The Ultimate Guide to Flat Abs

What does it take to really get flat abs? Which exercises are most effective? How should you eat to see more definition? Most people chase the flat-abs dream at least once. Here’s everything you need to know to actually get results: The Ultimate Guide to Flat Ab Training.

Here are the key topics I’ll run through in this article:

• Ab muscle anatomy
• How to effectively train your abs
• Eating for abs
• My favorite ab exercises
• Answering commonly asked questions

Don’t forget to download the Flat Abs Checklist and Workout at the end, and if you have questions that aren’t answered in this article, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Ab Muscle Anatomy

Abs, or abdominals, are just one part of the core complex. I’m generally in favor of focusing on your entire core rather than solely on your abs. For the sake of summertime, this article will cover just the part of the core that most people think about when they think flat abs or 6-packs: rectus abdominus (upper and lower), obliques and transverse abdominis.

Rectus Abdominis

The rectus abdominis is a large muscle spanning almost the entire length of the torso. When people use the terms “upper abs” and “lower abs”, they’re really just referring to two separate regions of the same muscle. These are the muscles that make up a 6-pack.

The rectus abdominis muscle fibers run vertically. The muscle is responsible for flexing the lumbar spine…think about doing a crunch. It also plays a role in breathing and posture.

Obliques

The oblique muscles run from the outer ribcage towards the pelvis. Though most they’re often lumped together, there are actually two separate muscles that make up the obliques: internal and external. They run perpendicular to each other.

Obliques are responsible for the rotation of your torso and bending to the side. They also aid in breathing.

Transverse Abdominis

The transverse abdominis muscle wraps around your waist, deeper even than your internal obliques. This muscle is responsible for providing spinal and pelvic stability.

How to Effectively Train for Flat Abs

There are two things you need to see your abs: low body fat percentage and larger muscles. To make your abs pop, you’ve got to build them first. So we start with hypertrophy. These are my top tips:

Prioritize

Raise your hand if you always leave ab training for the end of your workout. This is a good strategy, but not a great one if your main goal is to see your abs. Give your ab training the same kind of focus and prioritization you do with any other muscle group you want to grow.

Weighted Reps

The idea that high volume sets are the key to ab muscles has been floating around the fitness ether for a long time. But the reality is that while high volume sets are fine, low-moderate rep ranges with added weight is the bee’s knees.

Your ab muscles are no different than your glutes, or quads, or shoulders. When you want those muscle groups to grow, you work in a hypertrophy range and progressively add weight (right?). The same strategy works for your ab muscles.

Slow Your Reps Down

Another trainer tip here: time under tension is one of the most underutilized tools in the gym. Time under tension refers to the amount of time you spend with muscles contracted. Think plank holds, slow squats, eccentric curls. The more time under tension, the longer and harder your muscles are forced to work.

Hit All Angles

In the first section I talked about the different muscles that make up the ab area. If flat abs are your goal, you’ve got to hit every muscle group and you’ve got to come in from all angles.

That means thinking about the primary role of each muscle (i.e. rotation or flexion), and adding enough variety to your workouts to trigger engagement. More on that in a moment…

Eating for Abs

Your workouts aren’t the only piece of the flat abs puzzle. Proper nutrition and diet consistency is crucial to getting the results you want to see.

Here’s the truth: you will only see your abs if you get rid of the belly fat hiding them.

Ab workouts don’t burn belly fat. As you just learned, ab workouts build ab muscles which is important, but not the same thing as body fat reduction. What you need to focus on is fat loss. And that means there’s no other way to say this except: you need to dial in your diet.

Caloric Deficit

Calories In < Calories Out = Fat Loss

To lose fat you must burn more calories than you consume. You can create a bigger burn/deficit through exercise – both strategic workouts and an increase in general movement throughout the day.

As for your caloric deficit, I’m going to skip over the formulas because I’ll be honest, it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Math is fine but when I’m eating, I just want food to be food. So here’s a different strategy…

What to Eat (the Fit Plate Way)

Here’s a simple way to start eating for flat abs. Simpler than counting calories. Quicker than counting macros. I call it the Fit Plate Strategy.

Grab a plate. Mentally divide it into 3 sections: 40%, 40%, 20%.

