Sit-ups are the only exercise that will really tone your tummy, right?
Wrong! While many tummy workouts focus fully on a routine of nothing but sit-ups, we’ve got Want rock hard abs?
This 10-Minute, At-Home Ab Workout Will Fire Up Your Entire Core.
10 min CARDIO ABS Workout
Here are the best exercises sure to tone and trim that tum.
Sit-ups are the only exercise that will really tone your tummy, right? Wrong! While many tummy workouts focus fully on a routine of nothing but sit-ups, we’ve got something a little different for you.
The best part? The whole routine will take you 10 minutes and is simple enough that even a fitness novice could follow the moves.
As well as trimming your tum, these exercises will help to strengthen your core, which is essential for a good posture, takes pressure of your back, hips and knees and helps you to sit up taller and straighter.
For the sit-up section, make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly and check your form before you start; when lying flat on your back, suck in your tummy muscles and make sure your back, including your lower back, is pressed down onto your mat.
This will make your stomach muscles work properly, harder and should help to stop any back pain.
Try and do these exercises every single day for a stronger core and stronger back.
Amazing tips for yout abs
You’ve heard it before, but abs really are made in the kitchen.
If you’re over 17% body fat then diet is key – losing body fat will help to reveal your abs and create the appearance of a more toned stomach.
There are no miracle foods, but if you eat around your maintenance calories (the number of calories you can eat per day without putting on or losing weight) or slightly less every day and train four to five times per week, you’ll lose body fat.
Consistency is key and tracking your calorie needs on MyFitnesPal can help.
Unless you’re already very lean (in which case you should work your abs three times a week with varying intensity), you should aim to do some overall core work in each session.
Strengthening your core will make it easier for your body to perform things like deadlifts and squats – think of it as performance training rather than body shape changing.
If you’re on a mission to strengthen your core and tone your tummy, consider bookending your gym session with some core activation at the beginning and finishing with some more isolated and challenging moves.
There’s no one exercise move that will give you abs, but some sort of rollout variation is one of the best you can do.
Whether it’s a TRX fall out , ball rollout or ab wheel rollout, countless studies have shown these kinds of movements create the most activation of abdominal muscles compared to other direct core exercises.
Whether you struggle to stay motivated or need some inspiration for your next session, look to Instagram.
Coaches such as Tony Gentilcore , Dr John Rusin, Jordan Syatt and Brett Contreras offer great, qualified advice on both nutrition and workouts.
Planks are a great way to tone your abs.
Crunches may be lauded as one of the best exercises for your core but they’re not all they’re cracked up to be.
The crunch hits a very small muscle group so if you’re time poor then you’re far better off doing a deeper exercise to target the entire core.
There’s also the issue of repeated bouts of spinal flexion – countless crunches can lead to overuse of the spinal flexors, which can lead to lower back and spinal disc injuries.
If you’re a total beginner and looking to tone up and develop your core strength, it could be worth skipping the gym and trying yoga and Pilates instead.
The majority of beginners will need to work on their skeletal alignment and if you aren’t 100% sure what you’re doing in the gym, the likes of yoga and Pilates can be a great way to get going.
One of the biggest mistakes I see women making when it comes to their abs is doing too much cardio and direct core training.
The aim should always be to get the biggest bang for your buck – not that cardio isn’t important, but strength work and higher intensity work should also be in your weekly plan.
Aim for three strength sessions, one or two intensity-based cardio sessions and one longer duration/steady state cardio for real results.