How to Get Abs Fast (Complete How To Guide for Shredding)

Inside this guide, we’ll be diving into the age old question – how do I get abs fast?

While most will think it’s just a matter of popping a fat burner pill, the reality is it’s much more detailed in the exercise and more importantly the diet.

We’ll uncover diet and the necessary exercises to get that shredded look you’ve been wanting.

Best Exercises that help get shredded abs

There are a variety of exercises that specifically target the core muscles so you can get rid of the excess body fat.

Listed below are some abdominal exercises to specifically target that muscle group.

Squats

Squats are the king of all exercises, squats will help you shed fat and gain abs by working your lower body.

Here’s how…

• Step 1 : Start with a wide stance, wider than shoulder width apart.
  
  Shift your weight to one leg as if you were going to perform a lunge.
  
• Step 2 : While keeping this position, drop down so that both knees are bent at 90 degrees.
  
  The back knee should be roughly just above the ground. This is the starting position. (Note: It’s important that your feet stay firmly planted on the ground during this exercise, especially while coming back up from lower positions.)
  
• Step 3 : Keeping your arms straight out in front of you for balance, stand up again using anything else as support so you don’t use the muscles in your legs to help.

See the video below for the full demonstration

Weighted Squats

This exercise works almost identically to that of a normal squat, however as opposed to simply standing up, you’re going to perform an explosive motion and jump as high as possible once back upright.

This forces your leg muscles to work much harder than they do with traditional squats and allows for a clear definition of those all-important abs.

• Step 1 : Perform a squat as shown above and step back into a lunge position (step 2:)
  
• Step 2: Keeping your arms straight out in front of you for balance, stand up again using anything else as support so you don’t use the muscles in your legs to help but instead make use of the powerful explosive motion that comes from performing a squat.

See the video below:

Sit Ups

Sit-ups work out both your abs and lower back muscles at the same time while also working to build up your core strength and endurance.

• Step 1: Lie on your back and place your hands behind your head with all fingers laced together.
• Step # 2: Keep your knees bent and raise your chest up and down. It is important not to use too much force when doing this exercise so it’s best to keep them in a position where you can get a good stretch, but not one where it places too much pressure on either hand or elbow.

See the video demo below

Plank

This works all of the muscles in between your shoulder blades along with your obliques and rectus abdominis with a emphasis on the core.

• Step 1: Get into a pushup position with one arm in front of you and the other behind. Both legs should be straight. This is your starting position.
  
• Step 2: Hold this position as long as you can without losing form, then return to the starting point when it’s time.

Bicycle Crunches

Bicycle Crunches begin by lying flat on your back and place both feet together so they touch each other while extending your arms above you towards the ceiling for balance. This is your starting position.

• Step 1: While holding onto something for support, bring both knees up simultaneously towards the spot where chest meets mid abs (as shown in picture) and hold for two seconds.
  
• Step 2: Bring the left knee over to the right elbow and then repeat on the other side (right knee to left elbow). Once you’ve completed both sides in this fashion, that constitutes one repetition.

Side Crunch

Lay flat on your back with one of your arms extended over your head while holding something for support so you don’t have to use any of your muscles from the torso to do so… again keeping it more focused on the abs.

This is known as a stabilizer muscle which means whenever we perform an exercise such as a crunch, we aren’t working out just our abs but instead all of the muscles that surround them that help keep everything in place and hold us up/keep us balanced.

• Step 1: Perform a crunch while holding your opposite arm at your side. This will work the obliques along with your rectus abdominis muscles.
  
• Step 2: Repeat on the other side.

See the demo below

Toe Touch Crunch

Again lie flat on back and place feet together so they touch each other while extending arms above you towards ceiling for balance.

Your butt should also be off of the ground to make it more difficult however if this is too difficult then don’t do this part which makes it easier, just try to get as low as possible using only your abs to support you.

Reverse Crunches

Here, you’ll lie flat on your back and extend both legs out straight above you for this one.

While holding onto something, use only the muscles in your legs to lift them up off of the ground as high as possible before lowering slowly down again.

This is a great ab exercise because it makes use of the stretch reflex mechanism which works by instantly contracting certain muscle groups when stretched beyond their normal capacity… here doing so will make all of those muscles work much harder than they normally would do if not held that way until they contract naturally due to inertia.

Bicycle Kick

Here you’ll lie flat on back with arms extended over head for balance holding onto anything nearby to keep from falling over while kicking your feet at knees height for this one.

• Step 1: Lift both legs off the ground a few inches and bend them so they touch each other at your knees.
  
• Step 2: Keep them pressed together and slowly twist from side to side for this ab exercise.
  
