Summer is known as the season of six-pack abs. Everyone hopes to achieve their ideal “summer bod” before the summer solstice, but sadly, this isn’t the case for everyone. It’s easy to find yourself getting wrapped up in all the summertime fun—pool parties, vacations, barbeques… I get it! Unfortunately, many of these summer activities can often distract you from your fitness goals and lead to unwanted weight gain (which doesn’t typically include six-pack abs.) ☹But, just because summer’s already in full swing doesn’t mean you have to throw in the beach towel and give up on those flat abs just yet!
Today, I’m revealing my top five tips on how to get flat abs and a flat abs workout complete with the seven most important core exercises you need to do regularly if you want to blast belly fat for good and boost your confidence in and out of the gym.
How To Get Flat Abs
I know this seems like a loaded question, but if you want to learn how to get flat abs there are a few habits you need to adopt into your regular routine. I’m not suggesting you need to do these every single day without fail, but ensuring that you practice these habits at least two to three times per week will make it easier for you to do them as time goes on. Doing so will allow you to keep up the momentum and continually see progress. And who knows, maybe these will become a part of your daily routine someday!
Here are our go-to tips on how to get flat abs…
Clean up your diet
The adage that says “abs are made in the kitchen” holds a lot of truth. In fact, the standard American diet (which we all know is packed with saturated and trans-fats, refined sugars, and carbs galore) combined with a phenomenon called “portion distortion” is making it more difficult for people to lose weight. Not to mention, diet is one of the biggest contributing factors to belly fat! So, here’s the deal—if you want to lose weight you must consume fewer calories than you’re burning throughout the day. This means you either need to clean up your diet to reduce your caloric intake, burn more calories through exercise, or a mix of both.
People are often overwhelmed and confused about which foods are considered “healthy,” what they should eat, and what they should avoid. To ensure that your next trip to the grocery store is a healthy success, bring this clean eating grocery list with you! The items on this list have been pre-approved by a Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist so you can shop with confidence and purchase fat-fighting foods to help you reach your goals!
Understand health-food marketing jargon
In this day in age, we are constantly bombarded with packaged foods. Think about it, there are really only a few areas in the grocery store reserved for fresh foods. (Ahem, the perimeter.) The rest of the supermarket is all pre-made, packaged foods marked with confusing (and often misleading) food label claims that can influence your buying decisions. If you want to shop the isles with even more confidence, I recommend studying up on what these types of food label claims really mean. This way, you’re armed and ready to combat any unhealthy foods disguised as health foods that throw a wrench in your plan to get flat abs!
Exercise regularly
Getting regular exercise doesn’t always mean becoming a “gym rat.” In fact, there are hundreds of ways to move your body and get a healthy amount of exercise that don’t involve a gym at all. Playing with your kids, for example, is an incredible workout! I know all you parents out there are probably nodding your head in agreeance because, let’s face it, kids have an unimaginable amount of energy that never seems to go away. So, next time you’re battling them at bedtime and they’re bouncing off the walls, just GO WITH IT and burn some energy yourself! Not only will your kids get a kick out of you acting silly with them before bed, but you’ll unintentionally create some fun family memories for years to come and tucker out your little tikes.
You can also burn hundreds of calories in just 20 minutes by incorporating the training styles from this busy mom workout plan! I totally understand how difficult it can be to find time to exercise regularly when you have a family and a to-do list longer than a CVS receipt. These simple workouts are designed with YOU in mind. Give ‘em a try, I’m sure you’ll love them!
Take the right supplements
If you want to lose weight or improve your overall health, you should be taking supplements. Good health supplements help to fill the gaps of essential nutrients that you aren’t getting from your diet. If you’re new to taking supplements, I recommend adding a multivitamin, a fat-burning appetite suppressant, and a high-quality collagen supplement, like SkinnyFit Super Youth, to your daily routine.
A multivitamin contains a mixture of essential and non-essential vitamins and minerals to improve your overall health and body function. An appetite suppressant, like Snack Attack, is scientifically formulated to meet the unique metabolic needs of women. It curbs cravings, fires-up your metabolism, and burns fat effectively throughout the day. The star ingredient, CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) helps to decrease body fat, most prominently, the fat that is stored around your belly! It also helps you maintain weight loss by retaining lean muscle mass in the process.
A collagen supplement, on the other hand, helps reverse the physical signs of aging by replenishing your body of its natural collagen levels. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body and is found in your skin, hair, nails, bones, joints, muscles, gut lining… basically everywhere. And as you age, your collagen supply begins to decline and doesn’t stop declining until it’s, well… too late. By taking one to three scoops of hydrolyzed collagen peptides daily, you can experience smoother, younger-looking skin with fewer wrinkles, stronger and longer hair and nails, reduced joint pain, stronger muscles and bones, and improved digestion that can lead to weight loss.
RELATED: What Are Collagen Peptides? 5 Things You Need To Know
Train your core effectively
Now that you’re fully prepared to block any chance for belly fat, it’s time to incorporate a killer flat abs workout. These simple exercises for flat abs target all areas of your core so you can burn through belly fat and get that summer bod you’ve always wanted. Are you ready to give it a try? Let’s go!
The Best Flat Abs Workout To Blast Belly Fat
I recommend performing this flat ab workout two to three times per week and increasing this as you progress. You can also play around with the number of reps and sets of each exercise to keep things interesting and overcome plateaus. Something to keep in mind is to ensure that you are being realistic with the frequency with performing this flat ab workout. Is it realistic for you to do it three times a week? What about two? Before committing to a routine, make sure you’re setting goals you’ll actually stick to. This way, you don’t get discouraged and are motivated to stay on track to meeting your weight loss goals.
The top 7 exercises for flat abs
These are the 7 best exercises you should be doing regularly if you want flat abs…
Complete 20 reps of each exercise for 3 rounds. Rest as needed.
- Plank (1 minute)
- Flutter kicks
- Side plank crunches
- Crossbody mountain climbers
- Russian twists
- V-ups
- Sit-ups