40% of your plate should be protein. Protein is the building block of muscle and therefore imperative for building your abs and overall muscle. In turn, that muscle requires more energy and will boost your metabolic rate. Protein is also satiating. It’ll keep you full in between meals.

40% should be filled with veggies. It’s not secret that vegetables have earned a place on your healthy plate. First of all, they’re packed with vitamins and minerals, fiber and water – all micronutrients that your body thrives on. They also typically come in large quantities for very few calories. That bulk on your plate (plus the fiber) helps to fill you up on a caloric deficit.

20% can be filled with starchy carbs and/or fruit. Don’t be afraid of carbs. They are your body’s go to source of energy and provide a great deal of nutritional benefits in their own right. (The problem with carbs is that they’re pretty easy to find in unhealthy and easily over-eatable forms: cookies, chips, candy, soda, etc…more on that next).

Use healthy fats for cooking and flavor boosts. Use extra virgin olive oil (this is my absolute favorite on Amazon), ghee and extra virgin coconut oil for cooking and baking. Include avocados, nuts and seeds (in moderation) in every meal to increase satiation and enjoyment.

You can do this for every meal and snack you eat and as simple as that, you’re eating for flat abs.

(P.S. you can download extensive food lists for protein, veggies, carbs and fats in the files section of my private Facebook group).

Whole Foods Focused

Eating fewer processed foods is another super simple way to lose fat. People naturally eat fewer calories if they choose whole foods over ultra-processed options.

Plenty of foods are processed but still just fine in your flat abs diet. Oats, yogurt, cottage cheese, frozen veggies. It’s the overly processed items (can we really call them food if more than half the label is lab made?), that do unnecessary damage to your goals. A study done by the NIH found that diets high in ultra-processed foods led people to eat on average 500 calories more and gain more weight than people who focus on whole foods.

Whole foods keep you full.

They come as is, no preservatives, fats, sugar or sodium added.

They’re more nutritious.

And frankly, they taste better.

In short:

• avoid foods with more than 5-6 ingredients.
• shop the outer rim of the grocery store.
• keep whole foods handy.
• eat at home more than you eat out.

My Favorite Flat Ab Exercises

Lying Leg Raises

Begin flat on your back with your legs straight up over your hips and arms at your sides. Gently press your lower back to the matt. Slowly lower your heals down as close to the matt as you can without losing form. Return to the start position.

Trainer tips: in order to hit your abs more than your hip flexors, focus on bending at your pelvis and curling your hips upwards rather than lifting your legs. Push the soles of your feet up, rather than back over your head.

Level it up: push your feet up towards the ceiling when you come back to the “L” position. This will force you to engage the upper abs to lift your hips from the floor. Alternatively, turn a traditional Leg Raise into a Rocky Raise by holding onto something stable behind your head (like the base of a bench), raising up into a “flag” position and sloooooowwwwwly lowering back to the ground. Feel the burn!

Weighted Sit Ups

Begin with your back on the mat, knees bent, feet flat on the ground and kettlebell held in both hands with arms extended over the chest. Tighten your core and bring your head, neck and shoulders up off the mat by pushing the weight up “through the ceiling” at a point over your knees. Sit up fully and then slowly roll back down to the start position.

Trainer tips: think about your chest leading the charge and aim the weight up into the ceiling over your knees. This angle will help you dial the engagement focus to your abs, rather than your lower back or neck. If adding a weight sounds intimidating, try this movement with something light, like a towel or tennis ball so that you can feel the muscles working.

Level it up: to make this one more difficult you can either add more weight, or add an angle. If you’re advanced, take weighted sit ups to the decline bench!

Band or Cable Oblique Twists

Attach the single grip handle to a cable pulley about hip level. Stand sideways to the cable pulley just off the center and at an angle with feet pointed slightly away from it in a shoulder-width stance. Grip the handle with the nearest hand, then interlock the other hand with that hand on the handle. Tighten your core and then rotate inward and away from the machine so that you’re facing in the opposite direction. Allow yourself to return to the starting position under control by rotating back toward the machine. Once again, rotate yourself inward and away from the machine so that you’re really activating the obliques. Repeat for the desired reps and switch sides.

Trainer tips: maintain a neutral spine and slow your reps down so that you can really engage the obliques. A slight bend in your elbows is fine, but keep your fists at about belly button height – this is the best angle at which to feel the movement.

