Get Abs at Home

Do you want washboard abs in time for summer weather? The first crucial step to getting solid abs is reducing fat around your midsection so your muscles will show. Combining diet with an ab-focused exercise regimen will strengthen your belly area and keep you looking toned and hard. A few months of sticking to a healthy diet and working out those abs will absolutely pay off - you just have to commit. See Step 1 to find out how to get the abs you want without ever stepping into a gym!

Steps

Losing Belly Fat

1. Eat whole foods. Filling up your diet with foods that haven't been processed and don't have a lot of artificial ingredients will give you the best chances for success when it comes to losing weight around your middle. The easiest way to do this is to cook from scratch instead of going out to eat or buying prepared foods. While these options are very convenient, it's difficult to know exactly what you're eating. Instead, buy whole, fresh ingredients and cook as many meals yourself as you possibly can.
   • Eat plenty of vegetables - the wider the variety, the better. Try to make most of your meals vegetable-based.
   • Look for meat with minimal processing, preferably labeled "hormone-free." The hormones given to animals to bulk them up faster can cause health problems in humans.
   • Choose whole grains like brown rice, quinoa and oatmeal over white flour-based items.
   • Try making a big pot of soup or a healthy, Make Barley and Vegetable Casserole at the beginning of the week; that way you won't have to cook every day.
   • Don't forget the importance of healthy fats when it comes to weight loss - olive oil, avocados, nuts, and fish are all excellent sources.
   • Eat regularly, and do not skip meals. Skipping meals will only slow down your metabolism and your body will not burn excess fat. You will need to burn excess body fat so that your abs will be visible.
2. Cut out processed carbs. Eating refined sugars and starches can lead to weight gain and fat retention. Processing sugar, flour, potatoes, rice, and other starches removes the nutrients and fiber from the product. Cookies, cakes, potato chips, white bread, pasta, and other processed carbohydrates cause the blood sugar to spike and lead to fat retention. For many people, the belly area is the first place where the fat collects. The good news is, that's also the area where people tend to see results first when they begin a weight loss regimen - so switching out refined carbohydrates for whole-grain alternatives will probably help you see results very quickly.
   • Avoid sugary beverages like soft drinks. Even diet soft drinks have been shown to cause weight gain, not help with weight loss.
   • Instead of drinking fruit juice, eat whole fruits; that way you'll get the healthy fiber instead of just the sugar.
   • Take a break from packaged snack foods, even protein bars and granola bars, when you're trying to lose weight. Even items labeled as "healthy" could contain a lot of refined sugars and flours that'll make it hard to take that weight off.
3. Manage your stress. It might not seem like that big a deal, but being stressed out can have a huge effect on the shape of your body. Do you take time to destress every day? If not, it's likely that your body is overproducing cortisol, the hormone that is secreted in response to extreme stress. Too much cortisol secretion leads to the accumulation of fat around the torso - the spare tire effect. Taking measures to calm down can go a long way toward losing the pounds that are obscuring your abdominal muscles.
   • Figure out which stressors you can eliminate from your life. Are you completely over scheduled? Cross a few activities off your list so you have more time to relax. Opt out of events you don't really need to attend in favor of staying in and resting sometimes. You probably didn't realize that resting could help you lose weight around your middle, right?
   • Have rituals that help you relax. Whether it's daily mediation, quiet time outside breathing fresh air, a walk with your dog that you never skip, or a hot bath in the evenings, have a ritual that helps you calm down when you're feeling stressed.
   • Learn how to breathe correctly. Taking shallow breaths tells your brain that your body is under stress, and the adrenal glands go into overdrive to produce cortisol. It's really important to breathe correctly - that is, from your diaphragm. When you breathe in, your belly should move outward, and when you exhale, it should pull back in.
4. Get plenty of sleep every night. A lack of sleep can cause people to gain and retain belly weight in two ways. First, it stresses the body out, causing the overproduction of cortisol. Second, it lowers inhibition, making people more likely to overindulge in foods they'd normally refrain from eating. Whereas the well-rested you might wake up early, eat a healthy breakfast and make solid choices for lunch and dinner, your sleep-deprived self will be much more likely to try to wake your body up by eating too much salt or refined sugar or flour. The solution is to get a good 7 to 8 hours as often as possible.
   • Having a sleep schedule can really help. Try to go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning.
   • Oversleeping can also have a negative effect on your health, so try to get up after 8 hours rather than letting yourself sleep for 9, 10 or more.
5. Eat breakfast every morning. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast is an important way to slim down. That's because eating nutrient-rich calories first thing will keep you feeling full and energized for hours. Skipping this meal will make you more likely to eat a big lunch and dinner, with snacks in between. Start your day off right with the following foods:
   • Oatmeal. It has a low glycemic index, so it won't raise your blood sugar and lead to hunger pangs. Oatmeal will keep you feeling full for a long time. Top it with almonds and cut up fresh fruit for a delicious, healthy breakfast option.
   • Scrambled eggs. Having protein in the morning is another great way to keep yourself nourished and full. Studies show that people who eat protein first thing stay full for a long time. Waiting until later in the day to get your protein fix doesn't have quite the same effect.
   • Grapefruit and apples. These two amazing fruits both have components that help suppress the appetite and keep your body nourished.
6. Drink a lot of water. Drinking plenty of water has been shown to increase people's metabolic rates by up to 30%. Results are best when you drink 8 glasses or more per day, spacing them out over the course of the day to stay well-hydrated. The practice of drinking plenty of water will help you burn calories faster and keep your body in good condition for the next important step in getting abs at home - building up those muscles!
   • On the other hand, avoid drinking any beverages that will add calories to your diet. Do not drink sodas, alcohol, soft drinks or other highly caloric beverages.

