CELEBS love to flaunt their abs.
And who can blame them, when they look as chiselled as Taylor Momsen or Rita Ora, who showed off their incredible physiques this week.
A personal trainer familiar with celebrities and their tight schedules is Sarah Lindsay, a three-time Winter Olympian and the owner of Roar Fitness gyms in London and Dubai.
She’s trained Piers Morgan, Pixie Lott and Sheridan Smith among others over the years, having opened the first Roar Fitness in 2016.
Sarah knows a thing or two about keeping workouts effective and snappy – and has today shared an ab routine she always gives her clients using five key exercises.
And Jennifer Aniston would be a fan – this week her trainer posted a video showing Jen during an intense session that appeared to focus on core moves such as bird dog and side plank.
The workout is suitable for beginners, but equally, as a fitness professional, Sarah still uses them within her training programs herself.
It doesn’t need a gym or equipment and can be made harder or easier, depending on your level of fitness.
The workout will tone the ‘six pack’ but also strengthen core muscles, making everyday movement easier.
Sarah says: “The reps will depend on current strength and ability.
“The first time you do the workout- use it as a benchmark to see how many reps you can do with good form.
“Note them down then simply work on increasing the reps as you adapt and get stronger.”
Alternatively, you could do each exercise for 30 seconds with a 30 second rest in between.
Get into a high plank position with your wrists underneath your shoulders.
Your body should be in a straight line and be sure to keep your gaze down to the floor.
Engage your core and keep your body as still as possible as you take your left hand and tap your right shoulder.
Slowly return the left hand to the ground, then take your right hand and tap your left shoulder. Keep alternating hands.
This move is a little more advanced but definitely worth a try.
Get into a forearm side plank. Your left elbow and forearm should be on the floor, your legs should be stacked one on top of the other and your right hand can be placed on your top hip for support.
If you prefer, you can stay in this side plank position, otherwise, bend your top knee and drive it up towards your chest.
Pause, then straighten it back out to the start position.
Struggling? Drop the knee of your bottom leg down to the floor.
Get onto all fours, with your knees directly under your hips and your wrists under your shoulders.
Slowly lengthen your left leg out behind you whilst simultaneously reaching your right arm straight in front of you.
All the while, keep your spine flat and torso as still as possible.
Make sure your gaze stays down and your spine and neck stay in alignment.
Next, return your arm and leg to the start, before repeating the same movement with your right leg and left arm.
The opposite of bird dog is dead bug, where the movement is essentially reversed as you lie on your back instead of being on all fours.
Bend your knees so they are at a right angle above the ground and lift your arms up straight above you, or straighten your arms and place your hands on your thighs.
Then, extend your left arm straight behind you so your arm hovers just above the ground, and straighten your right leg, so it also hovers the ground.
Although this move requires no actual movement, it keeps your abs muscles under tension, which in turn helps them to pop!
Lie back on the ground with arms overhead.
Then, lift your head and shoulders off the floor, keeping your arms up straight past your ears, and also lift your legs off the ground.
Stay here for as long as you can, staying as still as possible.
If you’ve been hitting the treadmill day in, day out, but you still can’t see your abs muscles popping, it’s time to look at a number of factors that contribute to your tummy and abs.
Calorie deficit
No matter how many ab workouts you do, you may not see the results if you are carrying a lot of extra weight.
While it’s still worth doing ab and core workouts, lose body fat by focusing on eating a calorie deficit, which is when you eat less calories than you are burning.
You can use a calculator such as https://tdeecalculator.net/ to figure out how many calories to eat based on your goals and how much activity you do.
Sarah says: “Everyone has abs but having visible abs purely comes down to how much body fat you have on your stomach.
“Cardio can help achieve a calorie deficit which can help you lose body fat but I don’t believe cardio alone is the best method of getting and staying leaner.”
Nutrition
Sarah says that nutrition plays a much larger role – ‘abs are made in the kitchen’, as the saying goes.
When it comes to what you should be eating, Sarah says that no foods in particular are bad for abs.
“Focus on the quality of your food to optimise health, as a healthy well functioning body will achieve goals faster,” she says.
It’s wise to eat enough so you can perform well at work and during your workouts; a balanced plate of wholesome carbs, proteins and fats is ideal.
Try Greek yoghurt with berries and oats for breakfast, a chicken salad with rice and greens for lunch, and fish, vegetables and potatoes or something similar for dinner.
Weight training
It’s also key to include weight training into your week as well as specific core training workouts, such as the one above.
Sarah says: “The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate which means you burn more calories at rest.
“This effectively means you can eat more (which means more nutrients) and not gain body fat.”
Plus, Sarah adds that the core is also hugely challenged in most weight training moves.
“For example I would argue that a back squat is as much of a core exercise for most people as it is a leg exercise,” she says.
If you’re new to weight training, start by using just your bodyweight and work up from there.
