Lose weight and get six-pack abs NOW!

We all dream of having the enviable six-pack abs but often struggle to actually get them especially if you struggle to get rid of belly fat. Our trainer Wendy Smith shared some advice to help you!
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We all dream of having the enviable six-pack abs but often struggle to actually get them especially if you struggle to get rid of belly fat. Our certified trainer Wendy Smith shares some advice to help you reduce abdominal fat.

There are some easy changes you can make to help lose that belly fat fast and sculpt that six-pack.

We asked our trainer Wendy Smith from our Healthy Mummy app for some tips to help women get those six-pack abs you’ve been dreaming of fast! Read what she has to say.

11 tips to help women get six-pack abs

Abs are made in the kitchen

It’s not all about doing the right workouts or doing 100 crunches a day to get that six-pack sorted, it all starts with what you eat.

The food you eat can help promote weight loss, fight belly fat and support muscle growth on your road to six-pack abs.

Wendy says, “yes, abs are made in the kitchen I love it!”

how women can get abs

She goes on to explain how we all have a six-pack and abdominal muscles we just need to move the body fat that covers it.

“70% of your weight loss will be due to diet and about 30% exercise workouts. If lean and nutritious food is eaten, then this will help to remove the fat layers from the tummy area.”

It’s all about the maths and your history according to Wendy, “your level of activity and what you were eating over the last 12 months determines if you can see the abs. Being lean is pure mathematics. Food and training is a mathematical equation, it is not by chance or luck. Good things in, like exercise and diet = good things happening to your body.”

Finally she wants to remind you that, “the more you move, the fitter and more mobile you get, then the more you want to train and eat healthier because you feel better in your body. You can only build on success, not on failure.”

Get access to a healthy meal plan to help you lose weight with the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

HIIT workouts and circuit training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or similar circuit training that significantly increases your heart rate is hugely effective when it comes to reducing body fat to help bring out that six-pack abs.

Wendy explains that HIIT elevates your heart rate higher and in half the time of regular exercise.

“It is challenging but easier because it is fun and there are fabulous rest times. The human body burns calories for the next 36 hours if you increase your heart rate 12 times for a minute each time, if possible within an hour time period which means you lose weight quicker too!”

HIIT workouts and circuit training

“The full body circuit workouts usually have functional or stability exercises that use your core at all times. Therefore you get a much longer ab workout and you are not even doing sit ups. which is a happy bonus.

All the parts are important to cover cardiovascular training on your heart and lungs which help to make your body work more efficiently and effectively. Your metabolic rate increases to burn body fat.”

Check out this FREE HIIT workout from the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.

Resistance Training

Up the ante with your abs workout by adding in some resistance bands or straps. Adding these into your workout will help work your muscles harder in order to burn fat faster and get those visible abs.

Wendy explains, “the weights options help to shape and tone your body muscles which tighten your waist and develops lovely toned shoulders making your waist look smaller.”

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Count steps

You need to keep moving to work up a sweat and get in your workout, the simplest way to do that is to make sure you get walking and make up your steps.

Wendy says, “Every step counts, to get to the top of a mountain starts with one step! Being active will always get your body functioning better, which will make you feel better.

Counting steps helps with being accountable to an actual number, easy to benchmark.”

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Get squatting

Squats are great for shaping your booty but did you know they also work to remove belly fat and help you build a six-pack of abs? We asked Wendy why squats are great for losing weight fast especially if you want a six-pack.

She says, “squats magically work compounding muscles, which means a few sets of muscle areas at once. Therefore in the one move, you work your abs, butt, thighs and heart.

If you have good technique by squatting deep or using dumbbell weights or even hold two full water bottles, this elevates your heart rate which will burn calories and create a leaner body.

If your body has low body fat, then you will be able to see your six-pack. A flatter tummy and weight loss will be created due to squats if they are completed frequently.”

Read how you can sneak 100 squats into your daily routine.

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Exercise your abdominal muscles

You may be thinking that we have ignored all the core exercises you have previously been told work the abs, but we haven’t forgotten them we just wanted to share all of the things that build abs.

But you still need to do core exercises that specifically target your abdominal area including crunches, plans, bicycles and reverse abdominals.

