Six pack abs are the most sought after body part, according to online search engines.  Vanity aside, belly fat is also reported to be the most dangerous place your body can store fat when it comes to your health.  Although you cannot spot reduce, lowering your total body fat and adding exercises that incorporate your core will help you achieve abs you’re searching for.

During the summer, it seems like there is a spotlight shining on your midsection with trendy midriff bearing shirts and bikini bathing suits on weekends.  From tips that improve your belly in just an hour to a few weeks time, here are my top 5 tips for shaping your abs:

1. Add Strength Training To Your Routine

If you have a significant amount of weight to lose, abs will not appear until you begin to lower your total body fat percentage.  You cannot spot reduce and just lose weight in your stomach.  Total body strength training is one of, if not the most, important fitness components to burning fat.  Genetics determine where the inches are lost at first, but you will notice a significant reduction in size overall with bi-weekly dedication to lifting weights.  Cardio bunnies miss out on the metabolic boost your body receives from pumping the iron.  To burn off that layer in the most efficient manner to reveal a toned core, add strength training.

2. Take a Weekly Pilates class.

Pilates is amazing when it comes to creating a flatter stomach.  You may see results immediately when leaving the studio!  The practice teaches you to engage your midsection, sitting up taller instantly after class.  After four weeks, you’ll begin to notice the definition.  Most of the moves place importance on the core, engaging your abdominal during almost every exercise.  If you can’t get to a free class at your local gym, do a search on YouTube for a quick workout that is sure to fire up those abs.  Pilates is great if you do not have a lot of fat to lose and are looking more for definition and also helpful for those who sit at a desk all day.

3.  Engage Your Abs during Cardio

After you have learned how to suck your belly button in toward your lower spine from Pilates, practice doing it while running or walking.  Mentally connecting your movement to your abs will instantly challenge your core.  It takes practice to master, but aim to pull your navel in toward your lower back for 15 seconds every other minute.  It’s like doing a plank while running, forcing your entire core to work intensely.

4. Stop Doing Crunches

Crunches are terrible on your neck if you do not do them properly.  Most people do not do them correctly and even when they do, they are not the most efficient use of your time.  Try doing a plank on your forearms for 30 seconds (see photo!).  Work your way up to 1 minute.  Don’t let your hips sag, and engage your total body, squeezing your glutes and thighs together.  Keep your back straight and in line with your head and neck.  Add in side planks as well to get your obliques.

5.  Abs Are Made In the Kitchen

Poor nutritional decisions in the kitchen will hurt your efforts toward a toned tummy, more so than any other body part.  To cut down on belly fat, avoid processed foods.  Stick to a diet that focuses on nutritious and wholesome foods and avoid refined starches like white bread, white pasta and baked sweets.  A good diet trumps a good workout every single day.  It may take 10 minutes to eat a muffin for breakfast but it takes 50 minutes on the treadmill to burn off the same amount.  Choose your foods wisely.

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