Level it up: add weight/tension or turn traditional twists into Cyclones by pivoting your feet so that you can sweep your hands in a full 180, hitting oblique after oblique with more time under tension.

Active Planks

Begin with elbows and hands on the ground, forearms flat against the mat and palms down. Brace your core and lift your hips up off the mat so that you are holding your body in a straight line with your tailbone tucked. Let your hips drop just a couple of inches below that straight line. From that depth, tuck your tailbone and pull your core up towards the ceiling. Your back will be slightly rounded now, just above that straight line plank. That’s one rep.

Trainer tips: imagine a string from your belly button to the ceiling. “Pull” up along that line as if the string is pulling you up.

Level it up: instead of stopping at parallel, let your hips drop below your shoulders, pause, and then start your next rep from that deficit.

Suitcase Carries

Grab a kettlebell with one hand and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, arms at your sides. Engage your core muscles, pulling your shoulder blades down and back, while making sure your posture is upright. Step forward and begin walking while carrying the kettlebell in your hand. Take slow, small steps, and focus on keeping your core tight and posture aligned rather than on forward momentum. Continue this movement for a specified time or number of steps. When finished with that side, set the weight down. Pick up the kettlebell with the other hand and repeat.

Trainer tips: choose a weight that is heavy enough to create resistance yet light enough to keep an upright posture and good grip.

Level it up: turn the Suitcase Carry into a Waiter’s Carry to up the challenge. Instead of holding the weight at your side, you’ll hold the weight up towards the ceiling, locking out your elbow for stability.

Stability Ball Knee Tuck

To begin, get in a tabletop position on your mat, with your knees positioned under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. The stability ball should be behind your feet. Place one leg at a time on top of the stability ball so that the ball is positioned somewhere between the top of your feet (at the ankle joint) and the top of your shins (without interfering with your knees’ ability to bend). Take a breath in when you feel sufficiently balanced, and check your form to make sure your core is engaged and your body forms a straight line from heels to head. Maintain your shoulders over your wrists for the entirety of the movement. Press your feet and shins down into the stability ball and use your abs to help draw the ball toward your chest as you bend your knees and tuck your lower body up to your torso. Bring your knees as close to your chest as you comfortably can. Exhale as you draw your knees forward. Hold for a second, then extend your knees, rolling the stability ball away from your torso to return to the full plank position. Exhale as you roll the ball away from you.

Trainer tips: The closer to your body the ball is, the easier it will be to maintain your balance. Also, adjust the width of your legs as needed. The closer your feet are together, the more challenging it will be to maintain your balance. Separate your legs slightly for greater stability.

Level it up: try Pike Ups. Instead of drawing your knees to your chest, keep your legs straight and pull your hips up towards the ceiling, forming an upside down V.

Commonly Asked Flat Ab Questions

Can I spot reduce belly fat?

Unfortunately, no. You can’t spot reduce belly fat (or any fat). Instead, focus on building your abs and reducing overall body fat with a healthy diet, consistent and progressively overloaded strength routine and strategic cardio use.

Can anyone get flat abs?

Yep! With proper nutrition, dialed in exercise and discipline, anyone can achieve flat abs. It really depends on what you’re willing to do/trade off in order to get there.

How do I work my lower abs?

Lower abs are usually the hardest to see because that’s one of the last places where your body holds onto fat. So really focus on nutrition and overall fat loss for visibility.

But to build those muscle, here are a few tips:

• Think bottom up. Any ab exercise that starts at your hips will engage the lower part of your abs first, with the added benefit of leg load. Think Reverse Crunches and Leg Lifts.
• Start every workout with engagement/mind-muscle connection exercises so that you can connect to the abs, rather than the hips.

When will I see results?

The answers depends on your body fat percentage when you start, your workout discipline and intensity, and your adherence to a proper diet plan. Regardless, here are a few ways to speed up the process:

• Lock in your calorie deficit and high protein diet.
• Work in abs 4 times a week, minimum.
• Focus on using the right muscles.
• Slow every rep way down.
• Add weight.

Do I need equipment?

No, not necessarily, though of course gym equipment makes things more convenient. If you want to invest in a few pieces of equipment I’d start with bands/cables, a medicine ball, stability ball, and maybe an ab roller.

Boom! Everything you need to focus on for flat abs. Don’t forget to download the checklist and workout below!