Exercises to Tighten Up Stomach & Flatten the Tummy

Fat loss should not be mixed up with weight loss because the two are not the same. One may lose fat by exercising and eating healthily but at the same time gaining weight from the increase of muscle mass. It is always a better practice to strive to lose fat and gain muscle definition as merely losing weight can be risky to one’s health. Learn a few good exercises to tighten up stomach and get rid of stomach fat in this article.

For other articles on how to eliminate stomach fat and slim down your belly, please visit:

• Healthy Way to Get Rid of Belly Fat


• Lower Ab Crunches for Sexy Flat Tummy


• Easy Lower Abdominal Exercises


• Food that Eliminates Stomach Fat


• Tummy Flattening Exercise

A group of muscles that often gets neglected in stomach exercise routines are the transverse abdominals, the core and deepest abdominal muscles that lie below the rectus abdominus and the lumbar multifidus which cannot be felt from the surface.

Most abdominal exercises target the rectus abdominus and the vertical abdominals, and do nothing for the transverse abdominals. Even sit ups or crunches, the basic of most abdominal workouts, ignore the transverse abdominal muscles. These muscles are actually the most important to target as they connect to both the lower back muscles and the rectus abdominus and function as a girdle for the entire abdomen.

They also support posture, provide proper balance and stabilize the lower back and control deep breathing during power movements, such as heavy squats or heavy lifting. By Incorporating some exercises to flatten the tummy that target these muscles in your workout routine, you can have a flatter stomach.

Just to have a feel of how this muscle work, try blowing out all the air in your lungs and pull your tummy in. There, you have just used your transversus abdominus muscle to execute that movement.

You can target these muscles and really get rid of stomach fat effectively by performing the following exercises to tighten up stomach. As with any workout routine, be sure to consult a professional before starting and always warm up properly to avoid injury.

Pelvic tilts
This is a good exercise to flatten stomach. This exercise workouts the lower abdominal underneath the navel. Start by lying on your back on the floor or a bench. Protect your spine with a mat or towel. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Lift only your pelvis off the floor, hold for a moment, and then bring it back down. Repeat for an entire set. Remember to maintain a controlled movement to allow your abdominal muscles to do the work on the exercise rather than your body's impulse. Also, keep your upper body on the floor all over. Do 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Crunchless crunch
This exercise targets the upper abdomen. You will try to to pull the belly button in towards the spine in this exercise. This may involve using muscles which you may not be used to activating. To begin, either lie or on your stomach or kneel. You can try both poses to see which one is more effective for you. Relax, use only the lower abdominals to move your belly button toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds or as long as you can. The goal is to hold the contraction until you either cannot feel it, or you feel other muscles working harder than the transverse abdominus. When you achieve this, release the contraction. Perform 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Scissor kicks
This is another good exercise to flatten stomach that requires you to lie on the floor. Put your hands below your butt and your back pressed against the floor. Slowly arouse one leg to as high as ten inches, then slowly bring it back down to the floor. As you lower your leg, raise the other. Repeat this motion for an entire set. Maintain a controlled motion and make sure your upper body rested firmly on the floor through the entire move.

Stomach vacuum
Stomach vacuum exercises are a great way to target the deep, hard-to-target transverse abdominal muscle. To start, stand upright and place your hands on your hips or over your head, and then expel the air out of your lungs thoroughly. At the same time, expand your chest and suck your stomach in as much as you can, hold it in, breathe normally. To be blunt, just suck in your stomach. Imagine trying to reach your backbone with your navel. Repeat the exercise for a few more sets. This will train your abs muscle to continuously hold your tummy giving you flat stomach look.

Standing pelvic tilts
Standing pelvic tilts are another technique of stomach vacuum exercises. Start by standing with your legs about hip-width apart, and your knees slightly bent. Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale through your nose while pulling your belly towards your spine and rolling your hips out in front of you. Repeat for a few sets.

There are many of other exercises to tighten up stomach that targeting the transverse abdominals, but these five should be enough as a start. Such exercises to flatten the tummy are key to get rid of stomach fat and have a flatter stomach, and they are especially good for pregnant and postnatal women.