  This is best done by keeping knees either bent or straight but avoid putting feet flat on floor because that makes it too difficult to balance yourself while crunching oblique muscles (or any of the ab muscles surrounding abs).

Russian Twist

Russian Twist is more of a twisting ab exercise rather than a crunch one.

For this you need something to hold onto such as the backs of two chairs or if lying on ground then any stable object within arm’s reach such as a table, both feet should be planted on the floor with knees bent and legs spread apart for balance.

Kneel Crunch

With the kneel crunch, you’ll lay flat on your back with hands behind your head holding onto anything nearby to keep from falling over while lifting knees towards the chest for this ab exercise.

Side Kneeling Crunch

There is no need for equipment for this one, just something to hold onto such as the backs of two chairs or if lying on the ground then any stable object within arms reach (for example table).

• Step 1: Lay sideways on the floor while balancing yourself by holding onto whatever was mentioned above. Lift your head and shoulders up off the floor while squeezing abs between your legs.
  
• Step 2: Lower back down slowly to complete an ab rep/repetition. This works the obliques along with your abdominal muscles but since you keep them squeezed together while performing this, it makes it more difficult because you’re not only working your abdominal muscles but also the intra-abdominal pressure they create when squeezed together.

Watch the video below:

In addition, HIIT or high-intensity interval training and cardio are also great additions to your workout routine for targeting the core.

Strength training and resistance training can be used as well. You can always enlist the guidance of a personal trainer or fitness instructor to keep yourself accountable and get that six pack fast.

But these ab workout exercises without diet and supplementation are only going to get you so far.

Diet options to lose the belly fat

It would be nice to just pop a fat burner and be done with it but the fact is a healthy diet is the only way to go for the long term.

A healthy diet is more important than any of the exercises you’ll do to be able to see a visible six-pack while reducing body fat.

That doesn’t mean you can eat as much food as you’d like, but rather that it’s best to eliminate most processed foods and have a balanced diet consisting of lean protein such as chicken, moderate amounts of carbs for energy like brown rice, healthy fats from sources such as avocados and nuts, low-fat dairy, and a variety of veggies.

You should also try to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water and try to eat at least 5 fruits and veggies per day. Focus on healthy snacks, healthy fats, and upping your vegetable intake.

What is the reason for this?

Well, these foods aren’t only good for you, but they will fill you up quickly so that you can avoid snacking on less healthy options such as chips or other processed junk food. Although your body still needs energy from other sources such as carbs, getting enough vegetables and fruit in your diet will prevent you from lacking any major vitamins/minerals/fiber that we all need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

In addition, drink tea which has catechins that help burn fat.

Green tea or oolong tea work best and don’t worry about drinking too much… it won’t have negative effects.

Lastly, avoid eating a lot before you go to sleep at night because your body is able to store extra calories as fat easier when it’s tired and not operating on all cylinders.

If you know that you have a big meal scheduled for the next day, then try to eat it earlier in the day rather than right before bedtime.

Counting macronutrients is also a good way to stay on track and get that lean body.

You can get an app for your phone that will tell you how many grams of protein/carbs/fat are in the food that you eat.

This way, if you’re trying to stay within a certain macronutrient range then it’ll be easier for you to know exactly how much of each one you need to consume daily in order to hit your targets.

On the days where you go over on your carbs/fats/proteins (not as many as your daily total would suggest) then make up for those excess calories by eating less of those same macronutrients throughout the rest of the week.

In addition, always have healthy snacks with you so that if you’re feeling hungry between meals, then you’ll be able to reach for a piece of fruit or a handful of almonds rather than going through a drive-thru window or making poor meal choices!

It’s also important that you get enough sleep and try not to drink alcohol.  

Yes, drinking in moderation is fine but please don’t make it a habit because your body will burn less fat when you’re drunk!

Staying hydrated and eating healthy foods such as fruits/vegetables rather than processed or fried food will make getting abs easier because you’ll be reducing the amount of bloat that you have which will make them more noticeable.

Although this may seem excessive, once you’ve been doing this for several months or years then those around you will be asking how you got those pack abs!

This is the best way to ensure that you’ll have visible abs without having excess fat covering them up.

Six Pack Abs for Women

Sadly, women can’t naturally get six pack abs without losing weight.

That doesn’t mean that you don’t need to work out!

It’s important to still exercise even if you’re trying to lose fat in the area of your abs because muscle helps burn excess fat. If you take one look at a woman or an athlete who has 6 Pack abs it is clear that they are working out regularly and eating healthy.

