1. You Can't Spot Reduce
Contrary to popular belief, you can't spot reduce fat in any area of your body. In order to have flat abs, you have to work your entire body to increase your metabolism and reduce your body fat percentage. The lower your body fat and the more muscle you build, the more toned you become overall, including your abs. Lower your body fat by eating a healthy, low-calorie diet and by incorporating fat burning cardiovascular exercise into your ab workout routine.
2. Focus on Form
Learn proper form for ab exercises. You're better off doing 10 crunches with good form than 100 crunches with poor form. Not only do you decrease your injury risk when you use proper form, but you actually work the muscles better when you do the exercise correctly. Press your lower back into the floor and maintain a neutral spine throughout the exercises. Lift your upper body using your abs, not by cranking your head and neck in toward your chest.
3. Stretch Out, Tone Up
Stretch your abs out after each workout. Stretching muscles helps them recover from a workout and reduces post workout muscle soreness. Stretch your abs out by standing up and reaching your hands up over your head. Clasp your hands together and pull your body as tall as you can, leaning back slightly until you feel the stretch in your abs.
4. Ready, Set, Crunch
The basic crunch is probably the exercise most people think of when they think ab workout. Sometimes called a sit-up, the crunch works your upper abdominal muscles. To do the crunch, lie on the floor with your legs up in the air. If you prefer, you can also put your feet down on the floor, knees bent to a 45-degree angle. Place your hands behind your head to gently support your neck as you lift. Contract your abs to pull your shoulders off of the ground about 6 inches. Slowly lower back down about half the way. Repeat this motion for the desired number of repetitions.
5. Leg Lifts Tone the Lower Abs
Use your legs as a weight to work out your lower abs. This is a simple enough exercise to perform, but don't let its simplicity fool you. Do a few and feel the burn! Lie on your back and pull your abs in by squeezing your belly button in toward your spine. Lift your legs up to a 90-degree angle. Slowly lower your legs to a 45-degree angle, focusing on squeezing your abs in to control the movement. Squeeze to bring your legs back up to a 90-degree angle. You feel this exercise in your lower abs. Repeat until you're unable to maintain proper form.
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