If your goal is to flatten your stomach with exercises, here are some additional tips:

• Improper eating habits can ruin a great, hard workout. Be sure to incorporate your fitness routine with clean eating habits. Read Losing Weight by Counting Calories for basic diet guidelines.


• Adequate water intake. Stay hydrated the whole day to keep the body functioning at it's highest level.


• Keep a low to moderate body fat percentage. Depending on how you hold your weight, anywhere from 12 to 15% is acceptable.


• Get enough sleep. This means not only getting plenty of sleep, but also getting the right kind of sleep. Also be sure to schedule off days into your routine to give your muscles a chance to rest up and rebuild. Further reading on sleeping and weight loss: Sleep Deprivation and Weight Gain.

There you go, some best exercises to tighten up stomach you can perform to get rid of a stomach fat. By practicing these tummy flattening exercises combined with the above tips, you can lose an inch or two from your stomach and have a flatten stomach in as little as three to four weeks.

Simple Ways to Flatten Your Tummy - Tummy Flattening Exercise

Flatten your tummy is not easy, especially if you don't know how to target your stomach area with tummy flattening exercise. But with stomach vacuum, one of the easy and simple ways to flatten your tummy, you can slim down your belly in a very short amount of time. Learn how to target your stomach area and slim down your belly with stomach vacuum exercises and also how to do stomach vacuum in this article.

Check out the following for more exercises to slim down your tummy:

• Exercises to Tighten Up Stomach and Flatten the Tummy
• Free Abdominal Exercise Methods for Women
• Abdominal Exercises in Pool
• Exercises that Slim Down Your Belly

Abdominal muscles and flat stomach

The abdominal muscles are a group of muscles that cover the abdominal region from the ribs to the pelvis, from the deep muscles, i.e. transverse abdominal and the internal obliques, to more superficial, namely the external obliques and rectus abdominus.

These muscles support the torso, help in the breathing process and more importantly provide postural support.

Inner abdominal muscles
The transverse abdominus muscle is the deepest abdominal muscles. It's located around the torso and cannot be felt from the surface. The internal obliques resides on each side of the torso after the transversus.

Outer abdominal muscles
More superficial muscles are the external obliques and the rectus abdominus. The external obliques are located on either side of the torso after the internal obliques. The rectus abdominus muscle is at the outermost of the abdominal muscles.

All these muscles affect the body posture although more superficial muscles will have less effect over body posture than those that are deeper and closer to the spine, namely transverse abdominal and the internal obliques.

Unfortunately, the transverse abdominus and lumbar multifidus often gets neglected in stomach exercise routines. They are the core muscles that lie beneath the rectus abdominus, and external obliques. Since they are rarely targeted they are often weaker.

Stomach vacuum: easy ways to flatten your stomach

The stomach vacuum is an isometric contraction of the transversus abdominus. It is one of the best simple ways to flatten your tummy and shrink your waistline quickly. You can lose an inch or two from your midsection in as little as three to four weeks with this tummy flattening exercise, provided it's done properly. Also, targeting this abdominal muscle with exercise will help you gain more control over your abs, and assist you better in explosive lifts. Stomach vacuums need practice, but they are extremely effective.

How to do stomach vacuum?

To do the stomach vacuum expel all the air from your lungs firmly. At the same time, draw in your tummy towards your spine, tightening the muscles while imagining your belly button is about to reach your spine. Breathe gently in that posture and keep the position for approximately 45 seconds.

This is an isometric contraction, similar to flexing your biceps. When doing the stomach vacuum, you need to breathe normally likewise when flexing your biceps.

How to do stomach vacuum more effectively? A more effective adaptation of this tummy flattening exercise would need you to be on all fours in a crawling position. Make sure your spine is straight and parallel to the floor. Then do the stomach vacuum as mentioned earlier except that this time, you are on your hands and feet. Repeat this exercise eight two twelve times. Do both exercises every other day. Combine it with a proper diet to get rid of belly fat, weight training and cardio exercises. In very short time, you will get that flat stomach look along with glorious six pack abs. These are effective and simple ways to flatten your tummy.

How to do stomach vacuum: the sets and reps

Counting reps with stomach vacuum is a bit different. One isometric contraction of "X" seconds is one repetition. For instance, if you suck your bowel in for 10 seconds, that’s one repetition. If you execute that two more times, that’s 3 sets of 10 repetitions.

