Working to get a six-pack belly is a tough fitness achievement. Once accomplished, you can be proud of the results. However, getting to that point takes real work, including making significant changes to your diet and exercise routine. Remember: Spot reduction doesn't work. You will need to take a balanced approach to your workout, not just do sit-ups, to get a sexy six-pack.
Step 1
Drink plenty of water a day to keep your body hydrated. Avoid high calorie drinks such as soda, punch and beer to cut back on your caloric intake. According to the Institute of Medicine, you should drink about 2.7 L of water a day if you are a woman and 3.7 L if you are a man.
Step 2
Eat between five and six meals each day rather than three to boost your metabolism, says CaloriesPerHour.com. This will help you to burn more calories, which burns fat and makes your six-pack more visible. Eating low-calorie meals more frequently will also prevent you from feeling too hungry, which prevents overeating.
Step 3
Perform a cardiovascular workout for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, suggests MayoClinic.com. Consistent exercise burns calories and will help you lose any fat that's covering your stomach muscles.
Step 4
Incorporate interval training into your cardiovascular workouts. This will give your standard cardio routine a boost of calorie-burning power. To begin, warm up for five minutes by jogging then ramp up your speed into a full-on run for about 30 seconds. Drop your pace back down to a jog for a minute, then back up to a hard run for another 30 seconds. Maintain this pattern for the entirety of your workout routine. Regardless of what type of cardio you're doing, you can add interval training into the mix to burn more calories.
Step 5
Target your abdominal muscles by performing ab-specific resistance exercises. Examples of appropriate exercises to develop your six-pack include sit-ups, crunches, oblique crunches, bicycle crunches, leg lifts and pelvic lifts. Add these exercises to your cardio workout by doing three to four sets of each exercise at least three times a week.
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