The ultimate ab-circuit isn’t complicated, and it isn’t long. But it is dedicated and you will feel it. This ab circuit should take you no more than 10 minutes to complete but you’ll find that if you do it right, 10 minutes is all you need.

Flat abs are one of the most sought-after body parts any fitness-minded person is after. Most people want hard, flat abs because they look good. But your abs, more specifically your core muscles, do much more than that. Strong abs and a strong core protect your from injury, and make you better at pretty much anything you want to do: stand up straight, get up from your desk with ease, run, squat, do yoga…Despite that, working them is often forgotten until the last five minutes of a workout that has been dedicated to an entirely different body part.

It doesn’t happen over night but it can happen. Below is one of my favorite, ab-burning circuits for building a stronger, flatter core. I’ve also included some pro tips and out-of-the-gym strategies to help you get the fastest results.

The Ultimate 10-Minute Ab Circuit

To maximize your results without doing too much (yes, you can over-do it), do this workout 2-3 times a week, with 2-3 days of non-ab exercise in between. Perform 2-3 circuits of 8-20 exercises each. Rest as little as possible between exercises, and 1-2 minutes in between sets.

Bench Sit Ups

Place a bench 2-3 feet away from a wall or dumbbell rack on which you can anchor your feet. Sit on the edge of the bench so that your toes are touching the wall. Cross your arms across your chest, tighten your core and slowly lower your upper body backwards, in a sit up motion. Use your core to roll your body back up to the start position.

Pro Tips:

• To tighten your core think about drawing the space between your belly button and your hip bones back towards your spine.
• “Lock” your hips in place. Sitting up right, think about your hips as a bowl with water in it. You want to keep the bowl level, so lock them in place. Roll backwards until your abs are stretched out, and then roll back up to the start position. When you tighten your core and think about performing the exercise this way, you remove your hips from the equation (that’s a good thing, since you’re not looking for rock-hard hips, but rock-hard abs).
• Keep a slow and smooth tempo.

Cable Oblique Twists

Set the cable pulley with a handle attachment at just above belly button height. Hold the handle with both hands and take a step away from the pulley to create tension. Turn to the left so that your right side is facing the pulley. With your hips facing forward, tighten your core, straighten your arms and rotate your core from the right to the left, feeling the movement in your oblique muscles.

Pro Tips:

• Keep your arms straight so that the entire rotating movement is completed by your obliques. Only your core rotates.
• You can move the pulley position up and pull down and to the side, or move the pulley down and pull up and to the side, to add variety, but I like to keep the pulley at hip level the majority of the time.
• Keep your feet firmly anchored on the floor just wider than hip width apart. Your feet shouldn’t move.

Plank Up-Downs

Begin in a straight-arm plank position. Holding your core tight, lower your right elbow down to the mat, followed by your left elbow, so that you are in a forearm plank position. Put your right hand on the mat and straighten, followed by your left hand until you are back in a straight-arm plank position.

Pro Tips:

• Pay attention to your hips. Imagine one string holding your left hip bone facing the floor and one holding your right. They should not move as you use your core and arms to push yourself up and down.
• Keep your core tight by pulling the space between your belly button and your hip bones back towards your spine. You aren’t sucking in, you’re tightening.

Hanging Leg Raises

Hang from the pull up bar, arms and legs extended so that your body is in a straight line. Engage your abs and lift your knees until your legs are at a 90 degree angle from your torso. At this point, squeeze your lower abs to bring your thighs just past 90 degrees. Slowly lower your legs to the starting position. *You can use hanging arm rests to do this exercise as well.

Pro Tips:

• As you begin to raise your knees, rotate your hips slightly to engage your core.
• To make this exercise more difficult keep your legs straight.

Decline Sit Ups

Set the decline bench at an angle (the steeper the angle, the harder the exercise). Sit on the bench with your calves resting between the pads. Cross your arms across your chest, tighten your core and slowly lower your upper body backwards, in a sit up motion. Use your core to roll your body back up to the start position.

Pro Tips:

• Your back does not have to touch the bench for this exercise to be effective. Think about unrolling your abs just until they are stretched, then slowly roll back up to the start position.
• If you find yourself easily finishing 20 reps, add weight.

You should be able to finish this ab circuit in 10 minutes. If you find that you can complete it easily, add some weight to the decline crunches, bench sit ups and oblique twists!

Flat Abs Out-Of-Gym Advice

No matter how many Bench Sit Ups and Plank Up-Downs you perform, you won’t see your abs until you establish some healthy habits outside of the gym. Combine this ab circuit with the following healthy habits and you’ll start seeing results in no time.

Clean Up Your Diet

You have abs already. They’re there, you just can’t see them. To see your abs, you have to decrease your overall body fat. The first step is to clean up your diet. Get rid of the junk: processed foods with added sodium, sugars, trans fats, preservatives, etc. Processed junk foods are typically high in calories and low in nutrients that your body needs and wants.

Replace the junk with lean protein, fresh vegetables and fruit, heart-healthy fats and fiber. You don’t necessarily need to drastically cut calories. By cutting out processed foods and replacing them with real, whole, nutrient-dense foods you’ll be way ahead of the game.

Related post: 9 Healthy Eating Tips for Weight Loss

Stay Hydrated

Keeping yourself well-hydrated is a big part of losing body fat and overall health. Without water, your body can’t metabolize stored fat and carbohydrates to use for energy. Water affects your energy level and your digestive system. Consuming water also helps you to consume fewer calories overall. If you replace caloric beverages like soda and juice with water, you save calories. Plus, a belly full of water is a full belly.

You’re probably familiar with the 8 ounces of water 8 times a day rule for water minimums. The National Academy of Medicine recommends that women consume at least 2,700 mL, or 91 ounces, of water each day. Between the 64 ounces you get from 8 ounces 8 times a day, and the water that you ingest from the foods you eat, you’ll get close to 91 ounces.

Unfortunately, like all good fitness and health rules, these numbers aren’t set in stone. How much water you should drink really depends on you. Your weight, your activity level, your body size, your health status, any medications you are on, the temperature outside…all play a role in how much water you should consume on any given day. The numbers above are a starting point. I can promise you one thing: when you start drinking enough water consistently, the one day that you don’t drink enough water, you will know.