The transversus abdominus is one of your core muscles and it needs to be trained. This tummy flattening exercise will strengthen and stabilize it which will help you to have more control over your abdominal, and prevent the loose belly hangover because of an underdeveloped transversus abdominus.

You may doubt the effectiveness of this exercise since it does not involve slinging hundreds of pounds of iron. But, effective training is not just about using a fancy machine or grunting under a stack of plates rather it is more depended on the intensity and form.

Practicing the stomach vacuum

You can execute the stomach vacuum every other day e.g. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Although the abs can bear with more intense workout than other muscle groups, they still need their rest. Hence, performing this tummy flattening exercise daily won’t be as effective as you may think it would be.

You can start by performing 3 sets of 20 reps every other day for the first week and increase it gradually, for instance, 3 sets of 30 reps for the second week then 3 sets of 40 reps for the following weeks.

The point is to keep building up in seconds (reps) or sets. You can determine your own start point and progression phase. Finally try to work up 4 sets of a full minute.

Additionally, you can execute the stomach vacuum while performing your regular abdominal exercise. Focus on sucking in the transversus abdominus as you do your abdominal exercise. Pull in your stomach as far as possible and flex your groin muscles as close as you can.

Finally, you can perform the stomach vacuum everywhere and anywhere even at your desk at work. You can also execute it in a standing, kneeling, seated, and lying position. By incorporating this tummy flattening exercise, with your regular abdominal training and proper diet, you can reduce the size of your waist and get rid of belly fat in as little as three weeks. Stomach vacuum is really one of the best simple ways to flatten your tummy.

Free Abdominal Exercise Methods for Women – Easy Lower Abdominal Exercises

Easy lower abdominal exercises for women are an essential part of women's health. Although having six pack abs is wonderful, it is not the only reason to ensure that you workout this part of your body. Having strong abdominal muscles can also enhance your health in other ways - for example, giving you better posture and reducing back strain. Many women do abdominal exercise for women as a healthy way to get rid of belly fat - however during the workout, the lower abdomen is often ignored.

Before we continue, you might also want to check out these interesting articles:

• Exercises to Tighten Up Stomach and Flatten the Tummy
• Simple Ways to Flatten Your Tummy
• Abdominal Exercises in Pool
• Best Diet to Get Rid of Belly Fat
• Burn Pure Body Fat
• How Many Miles Do I Need to Walk a Day to Lose Weight?

Now, let's continue.

By using one or two effective and free abdominal exercise methods for women, you can be certain that this important muscle group is also getting worked out effectively. Several of the exercises may need more equipment than you have readily available - however, most of the abdominal exercise for women mentioned here can be performed at home and do not require much additional device.

Below are several effective and easy lower abdominal exercises for women or beginners as a jump start. You’ll also learn some free abdominal exercise methods for women from these exercises.

• Lying leg rises
• Lie down on a flat bench. Raise your arms above your head and have your hands hold the edges of the bench or (if you have one) the hand-grip behind your head. With your legs slightly bent at the knee, elevate them all the way up to the vertical position. Pause a second and then slowly lower them. Try not to touch the ground at the bottom. This will maintain tension on the abdominals throughout the workout and thus add the intensity. Repeat this abdominal exercise for women and beginners a number of reps and sets.
• Reverse crunch
• Lie face up on a flat exercise bench, raise your arms and firmly grasp the edge of the bench above or alongside your head. With your knees bent (and locked in this position), contract your abs and lift your hips to bring your knees in toward your chest - hold for three seconds and lower your hips back to the bench. Repeat this exercise a number of reps and sets.

For more advanced abdominal exercise for women, you can try this.

Leg lifts
This hanging leg raise is one of the most effective and free abdominal exercise methods for women. For this exercise, however, you're going to need a lat pull-up bar to hang from. This bar is going to need to be high enough that you can hang from it with your arms fully extended (with your hands shoulder width apart) for long enough to do the exercise - without your feet touching the floor. Then, use your abdominal muscles (you will need to focus) to move your legs up until you are sitting in the air.

