3 Exercises That Tone Your Stomach
So you may have opened this blog expecting to see 3 ab exercises that were going to magically blast away that unwanted belly fat. Whilst it’s not quite as simple as clicking, working out and watching your abs appear out of nowhere, these are 3 exercises that may really surprise you!
One thing that many people don’t know is that you don’t necessarily NEED to do ab exercises every day in order to achieve lean, toned abs. In fact, you don’t NEED to specifically do ab exercises in general. This idea, called spot reduction, is an absolute myth. What I mean is that you can’t pick and choose where you lose fat on your body. So you could do 500 crunches a day and still not see the results you’re hoping for.
How to tone your stomach
So then I guess you’re all wondering “how DO I get flat abs?”
While it doesn’t sound overly glamourous, getting flatter or leaner abs actually involves decreasing the amount of fat beneath your skin. This fat, called subcutaneous fat, kind of acts like a “blanket” for your abdominal muscles. Reduce the thickness of this blanket, and hellllllloooooo abs!
In order to achieve “toned” abs, we need to consider a whole bunch of things such as our diet, training, stress and sleep patterns. When all of these things are in balance, then our bodies can find it easier to shed unwanted fat.
Whilst the exercises below may not be the first ones that come to mind when you think of an “ab workout”, they can actually help you achieve your goals of a flatter stomach. Each of these require us to use several large muscle groups at the same time.
Why is that important? Generally speaking, the more muscles or muscle groups that are involved when we exercise, the more calories we are able to burn. And as we know, when we burn more calories than we consume, this can lead to fat loss, which can cause us to look more toned.
Got a spare 10 minutes?
Set a timer for 5 minutes and complete these 3 exercises as many times as you can. Take a 30-60 second break and repeat for another 5 minutes.
- Jump Squat - 15 reps
- Burpee - 10 reps
- Mountain Climber (4) + Push Up (1) - 15 reps
1. Jump Squat
Begin with your feet shoulder apart. Bend your hips and knees until your upper legs are parallel with the floor, ensuring that your back remains upright. From here, jump upwards into the air and extend your legs below you. Land with “soft” knees and repeat.
2. Burpee
To perform a burpee, place your hands on the floor directly in front of your feet. Keeping your weight on your hands, jump both of your feet backwards to land in push up position. Jump your feet back in towards your hands, ensuring that they stay shoulder width apart. From here, jump upwards into the air and extend your arms above your head and legs below you. Land with “soft” knees and repeat.
3. Mountain Climber (4) + Push Up (1)
Just like you can’t pick and choose where you gain fat, you can’t pick and choose where it comes off either. Don’t fall into the pattern of thinking that you HAVE to do ab exercises to get lean, toned abs. This could be achieved easier and quicker by doing exercises that use a large number of muscle groups, such as the ones above. At the end of the day. the key to achieving a “toned” abs is to reduce the amount of fat all over your body.
* Disclaimer: This blog post is not intended to replace the advice of a medical professional. The above information should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Please consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet, sleep methods, daily activity, or fitness routine. Sweat assumes no responsibility for any personal injury or damage sustained by any recommendations, opinions, or advice given in this article.
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