Doing abdominal exercises for your entire stomach, not just crunches for your rectus abdominis, or six-pack muscle, will flatten your tummy quickly. Doing exercises that also target your external obliques, internal obliques and transverse abdominis are the fastest way to tighten your tummy, according to an article called "The Fastest Way to Firmer Abs" in the January 2010 issue of Shape magazine. Four weeks of core exercises twice a week will get you a flat stomach. Five days a week of high-intensity cardio will help you burn fat off your stomach and shed weight.
Step 1
Do six to eight reps of the Rotating Plank Reach exercise. Hold a 5 lb. dumbbell in your left hand and place it on the floor. Place both hands on the floor at shoulder-width distance apart and line up your shoulders above your wrists. Hold yourself up on your hands and toes in a push-up position. Flatten your back and squeeze your stomach. Reach your left hand and the dumbbell across your chest. Rotate your shoulders to the left and twist your entire body so that you are facing sideways with your left hip above your right and your left shoulder above your right shoulders. Extend your left arm into the air. Twist back to the right and reach across your chest again. This completes one rep. Do the same number on the other side holding the dumbbell with your right hand.
Step 2
Do the Swing and Hold exercise. Hold a 6 lb. dumbbell in both hands in front of your body. Stand with your feet greater than shoulder-width apart. Tuck your pelvis and squeeze your abs. Raise the dumbbell up to your right shoulder and step your feet together. Step your feet apart again and lower the dumbbell between your legs to finish one rep. After 15 reps, do 15 more raising the dumbbell to your left shoulder.
Step 3
Do the Squat Pivot exercise. Attach two resistance cables to a stationary object on the ground. Stand facing the object holding one resistance cable by the handle in each hand. Rotate your palms inward and keep your arms straight. Bend your knees and stick your hips backward to do a squat. Stand up and rotate to the right, stepping back with your right foot and pivoting on your left so that your feet are now shoulder-width apart facing sideways to the object. Step and rotate back to your starting position. Do 15 reps to one side and then do 15 reps rotating the opposite way.
Step 4
Run, hike, swim laps or cycle hills five days a week at a high intensity to burn the most calories. Any form of cardio will work, including cardio machines, but be sure to exercise at an intensity that elevates your breathing and heart rate enough that you can speak but not hold a conversation, as recommended by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.
Things You'll Need
- Resistance cables
- 5 lb. dumbbells
- 6 lb. dumbbells
References
- "NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training: Course Manual"; National Academy of Sports Medicine; 2008
- "The Fastest Way to Firmer Abs"; Shape magazine; Jeanine Detz; January 2010
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