Summer brings to our minds the beach, the waves, sunbathing, and of course, washboard sexy abs.  It’s never too late to get your body beach-ready, and well, you can always sunbathe in your backyard, and flaunt those abs that you’ve kept hidden for so long.

Only one problem, where are the abs? The recent lifestyle changes and restrictions have taken detrimentally affected our fitness, health, and dietary habits¹. Many of us have had to let go of the days of routine and gym sessions, and that has taken a toll on our bodies.
Beer belly-1; Sexy abs- 0.

How to gain back those abs? Or even better, how to build those abs from scratch? With the time we have in our hands, it is never too late to invest in self-love and self-care². This is aided by many home workout videos that have surfaced on YouTube in the span of these few months.

Now, I understand how difficult it is to get the motivation to build up those abs from nothing and the snags in working out regularly. Trust me, I’ve been there, which is why I decided to let you all in on some secrets, tips, and tricks to get those sexy abs out of the sack!

Here, we will explore some common and effective workouts, along with a few tips to let the exercises positively affect your body and accelerate results. We shall also explore a few traditional and straightforward fitness mantras that might not directly result in those sexy abs that you are looking for but will aid your journey. We’re all in this together, so let’s work towards a summer where you can stay safe and flaunt those sexy abs, which will make an appearance after this!

Basic Tips and Tricks

Nothing has been achieved without a few sacrifices. To get those beach-ready, sexy abs that you’ve been daydreaming of this quarantine, you will have to sacrifice a few unhealthy options that you were utilizing. These are a few essential tips, habits, and lifestyle changes that will make your road towards those sexy abs smoother, and help the workouts affect your body better for enhanced results.

• Cutting out on food that adds belly fat: Certain foods are detrimental to your dream of achieving those sexy abs. These include processed sugars and refined carbs such as bread and pasta. Instead, switch to leafy vegetables or brown rice for your daily fiber requirements³. Another thing to cut down on is alcohol, to an occasional sip or two. This will also do wonders on your body.

For more information about the dietary habits to be followed for washboard abs, take a look at this website.

• Intermittent fasting: This is an excellent way to cut down on the calories, while also affecting the abs. Intermittent fasting is a form of fasting, similar to the fasting done during the month of Ramadan. Followers are required to fast for 16 hours and eat for 8 hours of the day. This ratio, 16:8, is the most common ratio for intermittent fasting.

The 16 hours of fasting include sleep as well, as sleep plays a vital role in any diet or workout. The integral part to be kept in mind is that you skip one meal of the day, preferably dinner. This leads to an ideal fasting window of 16 hours, and an eating period of 8 hours. Intermittent fasting helps reduce the intake of calories while also minimizing the time you remain hungry.

An example period for intermittent fasting⁴ is where you have your first meal at 8 A.M. and proceed with your regular eating habits until 4 P.M., after which, you fast until 8 A.M. the next day. During the fasting period, you are allowed to and advised to drink plenty of water, along with other drinks such as green tea or lemon tea. For more information about intermittent fasting and its effects on the body, visit.

• Get enough sleep: Sleep is a crucial part of any diet or lifestyle habit. A good sleep cycle helps to reduce stress, along with many other benefits. Lack of sleep leaves us feeling tired and drained of energy all day. This will result in cravings for sweets, or sugary foods, which will increase your calorie intake and affect your journey towards those sexy abs detrimentally.

Workouts

This is an area we need to look into in detail, as this is the very core of attaining those sexy abs. Any fitness goal that you make is incomplete without a workout plan. No matter how much you control your calorie intake, a good workout is essential for toning your muscles. The abs will appear only after the fat burns, after which you will have to work on toning those muscles.

The first step for toning any part of the body is fat burning. The same follows for your aim for those sexy abs. Belly fat does not budge easily, making it one of the stricter areas while looking to lose weight. Therefore, fat-burning exercises are a must, especially when it comes to toning that upper body. The best shot for this is HIIT cardio workouts, which take less time and provide excellent results.

This is a great, intense HIIT workout that I followed during my journey in search of those sexy abs, and it helped me burn up those extra calories.

Weights = Faster Results

The most common exercise that comes to our minds when we hear abs is crunches. The standard crunches, reverse crunches, and variations are many. However, we fail to realize that crises do not help in fat burning, apart from having unfavorable effects on your neck and other parts if done correctly.

While we are on the topic of crunches, let me just brush through a common mistake we make during crises. Ensure not to arch your back or lower back during reverse crunches while moving to the resting phase. This action indicates that you are utilizing your back muscles and not your core, therefore not working the area we need.

So, why go through unnecessary trouble when you have better options?

Weight training is a great way to achieve those sexy abs that you’ve been pining for.  Weight training is one of the fastest and best ways to shape and tone your mid-section and bring out those abs.

These are four weighted ab exercises that’ll help you bring out those abs using weight training.

Engage Your Core/ Vacuum in Your Core

Now, this is going to be a long one because this is where I went wrong, and I know how easy it is to miss this one out. And this is the very core of any ab workout. So pay attention, and let’s get those sexy abs out!