But how many times have you seen men with 6 Pack Abs? It’s a lot more common to see men who have visible abs than women.

Once you’ve lost all of the fat covering your muscles, the next step is to perform ab exercises 4-5 times per week so that you build up your core strength and show off those beautiful abdominal muscles.

It’s not about finding an easy way to get rid of belly fat fast but instead making a lifestyle change that will allow you to lose weight around your midsection while building muscle definition.

In addition, take supplements such as glutamine which helps reduce fatigue from working out and makes it easier to recover faster post-workout if taken before or after a workout session.

Take a look at What is PhenQ as a possible supplementation to compliment your diet and exercise.

More energy = more time in the gym means more progress towards achieving visible six pack abs.

Six Pack Abs for Men

For men, the reason that you’re able to see their abs is that they have less overall body fat than women do.

Typically, it’s only possible for a man to achieve visible abdominal definition if he has less than 10% body fat and even though this can take a while, it should still be an obtainable goal.  

It’s also important to note that men typically will lose weight faster than women so don’t get discouraged!  What may take a female three months, should only take one or two months for most guys.  This makes sense since women are programmed biologically to sustain infants which require more calories at times of gestation.

Guys should keep up with testosterone levels.

Accelerate The Weight Loss

First of all, it’s important to eat fewer calories every day than you burn so that your body requires energy from fat stores instead of food.

Again, this doesn’t mean starving yourself but instead trying to find a happy middle ground where you’re neither hungry nor stuffed. If you’re already on track with exercising regularly then just try making some small changes such as cutting down on sodium intake and avoiding carbs after dinner time since they’ll cause more water retention in your body compared to other nutrients such as protein or fiber.  

Lastly, avoid eating a lot before going to bed at night because your body will be burning calories while you sleep if the energy isn’t stored as fat.

You can avoid the dangerous fad diets by making small changes over time to your diet combined with exercising regularly, you’ll soon see visible waistline definition!  

Make sure to include weight training exercises for your abs in addition to cardio routines because more muscle will burn fat faster and make it easier for you to get ab muscles that are defined without excess fat covering them up.

Some simple ab workouts that even beginners can do include:  

• 10 Minutes of Plank-ups,
• 50 crunches 4x daily every day 
• 25 Crunches 3x per day on nonconsecutive days,
• 100 squats 2x daily every day 
• 30 – 40 Sit Up and
• Reaches throughout the course of the day,
• 10 Minutes of Reverse Plank 2x per day on nonconsecutive days.

No matter what your goal is… whether you want to lose belly fat fast or get six pack abs… it’s important to understand how they work and how you can finally achieve them.  

The best way to build muscle is by exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet that includes lots of protein and vegetables along with some carbs at the right times.  

How Long Does It Take To Get Abs?

Everybody wants to know how to get abs fast. Unfortunately, there’s no magic potion that will transform your body overnight.

Losing body fat and building lean muscle tone takes time and it depends on how often you exercise and what kind of diet you’re following. If you’re trying to get ab muscles faster than the typical 6-12 months then incorporating cardio exercises in addition to weight training should help boost the rate at which fat is burned so that you’ll see abs sooner rather than later.  

Remember to stick with the idea of a healthy lifestyle change along with a regular exercise routine in order to achieve visible results in both appearance and health benefits.

If guys are supplementing with one of these testosterone booster supplements then the weight will come off a little quicker. Likewise, for women, products like these HCG drops for weight loss have definitely accelerated the speed at which someone can sculpt their abs.

Sticking with the weight loss plan

It seems like there are hundreds of factors that go into losing weight and getting six pack abs such as how much your body weight, age, current fitness level, actual muscle mass, what kind of exercise routine you follow, etc., etc..  

Overall though, if men and women stick with healthy diets together with regular ab workouts on top of some cardio routines then they should be able to see results within 3-12 months depending on how fast their metabolisms burn calories.

How to figure body fat percentage

There are a number of ways to figure out your body fat percentage. The easiest is by using a scale that calculates it for you but if you have access to calipers then they’re the best option since scales aren’t always accurate. You can also measure your waist circumference and get an estimate from a medical professional too.

It’s best to measure the body fat percentage from different places on your body such as chest, abdomen and thighs. If you don’t have a scale or calipers then compare the measurements from these three areas with those of a friend who has visible abs or wants to lose weight.

Supplements That Help To Get Abs

By now, you’ve got the plan of attack to build a solid core and get shredded abs in the fastest time frame possible through diet, rest, and regular exercise.

Now, it’s time to up the game with supplementation.

Don’t think of supplements as a magic bullet, instead think of them to help aid you in getting to your desired goals.