Several things to remember during your exercises using the above free abdominal exercise methods for women:

• Do not over train your abdomen. Do not exercise you abdomen if they are still very sore from previous exercise. Mildly sore is fine. Keep in mind that success is not coming from doing one single abdominal exercise for women instead from many exercises.
• When you do sit-ups and crunches, or other easy lower abdominal exercises that requires your hands to be behind your head, never interlock your fingers as this causes you to pull on your head and will put your spine out of alignment – which may cause strains to your spine.
• Maintain your abdomen pulled in tight throughout each repetition to get the maximum result of each rep.
• Maintain your range of motion between 30-45 degrees from the floor or bench (the horizontal position). This helps to reduce the hip-flexor area movement and ensure that the abdomen gets their full workout.
• Always keep your spine, neck, head and shoulder in alignment to prevent strains.

Besides these free abdominal exercise methods for women mentioned above, there are also hundreds of sources available out there that offer easy lower abdominal exercises for free or paid. You can choose the free one or the paid one. A paid one does not necessarily mean it is better. Remember that the best abdominal exercise for women is the exercise that works for the individual, regardless of the source.

Abdominal Exercises in Pool & Lower Ab Crunches for Sexy Flat Tummy

If you want to attain a firm, stoned, sexy flat tummy, you need to perform proper abdominal exercises daily. However, remember that abdominal exercises alone will not burn the fat off of your midsection. You also need a balanced nutrient diet, discipline and commitment to achieve the desired results.

Balanced nutrient diet to get rid of belly fat

Keeping your calories in check together with doing your exercises regularly will be the way for you to have that chiseled, flat sexy tummy. Approximately 3500 calories makes one pound of fat going by the analogy you should not attempt to reduce fat more than 2lbs. a week. You can learn more about it in this article: losing weight by counting calories needed per day.

A jumpstart for flat belly diet is to include carbohydrate and protein rich items such as oatmeal, beans, green vegetables sprouted cereals, peas apples and leafy vegetables in your daily meals. Cutting down fat-rich beef and fried items and addition of more vegetables not only help reduce fat but also keeps the system more disease resistant.

Regular exercises that slim down your belly

To lose stomach fat for a sexy flat tummy, lower ab crunches, abdominal exercises in pool or other stomach exercises is perfect. Don’t try to do the workout for more than 45 minutes a day normally. As for weight training, carefully pick up weights that you can handle for not more than 25-30 repetitions.

Lower ab crunches
Crunches are not hard to perform, and if performed correctly, are very effective for toning those abs. Here is a step by step breakdown on how do you do abdominal crunches for sexy flat tummy the proper way.

• Lie flat on your back on the floor with your legs bent to about a 90-degree angle with both your rear and your feet flat on the floor.
• Put your hands behind your head making sure not to overlap your fingers. You can make your hands into fists so you do not pull up on the back of your neck.
• Next, choose a spot on the ceiling exactly above you. This should be performed in order to make certain that you don’t bend your neck throughout the duration of the movement. Keep your eyes on this spot! People often do this incorrectly by stressing too much on the neck because of pulling on it with the hands.
• Now, stabilize the low back. This can be done by tightening the muscles in the abdomen. Slowly curl towards the front and up using your abdominal muscles only. There should be no bending at the waist. Maintain your abdominal muscles firm for the whole time to stabilize the low back. Stay focus on that spot on the ceiling to prevent neck pain as a result of stress.
• At the top position your shoulder blades should only be between 4-8 inches off the ground. You don’t have to go any further. Pause at this top position. This entire movement should be performed slowly and take about 2 seconds to do. Pause at the top position for 1-2 seconds to ensure full contraction of the abdominal muscles.
• Slowly return to the starting position and keep your abs contracted.

That is all how do you do abdominal crunches for sexy flat tummy. Lower ab crunches are not a very big workout because you are working your abs only. A full sit-up does not work your abs better than the crunch because once you are past the crunch position, your abs are fully contracted and it is your hip muscles that are straining to lift you up, not your abs.

Doing a hundred of these lower ab crunches is not the key here. Doing two to three sets of 15 to 20 of these at a slow and deliberate pace with good form is what is recommended for maximum benefits and minimum risk of injury.

