves your stamina but can make you heart, lungs and muscles even stronger.

Strength benefits from a cross trainer can be even faster if you bump up the resistance.

If you want to know if cross trainers are good for bodybuilding, you can check it here.

So can using a cross trainer help me lose belly fat?

Overall, with all the information we have provided you, you can probably see that it is very possible to lose belly fat by exercising with a cross trainer, as long as you combine it with a healthy diet and be consistent.

Cross trainers can work up to 80% of your muscles when used correctly and help burn fat not just during your workout but even for hours after.

So to conclude yes, you can lose weight, cut belly fat, and reap many other benefits by using a cross trainer consistently as part of a healthy life style. We recommend for full effect you combine this with HIIT workouts and normal cardio so as you can see results as quick as possible.