Most of us are currently trying to blast belly fat to create a sleek, toned and summer-ready body. If you feel like it’s always a struggle to slim down your stomach, get ahead of the curve now and start doing some easy exercises you can complete from the comfort of your own home (or anywhere with a flat surface)!
Some everyday ab exercises at home can help you tone your belly as well as build a stronger core to support your spine and reduce back pain. Improved core strength also provides better balance as we work out at home, which reduces the risk of injury. So enjoy a healthier lifestyle and a flatter stomach with these eight easy exercises that tighten your core and flatten your belly.
1. Ab bicycles
Here’s a great flat stomach workout! Lie down on the floor and get into crunch position with your hands behind your head and your elbows straight out to the sides. Lift your chin and start to do a crunch. Bring your right elbow inward to touch your left knee as you simultaneously straighten your right leg. Then, straighten your left leg outward and bring your right knee toward your chest to meet your left elbow. Control your core and exhale as you bring each elbow inward to meet the opposite knee. Complete ten reps of ab bicycles on each side.
2. Bird-dogs
Get on all fours to complete bird-dogs to strengthen and slim your core. Slowly lift your right arm straight out in front of you as you simultaneously straighten and lift your left leg out behind you. Bring your arm and leg back to the floor, and switch sides. Now, raise your left arm and right leg in unison, upwards and outwards, while stabilizing your core. Complete ten reps of bird-dogs on each side.
3. V-ups
This is one of the best ab exercises. Lie down with your back flat on the floor and arms above your head with your body straight. Keep your arms and legs together as you slowly raise them straight upward toward each other, while flexing your core and straightening your spine. Touch your hands to your legs to create a triangle with your body before bringing both arms and legs straight back down to the floor. Complete three sets of ten reps of v-ups to get toned stomach muscles.
4. Plank pose
Get a flat stomach with this easy exercise! To really target your core, get into a traditional plank pose by putting your hands down on the floor, shoulder-width apart. Straighten your body, touch your toes to the floor and keep your shoulders and hips straight and parallel to the floor, making sure they don’t droop or lower. Engage your core to keep your body up straight in the plank position for ten full breaths. Take a rest and complete ten full planks with breaks in between.
5. Side plank dips
Get into side plank position with your body straight, your feet together and your forearm and elbow on the floor, supporting your weight. As you control your core muscles, slowly dip your hip and oblique area lower toward the floor before raising your body back into side plank position. Repeat this motion with ten reps of plank dips on each side.
6. Spiderman
With your forearms shoulder-width apart, place them straight out in front of you touching the floor as you get into low plank position. With your body straight and your feet apart, move your right knee outward, up toward your right shoulder. While engaging your core, replace your right foot back to starting position and switch to move your left knee up toward your left shoulder. Complete ten reps on each side to scale the floor like Spiderman while developing your core strength.
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7. Plank swivel
Get into the low plank position again as you touch your toes and forearms to the floor with your body straight. Engage your abdomen and keep your spine straight as you swivel your hips toward the floor on the right. Then, swivel your core back to the left as you dip toward the ground and bring your body back to center. Balance your body with your ab muscles as you swivel from side to side, completing ten reps of plank swivels on each side. This may be one of the best workouts for belly fat!
8. Basic crunch
Lie down on the floor with your knees bent and your hands behind your head to get into crunch position. Using your core and shoulder strength, raise your abs up toward your hips without straining your neck. Bring your core back down and complete three sets of ten crunches.
