When you think of toning abs exercises, you first thought is probably to do crunches and other abs exercises, right? While you may be right, doing those alone won’t show any results. That’s because by only doing crunches you won’t lose weight and you won’t lose any body fat.
The only way to get a flat stomach fast is by exercising smartly. Because when you exercise smartly you don’t have to train so hard. You will get better results in less time and your work out will be more effective. Exercising smartly involves including cardio, weight training as well as toning exercises in your exercise regime. But don’t forget, you will also have to watch what you eat.
Weight training and cardio are both great toning abs exercises as well as being fat burning exercises. Let’s look at what cardio and weight training would include:
Cardio exercises (or in more formal terms, cardiovascular exercise)
This refers to any type of exercise that uses your large muscles (like your legs), and focuses on increasing your heart rate for a certain period of time. Exercises that I would see as cardio exercises include:
- Walking or hiking
- Eliptical exercise
- Jogging
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Hula-hooping (Great for toning love handles)
- Any other type of exercise that you do for about half an hour and that gets you sweating.
Aim to get about 30 minutes of cardio in 3-4 times a week for best results.
Strength training exercises
When I talk about strength training, I refer to any exercise that focuses on muscle building. This includes lifting weights, doing weight machines in the gym, or any other type of resistance training. When doing strength training, you usually focus on different muscle groups, such as you upper body muscles (chest, arms and back), lower body muscles (legs, thighs and buns), and very importantly, your core muscles (abdominals, side bends).
And, don’t worry about it. Doing weights is not going to make you look like a gorilla. It is not complicated; in fact, it is even easier than most cardio exercises.And yes, it will definitely help you lose weight and tone that abs.
Abdominal defining exercises
Your abdominal muscles are made up of four different parts, so in order to get a flat stomach, it is important to target all these muscles equally.
The best toning exercises that targets all these muscles include:
1. The basic normal crunch – The basic crunch is still one of the best exercises to do for your upper abs.
2. The stability ball oblique crunch – Although this exercise is more difficult, it is great for losing your love handles and toning your obliques
3. Captain’s deck chair knee rises – A very challenging (and rewarding) exercise to do in the gym and works your lower abs to perfection.
4. Reverse crunch – By crunching your abs into the air with raised legs, you target lots of the different muscle groups.
If you combine these exercises you will be on your way to getting a flat, toned tummy. Investing in some cardiovascular fitness equipment will help you do so. Just remember that it will take some time, so don’t expect anything too soon. But if you exercise regularly, watch what you eat and you stay motivated and dedicated you will surely succeed.
