How to Get Flat Abs for a Wedding

Follow a strict workout routine to get a flat stomach for your wedding day

By MiShaun Taylor

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Even though you won't be flaunting your midriff in your wedding gown, you still want a flat tummy for the honeymoon, especially if you are traveling to a beach. Going from fat to flat isn't an easy process, and it requires determination and perseverance. However, it's not an unreachable goal as long as eat healthy, get plenty of cardio exercise and strengthen those abdominals.

• What You Need to Know
• Setting a workout schedule that you can maintain is especially important. If you need help committing to a workout schedule, you may find a personal trainer to be just the inspiration you need to stick with it.
• A disciplined approach to diet and fitness is critical to seeing significant physical results before your wedding.

Step 1:

Eat a balanced diet. Even if you do sit-ups until you're blue in the face, you aren't going to see a difference if you aren't eating healthy. You have to cut calories to burn the layer of fat off that's on top of your abdominal muscles. Try to reduce your calories to no more than 1,500 a day. It's best to eat several small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism pumping. Be sure to drink plenty of water.

Step 2:

Boost cardio exercise. Interval training is one of the best ways to beat belly fat. Interval training boosts the levels of catecholamines, a fat-burning hormone, in your body. Stationary cycling and resistance training are better for targeting fat on your tummy versus slow cardio. To do interval training on a stationary bike, start off by warming up for five minutes. Then, go at top speed for 15 seconds. Follow that with two minutes of active rest cycling, a pace that is faster than warm-up but slower than your intense cycling. Continue switching between intense and active rest and end with a five-minute cool-down session.

Step 3:

Exercise your abs. To target every abdominal muscle, you will need to do a variety of different sit-ups. The bicycle crunch is one of the most effective abdominal exercises. The oblique crunches target the sides of your tummy. A reverse crunch will target your lower abs, and a normal sit-up is best for working your upper abs.

Step 4:

Engage in strength training. Strength training will tone your abdominal muscles and add more lean muscle over your entire body, which will allow your body to burn more calories on a daily basis. Training your core muscles should only be done once or twice a week because your muscles are already being worked on a daily basis from cardio exercise.

Step 5:

Avoid alcohol until your wedding day or don't binge drink. Studies have shown that individuals who drink at least 80 grams of alcohol (about one bottle of wine) over a period of a few hours in one setting, at least one time a month, have waists that average a half-inch larger than those of individuals who drink the same amount but spread it out over a week's time. If you are going to drink, choose light beer or red or white wine. The calorie ranges for these are 65-95 calories, compared to about 160 calories for port wines and regular beers. Alcohol is filled with empty calories, and once you get a bit tipsy, your ability to make healthy food choices can fly right out the window. One night of fun that includes several shots of vodka and a triple cheeseburger with fries can be a major setback on your journey to flat abs.

• Tips & Warnings
• Often, when you feel hungry, it's actually your body signaling that it's thirsty. So if you start to feel some hunger pangs, drink a glass of water first. If you're still hungry, have a light snack.
• Did you know that sucking in your stomach is actually beneficial? And all these years you thought it served no other purpose besides making you look better in your bikini! Holding in your belly works one of the abdominal muscles deep inside your core.