When most people think of super flat abs, they think of extensive exercise programs involving countless crunches and similar movements. In reality, exercise is only one component of achieving a flat stomach. Those who are educated in the realm of fitness often use the phrase, "abs are made in the kitchen," to refer to the importance of diet in the stomach flattening process. By following this program of diet and exercise religiously, you'll be able to noticeably flatten your stomach in a matter of weeks.
Step 1
Adjust your diet to create a caloric deficit. This will decrease the incoming food energy available to your body, forcing it to burn fat, leading to a flatter stomach. Plug your age, sex, height and weight into a free online basal metabolic calculator; this will provide you with an approximate figure for the number of daily calories necessary to sustain your current body mass. Aim to create a diet featuring approximately 500 fewer calories than your basal metabolic rate; according to MayoClinic.com, this will allow you to lose approximately one pound of fat per week through diet alone.
Step 2
Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise. This will burn excess calories as well as maintain your metabolism, which might otherwise drop due to your calorie-restricted diet. At first, aim to satisfy the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for weekly cardiovascular exercise: either three, 20-minute sessions of high intensity activity or five, 30-minute sessions of moderate intensity activity. As your fitness improves, aim to increase the frequency and duration of your cardio, up to as much as one hour per day, seven days per week.
Step 3
Train your abdominals directly at least twice per week. At each training session, select five abdominal exercises of your choice. The best options in terms of eliciting muscular stimulation in the abdominals include standard crunches, leg raises, bicycle crunches, captain's chair and reverse crunches. For each exercise, perform two sets of as many repetitions as you can manage without sacrificing proper form. Rest for approximately one minute between sets and two minutes between exercises.
Tips and Warnings
- If you're significantly overweight, consider selecting a low impact activity for your cardiovascular training. This will eliminate stress on the knee joint, thereby greatly reducing your risk of acute or chronic knee injury.
- Always consult your doctor before embarking on an unfamiliar program of diet or exercise.
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