You’re close to your target weight and you’ve spent countless hours in the gym, and now you’re wondering why you still don’t have a flat belly.
They key to this is threefold: a calorie controlled diet to make sure you’re not storing excess belly fat, a good all round workout to keep those calories burning, and a targeted workout for the muscles in your stomach.
1. The Squat
The squat is a perfect core exercise that not only strengths your legs, but also your abs. Your ab muscles will hold tension as you squat, taking on the role of keeping you balanced. Hold your stomach in as you squat for the best results.
Mix up the kind of squats you do to keep things interesting and target different core muscles.
2. The Boat
Both the high boat and the low boat move will have a huge effect on your belly. Most floor based ab centered exercises focus on raising either your torso or legs off the ground. The boat does both at the same time, making it a double whammy of an exercise.
Start with a twenty second hold and work up to three minutes.
3. The Reverse Crunch
The reverse crunch is a good exercise, as unlike many crunch varieties, it not only targets your abs but your obliques as well, a muscle that is often over looked but super important on the quest for a flat belly.
Start with three sets of ten reps and aim to build up to three sets of twenty-five reps.
4. The Plank
Planking is a fantastic, low impact, way to strength your abs. In this pose, your abs take the majority of your body weight and hold it in position. Don’t forget to also include oblique planks for the best all round results.
Start with twenty sections for each plank and aim to build up to three minutes of each one.
5. Speed Walking
Speed walking is one of the best low impact ways to burn calories and body fat. Speed walking, either on a treadmill or outside, is a good way to get your body primed to show off your six pack by burning excess belly fat. It’s also a good way to maintain fat loss. Suck your abs in tight to give them a small workout too.
Aim to do three to five thirty to sixty minute sessions per week for initial loss, and two to three thirty-minute weekly session for maintenance.
6. Flutter Kicks
Flutter (or scissor) kicks work your abs and also your quads and your glutes making them a good core workout essential. Not only are they a great muscle work out, but they also help to burn fat through calorie burning too, which is something some of the more basic crunches lack.
Start off with three sets of twenty-five building up to three sets of fifty or set a timer and do continuous kicks for the time. For the timer method, start with thirty seconds, building up to a minute. Repeat this three times.