Building Ab Muscles

1. Do crunches. This is one of the best exercises you can do to start strengthening those abs right away, in your home, without ever needing to go to the gym. You don't need any special equipment - just a comfortable spot on the floor. Here's how to do it:
   • Lie on the floor with your knees bent and your feet firmly planted.
   • Cross your hands over your chest.
   • Using your ab muscles, lift your torso and head forward, so that your shoulders leave the floor. Pause at the top, then slowly lower yourself down.
   • Don't lift your back off the floor, as this can cause you to strain it.
   • Do 3 sets of 20 crunches to start.
2. Do side crunches. Get in the same position you use to do regular crunches, with your knees bent and your arms crossed over your chest. This time, crunch to one side, moving your head and arms to either the left or right of your knees. Crunch on the same side for an entire set, then switch to the other side and do another set.
3. Do planks. This exercise might seem easy, but you'll feel the burn that tells you you're doing something right! This is a good exercise to do if you're worried about making your ab muscles look too big, and you just want them sleek and toned.
   • Lie on the floor on your stomach, with your legs stretched out behind you.
   • Lift yourself up onto your forearms. Your elbows should be directly below your shoulders, with your arms pointed forward, like a Sphinx.
   • Raise your torso and legs up so that your arms and tiptoes are holding your body's weight. You should feel your ab muscles tighten.
   • Hold the position for 30 seconds. Relax on the floor, then do another 30.
4. Do side planks. Get in the same position you assume for the basic plank. This time, raise yourself up on just one forearm - either the right or the left - and point the other hand toward the sky. Your body and head should be turned sideways. Hold the position for 30 seconds, then do the same thing on the other side. The side plank strengthens the oblique muscles on either side of your abdomen.
5. Do leg lifts. Lie on your back with your arms at your sides and your legs stretched out. Keeping your legs together and your back straight, lift your legs off the floor until they reach a 90 degree angle. Hold them for a beat, then lower them back to the floor. Do 3 sets of 15 leg lifts.
   • You can also do alternating leg lifts, lifting one leg at a time in rotation.
   • Make this exercise harder by attaching weights to your ankles or keeping an exercise ball between your feet as you raise your legs.
6. Try bicycle crunches to work the lower abs. Lie on your back with your knees bent so your feet are parallel to the floor. Straighten out your left leg, and bring your left elbow to your right knee by twisting across your body. Then, straighten out your right leg, and bring your right elbow to your left knee and repeat the repetitions.
7. Do the single-leg stretch to work your upper abs. Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent. Slightly lift your head towards your chest. Pull your left leg into your chest, and grab it with your hands. Then, lift your right leg to a 45 degree angle, hold for a few seconds, then switch legs.
8. Don't forget cardio. Perform cardiovascular exercise, like running, biking and swimming, a few times a week. Remember that your body needs to burn fat so that your abs will be visible, and cardio will help with full-body weight loss.

Getting Solid Results

1. Work your abs 3 times a week. Develop a routine so that your abs get stronger and firmer over time. Don't work on your abs every single day; your muscles need a day in between workouts to rest and repair themselves in order to gain strength. Aim to work out your muscles every other day or every 3 days.
   • On your days off of ab exercises, work out other muscle groups, like your arms, back and legs. Developing full-body strength will definitely help your core stay firm, too.
   • Focus on going all in every time you work out. When you notice that your ab exercises are starting to feel easy, push yourself a little harder. Add more reps, go faster, or add some weight to the mix. If you don't, you're likely to plateau instead of seeing the results you want.
2. Stay motivated with a friend. Getting abs is no easy feat, and there will definitely be days when you're tired of working so hard at it. Having strong, nice-looking abs is always a work in progress, and it's okay if you backslide a bit now and then. That said, it's important to have some tricks up your sleeve to stay motivated and pick yourself back up when you're ready to quit. Setting goals with a friend can be a huge help - you can call each other up and commiserate, have workout sessions together, and trade tips that work for you.
   • Have a scheduled day of the week when you and your friend do an ab workout together. You won't want to back out on your friend!
3. Give yourself a deadline. Tell yourself you're going to follow this routine - eating healthy, sleeping well, drinking water, and exercising - for 2 months. If you don't like what you see after two months, you're allowed to stop. 2 months of focusing on your abs is definitely enough time to see results, so hopefully you won't want to stop when the time's up.
4. Reward yourself for making progress. When you start to see your waistline shrink, treat yourself to something nice to motivate you to keep going. You could buy a new pair of pants, an expensive box of green tea, or treat yourself to a movie night. Just don't let your indulgence be too high in calories - that'll just negate all your hard work!

Tips

• Do not do too many abdominal exercises, doing too many does not create the best results. For the best results, perform your abs exercises slowly.
• Lie on your back flat and lift your arms and your legs toward the sky. Touch your left foot with your right hand, do the same on the opposite sides and repeat about 30-50 times.

Warnings

• If you find any of the exercises to be painful, do not perform them.

Related Articles

• Perform the Plank Exercise
• Do Side Planks With an Exercise Ball
• Do a Plank Twist With an Exercise Ball
• Do the Plank Pose

Sources and Citations

See also

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• Get Tight Abs
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• Get Six Pack Abs Fast
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• Get a Smaller Waist
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