What You Need to Know Before Training for Those Bikini-Ready Abs

Bikini-Ready Abs

These tips for bikini-ready abs actually work – you can thank us later!

Have you ever found yourself seeing no results even after dozens of ab workouts? Achieving a chiselled and flat tummy is not all about focusing on targeted exercises. Read on below to discover my top 7 tips that can flatten that stomach and get you bikini-ready.

1. Train the whole body

If you have excess body fat, particularly around your belly, doing sit-ups will not be an effective way of achieving a toned stomach. If you are mainly performing multiple ab workouts for this purpose, stop what you’re doing right now.

In order to achieve a flat tummy, it is important to reduce body fat from all around your body. Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce. The best way to burn body fat in the shortest amount of time is performing full body high-intensity-interval-training (HIIT) or Tabata workouts. They are short, fun and effective in combatting your entire body and raising your metabolic rate. Aim to perform 4-5 HIIT workouts per week for 30-45 minutes. Keep them short, but challenging and strenuous. Once you start burning off the fat, you will notice that bulge flattening into a toned tummy.

2. Eat right

Ever heard the phrase, abs are made in the kitchen? It is 100% true. Achieving your health and fitness goals is done by eating right and consistently training. Not just eating well, but eating right! Eating a wholesome, well-balanced and nutrient-rich diet is key to losing fat, but getting the right amount of macronutrients is key when it comes to toning up your stomach. Aim for a macro breakdown of 25-30% protein, 15-20% carbs and 40-50% fats for best fat loss results.

Training alone will not help you get there if the physical activity is not complemented with the right ratio of these nutrients. Stay away from processed and refined carbohydrates, added sugar and saturated and trans saturated fats. Focus on lean protein, leafy green vegetables and healthy fats.

3. Keep hydrated

Water is extremely important for our bodies to function, and is required for multiple reactions in the body. In fact, water makes up 75% of our body weight! It is essential in maintaining every single cell of the body, including your ab’s muscle cells. When you do not drink enough water, your body enters into a state of dehydration and acidity. Your body cannot burn fat in an acidic state as it needs to be alkaline. Drink at least 30 ml of water per kilogram of your body weight, plus 500ml extra for any workouts performed.

4. Intensity is key

In order to burn more energy and improve your strength, you have to keep increasing the intensity of your workouts and change it up. Falling into a routine will leave your body at a plateau, where you will notice no new changes to your physique. It is essential to activate and challenge your muscle fibres with varied and difficult workouts. Train insane, or remain the same!

5. Engage more muscles

Sure, core workouts can be tempting to follow, as they specifically target your abs. However, focusing on movements that utilise different muscle groups at once can be even more effective at burning fat and toning your full body. For example, performing squats, thrusters, or glute bridges can target your abs, while sculpting other areas and burning a higher amount of calories. Target your total body, while engaging your core and put those ab muscles to work.

6. Sleep well

Catching enough quality sleep is essential for optimal body function, resulting in improved physical performance and a faster metabolism. Sleep deprivation may increase the production of stress hormone in your body, called cortisol, which has been linked to increased stomach (visceral) fat, which will compromise your ab-making efforts.

7. Beat the bloat

There’s nothing that’ll compromise your flat tummy more than bloating. There are a lot of people who experience bloating on a daily basis, which can be very uncomfortable and unappealing. Our stomach produces gas during the digestive process, and certain foods such as lentils, beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and radishes can produce excessive amounts of gas in sensitive individuals. However, foods are not always to blame when it comes to bloating. One of the less commonly addressed reasons behind a bloated tummy is the gut flora being out of balance; meaning you have more bad bacteria than good in your gut. The best way to fix it quickly is by removing dairy, processed foods and sugar from your diet, which feed the bad bacteria in the gut. Eat fermented foods and take a daily probiotic capsule to feed the good ones.

 

Nik Toth

Nik Toth is the Lean Body Coach, a nutritionist, personal trainer and wellness coach based in Bondi. Originally from Hungary, Nik’s journey to wellness certainly wasn’t easy. After years of leading an unhealthy lifestyle in Budapest and then as a VIP host in Las Vegas, Nik turned her life around when she fell in love with an Aussie during her travels and had a miracle visit to a naturopath, who cured their ailments with food alone. She ended up moving countries for the third time and found herself studying nutritional medicine in Sydney – and the rest is history. When she’s not helping women transform their bodies, Nik loves travelling and spending time in “health-conscious” Bondi. Above all, she dreams of “inspiring and touching as many lives as possible and changing people’s thoughts about food and their relationships with their bodies.”

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