Wendy says, “any abdominal exercises will target the core area of your focus on activating the abs. Breathing out as you do an abdominal crunch assists with increasing the intensity in the core area.”

Also if you increase the range of motion, by lifting your shoulder blades higher off the floor it assists with ribs-to-hip movement e.g. the rib cage closer to the pelvic hip bone.”

Samara-Syed

Wendy also notes that you can target the core muscles, but a full-body workout is more successful than spot training. Which brings us to the next point.

Stop spot training

Doing workouts to focus on specific areas of your body is great but these can’t always be the most useful to get the results you want.

Wendy explains, “spot training is not as helpful because humans lose fat usually evenly over the whole body, not in the one specific area. Training separate body parts and muscles is vital, but physiologically doesn’t mean that specific area will have fat loss.”

When it comes getting visible abs Wendy says, “the abdominal wall will be pulled in like an imaginary steel corset, the cardio will burn the fat, but not necessarily in the order you wish e.g. you may notice weight loss in different areas of the body first.”

Increase your protein & fill up on fibre

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Check out this protein-packed chicken and avocado macro bowl.

When it comes to the foods that will help you build up the muscle and help fuel your workouts make sure you include lean proteins and fibre in your diet as these will help you stay fuller for longer and help with building muscle.

Wendy says, “the key is to eat lean protein after your workouts e.g. grilled chicken breast, canned tuna, The Healthy Mummy protein shake or lean meat or no-fat dairy.

Another key is make sure you use a smaller-sized plate with more than half is dark green vegetables with salad and mixed beans.

Then exercise builds lean-shaped bodies which burns body fat even quicker even while you are sleeping. Great!”

Adding more high-fibre foods into your diet is one of the simplest methods for increasing weight loss and helping women get six-pack abs.

Increase your protein & fill up on fibre

Soluble fibre moves through the gastrointestinal tract undigested and can help slow the emptying of the stomach to make you feel fuller for longer. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds are just a few healthy, high-fibre foods that you can add to your diet to help burn belly fat.

Stay hydrated

Water is absolutely crucial to just about every aspect of health. It plays a role in everything from waste removal to temperature regulation.

Staying well-hydrated may also help bump up your metabolism, burn extra body fat and make it easier for women to get a set of six-pack abs.

Water requirements can vary based on a variety of factors, including age, body weight and activity level.

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Stop eating processed food like refined carbs and sugar

The more processing a food item goes through the more vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutrients it loses. Reducing the amount of processed food in your diet is great for your overall health.

Having a diet filled with whole and healthy foods will help you lose excess weight and build muscles to bring out the visible abs you are looking for.

You can learn more about how to reduce your sugar intake in 7 days here.

If you aren’t seeing results you may be overtraining

Just as important as working out is taking a rest when you are working hard, you can over do it when it comes to training especially if you are trying to lose weight fast.

Wendy wants you to know, “if you are not resting at least one day per week, if you feel extremely exhausted or get sick or are not getting enough sleep or are injured…….. then you may be overtraining.”

She also wants to remind you to be gentle with yourself, “please remember if you do not see weight reduction immediately, please persevere because muscle weighs more than fat. You might put on muscle and still lose fat, so your entire body weight is the same but your body composition changes with less fat i.e. leaner body.

So monitor how you feel emotionally and check the feeling of your clothes getting loser.”

There is also the concern that overtraining can be detrimental to you longer term, Wendy explains.

“If you’re overtraining, then your body might not have time to recover, therefore is possibly increasing chemicals that store fat to protect us, which then is counteractive.”

“Please remember everybody’s body is different, but over time you will see results, unless there are any major health conditions.”

Are you ready to become a Healthy Mummy? Check this out

If you are wanting to lose weight and improve your energy – not to mention – help improve your overall health and well-being – our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is an awesome program to check out.

Our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge includes:

  • 28 days of at-home exercise routines (no gym needed) – with video instruction
  • Customisable and breastfeeding-friendly meal plans (including 7 Day Cleanse)
  • Time-efficient exercises for busy mums – under 30 mins
  • Challenge combines Pilates exercises with interval and circuit training (HIIT)
  • Suitable for basic to advanced fitness levels
  • Home to thousands of EASY-TO-MAKE recipes!

To learn more about our 28 DAY WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE, CLICK HERE or purchase our Smoothies.

 

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