Getting washboard abs is a challenging proposition for women. After all, women in general have less muscles in their core and their tendency for bloated bellies can make their abdomen appear larger.
Getting a flat abdomen isn’t just about a sexier appearance although it’s usually the first reason women work hard in gyms like Gold’s Gym. It’s also about enjoying the benefits of a stronger core, from proper posture to a tougher body.
But if you want a flatter and stronger core, you have to work hard at it. Here are a few tips that can help in blasting your bloated look.
Targeted Exercises
Britney Spears purportedly makes a thousand crunches in a day to maintain her enviable washboard abs. You may or may not follow her example but you can add these two targeted exercises to your abs routine. These are especially useful when you’re targeting your upper stomach area.
First, the long arm crunch:
- Lie on your back on an exercise mat. Bend your knees but keep your feet flat.
- Clasp your hands and extend your arms overhead.
- Contract your abdominal muscles while lifting your head and shoulder off the mat.
- Keep your neck in a relaxed position since the emphasis is on your core muscles.
- Return to the starting position.
- Repeat as many times as you can.
Second, the Russian twist:
- Sit on the floor but keep your spine in its neutral position.
- Bend your knees.
- Hold an exercise ball in your hands and extend your arms in front.
- Lean back at a 45-degree angle.
- Twist to your right and hold for 3 counts.
- Return to the starting position.
- Twist to your left and hold for 3 counts.
- Repeat.
Wholistic Approach
But these targeted exercises will only be effective in blasting your bloated belly if and when these are combined with a healthy and balanced diet, cardio and strength training exercises, and sensible lifestyle habits.
This is because the abdomen has the most stubborn fats in the body. Even if you perform a thousand sit-ups and the like every day, you will still be unable to get washboard abs without a wholistic approach to fat burning – and it includes all three elements.
Before you perform the targeted exercises for washboard abs, you must then decrease your body fat and increase your lean muscle. When you have achieved it, your goal of getting a flatter tummy with toned definition will be within your reach