Abdominal exercises in pool
Another good exercise for a sexy flat tummy is swimming. Swimming is a good abdominal exercise in pool to work and tighten lower stomach muscles and flatten out the tummy since water offers greater resistance than air. In spite of the greater resistance water has than air, aquasizing is low-impact, meaning less strain on joints.

Try out these abdominal exercises in pool whenever you have the chance. Remember, consult your doctor before beginning a new workout routine, and always warm up properly to prevent injury.

• The first set of swimming exercises for sexy flat tummy to try is called the jump and dig. There are two moves in this set, one for the upper body and one for the lower body. The former is great for your obliques, and the latter works on your abdominals.
• To start, stand in water that is between your belly button and chest. To work the lower body (including your abdominals), put your feet a wide distance apart, then jump so your knees come up to the surface of the water and back down. Picture a frog as you do it; this will help you get the form right.
• Next in this set of abdominal exercises in pool is to work the upper body, begin by making a scoop with both hands at the surface of the water. Bring your hand scoop below the surface, then scoop up and to one side.
• Alternate sides to work the obliques on both sides. Start by doing the two moves separately for three minutes each.
• Once you have mastered the form, do them at the same time to exercise both sets of stomach muscles at once.

As you build strength and endurance, you can add water gloves to increase resistance. You can also do the exercises faster, packing more reps into each three minute period. Form is the key during abdominal exercises in pool, though. Do not sacrifice form for the sake of speed. It is better to do it properly than quickly. Also remember to set fitness goals and work toward them at a gradual pace. Do not push yourself too hard, too fast. You may want to have sexy flat tummy fast, but an injury will seriously delay your workout goals. Start small, know your limits, and build gradually.

Yoga for sexy flat tummy
Lastly, lose fat is easy achieved by the presently popular Yoga exercise for about an hour a day. The beauty of the exercise is that while it reduces the fat by consumption of calories it keeps the body and mind cool and healthy. Walk into any good yoga training center and reap the benefits. But never attempt to do the same from self study books that may surely land you in trouble.

The healthy way to get rid of belly fat comes hand in hand with regular exercise. The type of exercise you should choose - whether lower ab crunches, abdominal exercises in pool, yoga or other tummy flattening exercises - depends on a number of factors such as your interest, the extra pound to shed out and the time at your disposal. You also need a proper diet plan, self-discipline and dedication to get that sexy flat tummy. Keep in mind that like with all things, it will take time to get the desired results and you must stick to whatever program you are comfortable with until you have the stomach you want.

Lastly, navigate around this blog to find more tips on how to lose weight fast, free, easy and effectively.

Exercises that Slim Down Your Belly - Healthy Way to Get Rid of Belly Fat

This article is all about the best exercises that slim down your belly by building your abdominal muscles and getting rid of belly fat. You’ll learn how to lose weight fast and how to flatten your beer belly using the healthy way to get rid of belly fat.

For more general tips on weight loss, you can check out these articles: How to Lower High Cortisol Levels and Lose Weight, How Many Miles should You Walk a Day to Lose Weight? and Can We Burn Calories while Sleeping?.

If you're going to focus your fitness or weight loss program on abdominal muscle group then it is a good idea to know what the abdominal muscle group is and what the best exercises for getting rid of belly fat are.

The abdominal muscle group consists of three main muscles:

1. Rectus abdominis - commonly known as the abs, this is a large flat muscle wall that runs from the lower chest to the pubic bone.
2. Obliquus abdominis - commonly known as the obliques, this muscle runs diagonally along the side of the mid-section from the lower ribcage to the pubic area. The internal obliques lie underneath the external obliques.
3. Transversus abdominis - this is a thin strip of muscle that runs horizontally across the abdomen.

As for the best exercises that slim down your belly, there are a lot of resources available for finding them, and many people to say what they consider the best. But with so many resources available, how can you determine which really are the best exercises for working your abdominal muscles to flatten your beer belly?

Firstly, it is important to understand that the best stomach exercises to getting rid of belly fat for you are those that you're willing to do. No matter how effective the exercise is, if you aren't going to do them consistently the exercise will not benefit you for sure. Also, the best stomach flattening exercises do not necessarily require equipment to perform them, although some machines and equipment may work quite well for you.

