Realistic Ways to Get Flat Abs

The models in the fitness program or equipment commercials parade around in half shirts or tight tops, saying you, too, can have great abs with their easy-to-follow program. But realistically, most people don't have enough time in their busy work schedules to prepare five to seven small meals a day (most of which require a blender and fresh fruit) or the money for trendy exercise equipment. A sensible diet and commitment to regular exercise is the right path toward a flatter stomach and perhaps eventually "six-pack" abs, though the task is neither quick nor easy.

Reduce Belly Fat Production

• A proper diet is the first and most important step. Cut out empty calories from soda, candy and chips. White flour products such as pasta and breads may not be considered junk food, but they, too, have processed carbohydrates that are easily converted into fat, according to SixWise.com. SixWise.com also says it's wise to limit alcohol, which is high in calories and reduces energy, and to bake, steam or grill foods instead of frying them to cut down on fat. Once you stop expanding your gut, you can concentrate on making it smaller and eventually more defined.

  Embrace the idea of burning more calories than you consume and lose the fat that has gathered and remained around your stomach first. If you put muscle beneath your fat, your stomach will only get bigger. According to bodybuilding-fitness101.com, abs don't start to show for men until they are at less than 10 percent body fat and women until they are at less than 15 percent body fat. Any activities you do to burn calories and fat--not just ab workouts--will aid in burning off stomach fat.

Your Stomach is Smaller, Now Tone it

• If you have never worked out your stomach before, start the first day with three sets of sit-ups with as many repetitions as you can handle per set. After the three sets, raise your legs about 6 inches off the ground, straighten them, and point your toes forward, keeping your back flat on the ground. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds.

  The following day, perform three sets of sit-ups, plus three sets of leg raises (lower to 6 inches, raise as high as you can without lifting your butt off the ground or letting your back arch) to work the lower part of the abs.

  On the third day, perform the sit-ups, the leg raises, and add three sets of oblique crunches (to target your love handles), where you point your knees to the side, one of them touching the ground, and sit up so you elbow touches the high opposite knee. Finish with the leg stretch you performed the first day.

  Take the fourth day off, so your muscles can heal and then grow.

  On the fifth day, do all three groups in one workout again (front, lower and obliques) but this time use different exercises. Replace the sit-ups with crunches. Replace the leg raises with leg thrusts where you start with your legs up 90 degrees above your chest and you thrust your legs up from that position, lifting your butt slightly off the ground in the process. Replace the oblique crunches with an exercise where you bring your left knee to your chest, touching your right elbow to that leg, and vice versa with the other leg. Try each exercise with as many reps as possible.

  Repeat those exercises on the sixth day. On the seventh day, work in some of the exercises you performed the first three days and some you performed in the last three.

  Rest the eighth day. From this point forward, make it a point to work the front of the abs, the lower abs and the obliques every day for three days, taking the fourth day off. Learn new exercises for each group and work in the use of fitness equipment from your home gym, or equipment at a gym. Your muscles can learn to cheat if you do the same exercises all the time, so muscle confusion is the key. And once you get a feel for how the muscle gets worked, you can start with a set repetition number and work to increase that number in every exercise as your muscles get stronger.

Keeping Your Abs in Focus With a Greater Workout Plan

• If you have a weight training workout regimen for other muscle groups, always exercise the abs last; it's important not to tire out your midsection when taxing other muscles. Cardiovascular exercises that involve the use of a bike, treadmill or stair machine that cause you to sweat and burn calories quickly are key to getting slimmer, as are sports activities such as basketball, soccer or swimming. According to bodybuilding-fitness101.com, you should supplement your abs program with those other activities as much as possible, because all exercise will play a role in creating the calorie deficit and fat-burning machine you're building to flatten and define your tummy.