Love Your Abs Workout Tips and Tricks
Do you love your abs? If you’re like most people the answer to that is NO! But let’s be honest here, having great abs that you love is definitely not easy. With a consistent calorie deficit plus intense workouts as part of the requirements for amazing abs it’s really no surprise that most of us (even trainers) struggle to get those picture perfect abs we see in all the fitness magazines.
But here’s 5 sensible strategies that will at least get you to where you like your abs and maybe that can be a jumping off point for taking it to the next level and eventually sculpting abs you totally love!
1.How Do You Create A Calorie Deficit?
How on earth do you create a calorie deficit with decadent temptation all around you? If it’s not the winter holidays getting in your way it’s the spring and summer celebrations plus work and stress and so many other obstacles you must overcome. Here’s the easy way to create a sensible caloric deficit that will get your abs to look amazing:
Track your current calorie intake for a week. This is key to know!
Cut 100-200 calories from your current daily intake
Cut the worst offenders first (wine, candy, pastries, chips, crackers, pizza, beer, ALL the junk)
Go next level with your calorie cutting (dairy, bad starches, bad fats, processed meats, excess sugary foods even if natural, excess nuts)
Don’t go overboard with calorie cutting or food eliminating! Too much cutting = cheating
Basically what you’ll be left with is lots of veggies, some fruits, lean proteins like chicken and fish and healthy starches like oats, quinoa, brown rice, and a moderate amount of healthy fats. That’s what it takes to see amazing abs and you must commit to it for at least 2 months without cheating then after you see results you can decide on whether to incorporate cheats. In the video here you can learn how to know if you’re in a calorie deficit.
2. How Are You Supposed to Train Your Abs?
Ab training is one of those controversial topics that trainers LOVE to argue about. Weighted abs vs. plank work vs. daily or just twice a week vs. functional core vs bodybuilder style ab work vs pilates and lots of moderate cardio vs HIIT . No wonder people get so confused.
Here’s the deal: If your core is weak and bulging out then weighted ab work is going to make it bulge out even more. If you’ve already got tons of muscle from working the weighted ab exercises but your layer of belly fat won’t budge then you don’t need more weighted ab work you need fatloss training.
What your unique body needs to get great abs depends a lot on where you are on your ab training journey. Here’s a quick list to get you started:
Assess your core strength, stability, and bodyfat
Create an ab workout plan that addresses your top issues
Stop following random workouts and get on a total body plan that works for your needs
Commit to your plan for at least 8 weeks! 2 months is the minimum commitment.
If you need help with core assessments and a customized workout plan be sure book some sessions or check out my Corset Core workout plan that fixes lots of core issues and strengthens those deep ab muscles (corset muscles) for flat toned abs. The video here is a great one from that plan!
3. How To Eat To Eliminate Ab Bloat & Get Flatter Tighter Abs?
One of the biggest issues both men and women have with getting great looking abs is gut health. It’s not easy to eat clean 100% of the time and our food supply is chock full of ingredients that contribute to sluggish digestion, belly bloat, and belly fat storing conditions. It seems impossible to fix but it’s actually easier than you think.
Get your probiotic/prebiotic greens drink on every day
Learn about your food intolerances or allergies
Find out your ideal food macros with DNA testing
Manage your stress, your sleep habits and your hydration daily!
Find ways to slow down your eating for better digestion
4. How To Train Your Whole Body for Fitter Looking Abs?
This blog on love your abs strategies would not be complete without some quick tips on total body training. You must strength train your entire body (not just your abs and arms) to get great abs. Training the larger body parts not only burns tons of fat and calories, it also boosts your metabolism for 48 hours following your workout. Strength training also tightens up areas of your body that help your abs look better too. Unfortunately, cardio alone isn’t going to cut it for tight toned abs so here’s a good total body plan for getting great abs is:
Day 1 total body HIIT
Day 2 moderate cardio and core work
Day 3 back chest legs and traditional abs
Day 4 moderate cardio and pilates or yoga
Day 5 core focused HIIT
Day 6 moderate cardio and traditional abs
If you need a good mix of total body metabolic and ab fatloss workouts you can get started with my Bodycon Female Fitness workout plan, a rapid fatloss that can help you reduce bodyfat and reveal tight toned abs.
5. How To Burn Max Fat for Leaner Looking Abs?
Some of the best ways to burn as much fat as possible whether you’re training total body or doing cardio and core work or other traditional ab work include:
Circuit style workout. Try my metabolic workout below for great results!
High intensity AND variable intensity throughout the week
Little to no rest between exercises
20-30 minute daily workouts instead of 60 minute workouts 2x per week *say no to weekend warrior syndrome that make your belly fatter!
Use light, moderate and heavy weights throughout the week
Change it up as soon as your body starts to adapt. For some that’s as soon as 2 weeks
Add in extra activities any chance you get i.e. hiking, walking, biking, tennis, golf, swimming, dance, stand up paddle boarding, gardening, cleaning, **get so physical you annoy people haha!
You know you’re doing it right when people start calling you a fitness freak or they joke that they hate you because you’re so committed to your health and fitness goals. Need more help? Follow us on youtube or instagram for our Love Your Abs workout video coming soon.