Next, the best abdominal flattening exercises that slim down your belly should also include exercises that work the different parts of the stomach for the workout to be effective. The best stomach exercises, combine working the oblique, which are the side muscles, the lower abdominals, the mid section and also the upper section.

You can target these muscles effectively by performing the following exercises to getting rid of belly fat:

Basic crunches
A very effective and convenient exercise to work the upper abs since they can be performed anywhere without any equipment. 3 sets of 15-20 reps is a good start. For more detail on how to do this, check out this page Lower Ab Crunches for Sexy Flat Tummy

Side crunches / bends
This exercise works out the oblique. 3 sets of 15-20 reps will be great.

Pelvic tilts
This exercise will target the lower portion of the abdomen below the navel. 3 sets of 15-20 reps is good. This is a one of best exercises to get rid of lower belly fat.

Pilates workout
Pilates is considered one of best stomach exercises and healthy way to get rid of belly fat because in Pilates, the whole focus is on the core of the body which is the belly, or stomach muscles. Every movement in a Pilate's workout will work the stomach muscles either directly or indirectly.

Belly exercise
Another good exercise that slim down your belly involves laying flat on your stomach, leg straight and then raising your body up using your arms as your hands are clasped together and keeping your body straight as if doing a pushup. Hold this position as long as you can stand. This is an excellent movement to strengthen the whole stomach.

Yoga for getting rid of belly fat
You might not be aware that Yoga actually includes many specific poses that target excess weight in the abdomen. If you’re looking for a healthy way to get rid of belly fat than you might find success in using these yoga exercises (coupled with a customized diet).

Let’s go over some of Yoga asanas to flatten lower abs and Yoga stretch to lose the tummy.

1. The Sun Salutations: These are a combination of poses that serve as a warm up-routine for a Yoga session or class. They are very similar to the popular calisthenics exercise known as burpees. However, they differ in that they have a spiritual significance included as a result of executing them. Due to the forward and backward bending motions involved, after performing a few to several rounds on a daily basis, you are bound to notice a marked loss of weight in you abdominal area and the added bonus of muscular tone. This is one of excellent exercises that slim down your belly.
2. The Bow Pose: This simple pose involves laying flat on your belly and grabbing your ankles with both arms while simultaneously lifting your head up high. When performed correctly, you should be resting on your abdomen. Needless to say, it is a pose commonly recommended for weight loss and the prevention and correction of chronic constipation.
3. The Peacock Pose: This is slightly more challenging. The objective is to balance your abdomen on your conjoined elbows while simultaneously raising your legs and head of the floor. Naturally, merely attempting this yoga asanas to flatten lower abs speeds up abdominal weight loss and detoxification of the visceral organs and the preparatory stage could suffice as the actual execution of the pose till the mastery of it is achieved.
4. The Abdominal Lift: This is not a pose, per-se but is a specific exercise that involves you exhaling your breath and pulling the diaphragm in while holding the breath out. This is a specific abdominal exercise for getting rid of belly fat and weight loss, spiritual rejuvenation and detoxification.

Also, there are other poses such as the shoulder-stand, the forward-bending pose, the spinal twist and the wheel pose that also target increase in muscular tone and weight loss in the abdominal regions, however from practice the 4 above will perhaps be the most effective.

Do note though that if you are female and pregnant or in your menstrual period, some of these poses might not be the best to execute.

Moreover, since these poses-besides being a healthy way to get rid of belly fat tremendously with detoxifying, it is advised that one eats a proper and healthy diet to augment the actions of these poses.

Other fantastic exercises for getting rid of belly fat and overall weight include abdominal exercises in pool, intense Aerobics, the use of the ab-wheel, basic sit-ups, windmills etc.

Finally, the answer to how to flatten your beer belly is depended on you. Remember, that the best healthy way to get rid of belly fat for others does not necessarily mean it’s the right exercise to flat abs for you too. Each person's body is different and will respond differently to certain movements. If you're serious about working on the abdominal muscles you should try several different stomach exercises and then determine which one you can both feel and see results with – the exercises that really slim down your belly. If one exercise is simply too hard to do correctly, or does not feel like it has done anything for the muscle group worked, or you just can’t seem to lose belly fat with it, that exercise is clearly not the best for you and you should find other alternatives.