Do exercises that engage your core, and make sure you apply the necessary force on your core during any abs workout. The main hack behind ab workouts is also the most common mistake made, often unknowingly. This error is not engaging your core.

When doing an ab centered workout, focus on engaging your core while performing the exercise, and keeping it engaged throughout. This might be difficult in the beginning, but the key is to take your time, do it slowly, and eventually increase your pace. This helps you aim in the right direction, towards positive results and sexy abs, instead of futile workouts that just do not give you the effect that you are looking for.

The plank and side plank are workouts that require you to engage your core and target your abs. It is difficult to hold the plank position for a long time, especially if you are a beginner. No wonder it is said that a plank minute lasts longer than a usual minute! Therefore, to make your journey to sexy abs easier, increase your plank time gradually, until the required time. To effectively perform these, make sure you suck in your core and keep your leg straight, as this is highly essential for positive results.

Make sure you are involved in strength training and core engaging exercises such as squats, bench press, shoulder press, and dead-lifts. Since it is difficult to work out at a gym due to the current pandemic situation, it will be useful if you stick to repetitions of squats, as well as variations of planks.

Hard Work: Always Pays Off!

This is a given, but I can’t help but mention this. Any workout you follow, do it with sincerity, do the best you can. I know how rigorous specific exercises can be, personally not being able to stick to a rehearsal for even a week. But I also know it is not going to work if you do not put in your maximum effort into getting those shy abs out. Breathe well during each exercise, and follow the instructions to maximize the results.

Now I know I suggested fat burning workouts and ab-targeted exercises, and you must be thinking how all of this is going to fit into your schedule. Well, I have rounded up two good workouts that I found out to be effective and will share them with you for your benefit. Now, the plan I followed was to split my workout into two sessions, a morning session and an evening session.

I did the fat-burning HIIT session in the morning, and the ab centered workout in the evening. This is just a suggestion; you may plan according to your leisure hours. I’ve also taken into consideration the busy schedules while finding a suitable yet sufficient plan, and these workouts are concise, coming well under 20 minutes each.

This is a 2-week challenge, and it brings out significant changes in your body. With rigorous training and schedule, you could work your way through this!

Now, if you are following the intermittent fasting program, as mentioned earlier, it is going to be difficult for you to work out twice a day in some cases. Therefore, you may do both workouts early in the morning (that is if you are breaking your fast in the morning), before breaking your fast. This ensures that you do not go to bed hungry, and put the early morning energy to good use. Make sure you give a considerable gap between the two workouts.

Keep in mind to not overwork yourselves into exhaustion. It is challenging to build up all the stamina you need in one go, therefore, if you are a beginner, start with a week of fat burning workouts, and slowly build up to include an ab workout as well. Remember, health is critical, do not go into unnecessary pressure, and have patience, for your results shall show up as sexy abs, even though it may be slow.

To make your workout plan easier, especially in the absence of gym visits and short new year’s resolutions (yep, guilty as charged), below is a workout video that I found to be very useful. Although it is said to be a two weeks challenge, for a beginner, it might take more than that. Before starting any workout routine, remember to keep your patience in check and motivation high. It might take longer for some people to achieve the desired results depending on your lifestyle and dietary habits.

These are a few hacks to get those sexy abs out this summer and flaunt them by your pool or in your backyard. Although we can’t gather around, host parties, or go for your spring fling, there is nothing more significant than the satisfaction of seeing those sexy abs, and above all, feeling healthy inside and out.

Now, I know these are some pretty essential tips here, but they are also the most important ones out there. I also highly recommend the workout videos that are attached because they have proven to be very useful on many people, and therefore will undoubtedly help you get those sexy abs that you have been longing for, provided you stick to the essential tips that I’ve chipped in.

If you are suffering from any health condition, please consult a doctor before going on any diet or strenuous workout regimes, as this may affect you adversely.

Another note that I’d like to add along with this is to be comfortable in your skin and stay the way you feel good in. The changes that you bring about in yourself should not be the result of pressure from someone else, and it should be because you wish to see yourself that way. And sometimes, the idea of tanning on the beach, showing off those sexy abs to envious eyes, is just the motivation you need to set about on your journey.

Do mention in the comments if the article was useful, and drop in your hacks for bringing out those sexy abs!

1. Moreno, Luis A., et al. “Trends of dietary habits in adolescents.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 50.2 (2010): 106-112. ↩︎
2. Sobiech, Mateusz, and Angelika Witkowska. “The concept of self-love and self-care profiles on Instagram.” Com. press 4 (2) (2021). ↩︎
3. O’Keefe, Stephen JD. “The need to reassess dietary fiber requirements in healthy and critically ill patients.” Gastroenterology Clinics of North America 47.1 (2018): 219. ↩︎
4. Patterson, Ruth E., and Dorothy D. Sears. “Metabolic effects of intermittent fasting.” Annual review of nutrition 37 (2017): 371-393. ↩︎

Last Updated on August 2, 2024 by Sathi