Getting great abs requires a healthy-diet, full-body exercises, and dedication to a workout program. In fact, if you’re looking to improve on your abs, then there is a huge variety of abs workouts that can help you achieve that goal. However, if you have fat covering your stomach and abs, then you should expect to work harder and even change your weight in-order to shade-off the extra fat. So, below are some the steps you will need to follow in-order to solid-core abs.
STEP-1: How To Do Abs Exercises:
> Try keeping the stomach in & stable as you work-out: Your abs should be involved in almost every exercise you do in-order to speed-up your gains. In fact, focus on keeping your belly button in (towards the spine) and flex your abdominal muscles as you work-out. So, whenever you are doing an ab workout, just think about getting a strong core in a straight line.
> Perform sit-ups: Sit-ups are the most famous ab workouts because they work your abs directly. To do sit-ups, start by lying down with your feet on the floor, knees up, and hands crossed on your chest. After, sit all the way up while bringing your shoulders to the knees and try keeping your back straight. Lower yourself down slowly with control and then repeat the process for 20-times. Once sit-up become easy, hold onto weights or a resistance bands to make them harder.
> Do some crunches: To do crunches, lie on your back with your knees up and feet down and then slowly bring your shoulders up towards the ceiling. Keep your back on the floor and the neck strong. While raising, exhale and hold your shoulders 6–8 inches (15.2–20.3 cm) above the floor. After, slowly lower your shoulders without touching your head to the floor. Additionally, as you go back down, inhale. Do this workout for 20 repetitions per session for best results. On the other hand, the quality of your crunches matters more than their quantity and breathing is very essential for effective crunches. Likewise, exercise the sides of your abs with side-crunches by twisting from your abs to the side so that your elbow touches the floor. Twist to the other side as well and touch each side for 15-20 times. You may also try doing bicycle crunches but they are a bit harder.
> Consider doing leg lifts: Start by lying on your back over a yoga-mat with your hands by the sides. With your feet put together, raise your legs from the waist-section while trying to form an “L” with your body. Afterwards, slowly lower them back to the floor while stopping at about 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) from the ground. Repeat the process for about 19-times. However, try to keep your legs straight throughout the exercise and you may add some challenge to the workout by doing a hanging leg lift. You can also add weights or yoga-ball to make the exercise harder.
> Do concentrated ab workouts using an ab-roller: Start by holding an ab-roller with both hands while in a push-up position. After, slowly push the ab-roller out and away from your body while extending your arms. Try going down as far as possible without touching your torso to the ground and then slowly return to the center by bringing your hips and butt into the air and rolling your hands towards the feet. However, if you don’t have an ab roller, then use rounded barbell weights.
> Perform a canoe twist: To do this exercise, begin by standing with your feet a shoulder length apart. After, twist from your waist while turning the shoulders and arms to one-side as if you were rowing a canoe. Simultaneously, raise your opposite knee towards your chest. Alternate sides for about 20 times to achieve the best results.
> Work your obliques by doing planks: Strong obliques are very essential when it comes to getting great abs. To do a plank, begin in a push-up position and then fold your arms horizontally in front of you and rest on your elbows and forearms. Try to keep the spine straight and your butt at the same height as your shoulders. Hold this position for 1-minute, rest and then repeat for 2 more times. On the other hand, you can make planks more difficult by adding “toe-taps” which involve lifting one foot off the ground and about 6″ (15.2-cm) and then return it slowly. Consider lifting each foot for 20-times.
> Practice side-planks in-order to exercise your entire core: Side-planks target one-side of your body and the abs which makes them very effective. So, begin by turning so that your chest faces sideways then rest your weight on the outside of your foot and forearm. In fact, the opposite arm should be flat against your side. Afterwards, hold this position for 1-minute while keeping your body in a straight diagonal line up from the floor. Go down and then do the same exercise on the other side.
STEP-2: How to Flatten Your Stomach:
> Perform cardiovascular workouts for 4-5 times a week: Cardio workouts are exercises that raise your heart-rate for an extended period of time. These include; running, swimming, biking, dancing, soccer, baseball, basketball, and a lot more. So, aim for 3-4 hours of cardio a week in-order to start seeing your stomach flatten.
> Do an interval training: Interval training is a workout that requires short bursts of vigorous activity followed by longer periods of low activity. These trainings include: jogging around a track and sprinting on every 4th lap. In fact, this type of interval training will help to burn fat 4-times faster than exercising at the same intensity for longer times.
> Drink a lot of water: Water is very essential when it comes to building muscles and it even aids in digestion coupled with fueling your workouts. So, consider drinking about 24 to 36 ounces of water daily. Likewise, water also has a benefit of helping you lose weight by limiting over-eating.
> Try eating healthy meals: A good diet involves eating fruits & vegetables, whole-grains, and some proteins. Additionally, try having smaller meals more frequently if you need to. This prevents you from eating too many calories at once and feeling bloated. All in all, try eating foods like; yogurt and granola in the morning, side-salads, chicken or turkey, fruits and vegetables.
> Avoid eating high-calorie, low nutrition foods: While these foods taste good, they will eliminate any gains you’ve achieved through working out and prolong your goal of getting great abs. So, some of the foods you should avoid include; refined carbohydrates like, white-bread, pasta, and rice. Processed Sugars in sweetened juices, soda, and candy. Saturated-Fats in fried foods, fatty red meat, and fast-foods.
> Balance your workout and diet: You will need to burn more calories than you eat. For example, running for 2-miles can eliminate 250 calories but eating one slice of cake might add 350 more. So, plan your diet in-order to eliminate extra calories a day. Additionally, adding 30 minutes of daily exercise will burn away calories and flatten your stomach over time. So, get a fitness-tracker and begin monitoring how many calories you burn while exercising.
