Sculpt Abs in 3 Weeks With This Ultimate Plan

There is some good and bad news when it comes to the topic of achieving flat abs. The not-so-good news? Health experts are pretty unanimous about the fact that flat abs are made in the kitchen. In short, if you want to burn fat, you are going to have to change your diet. The good news is, however, you can sculpt your midsection with the help of exercise. Andrea Ausmus, CPT, FNS, & CES, Senior Director of Fitness at Gold's Gym SoCal, maintains that you can sculpt your abs in just three weeks by following a few of her tips. 

Andrea's first tip is to be realistic. "Rome was not built in a day and you will not sculpt those abs overnight either," she says. However, "daily attention will make improvements."

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Second, Andrea stresses the importance of being consistent. "Frequency and quality of movement matter," she says, reminding that you will not get sculpted abs by focusing on them only once a week. "Your core is an everyday focus. While you are sitting at your desk, pull your abs in and sit up straight. While you are deadlifting, brace with the core first," she says. "All day, every day!"

You can't out-exercise a bad diet, reminds Andrea. "Be diligent with your nutrition," she says, adding that there is "so much truth" in the phrase "abs are made in the kitchen" and that "you can not separate your fitness from your nutrition, especially when it comes to sculpting your abs."

Andrea also recommends being "fanatical" about ab work. "You can do it, they are under there. The trick to seeing the abs is matching your training routine and nutrition. Stay focused on the entire core so you can train it every time you are in the gym without overtraining," she says. The "core" consists of what we all know as abs (the front body), the obliques (the side body), and the lower back, she adds. "Your training needs to include movements to target all portions of the core to get that snatched look with definition right where you want it."

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If you want flat abs you also need to be cardio-inclined. "Want to take the dog for a walk? Yes! Want to take the stairs? Yes! Want to add a Tabata to the end of our session? Yes!" she says. Adding in additional cardio will help get the abs of your dreams. But not all cardio is created equal. "I can tell you the best cardio is, what you will actually do," she says. "If you hate steady-state cardio, do not do it! Do 30-45 minutes of interval training instead." She also suggests mixing it up. "Have you tried the Ski Erg? It's awesome! Try a Tabata on the Ski Erg for a full-body, core-focused heart rate-pumping finisher."

💪🔥Body Booster: Getting snatched abs takes more than lots of crunches. Doing a combination of cardio and core work, while maintaining a healthy diet is the most effective way to flatten and sculpt abs fast.