Top 7 Ab Exercises To Tone Your Tummy

Choosing the right exercises is essential if you want to tone your tummy. Remember that getting a trimmer tummy takes time and you have to implement an effective exercise regime and eat a healthy diet.

You’ll need a combination of cardio and toning exercises to develop the six pack abs you desire. Fortunately, there are many ways to tone your stomach and the following are 7 of the best exercises to tone your tummy whether you are new to exercise or you’ve been exercising for some time, but you’re not getting the results you want.

Top 7 Exercises To Tone Your Tummy For Summer

1. Crunch

Crunches are great exercises if you want to isolate and tone your tummy muscles. But remember that this an exercise to tone up tummy muscles and will not help to burn the excess fat that sits on top of your those muscles. To burn excess fat, you’ll need to do some cardiovascular exercises and resistance training where you are lifting, pushing and pulling moderate weights as shown below. The crunch exercise is floor based and uses just your own body weight to tone your tummy.  Here is how to perform crunches:

1. Lie flat on your back with your feet resting on the floor and your knees bent at a 45 degree angle. Then place your hands around the back of your head or neck and arch your back to extend the abdominals.
2. Roll your shoulders slowly off the floor to about four inches while keeping your lower back straight, then flex your abs at the top contracted position and hold this position for one second.
3. Lower your shoulders back down to the floor.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many reps as you can manage.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Crunch

2. Dumbbell Renegade Row

The dumbbell renegade rows builds strength in your back muscles, biceps, and triceps. You’ll also need to keep the core tight during this routine to maintain balance which makes it a good exercise to also tone your tummy. Here is how to perform the dumbbell renegade row:

1. Place a couple of dumbbells on the floor at about shoulder-width apart. Get down into a push up stance with your feet positioned wide on the floor for support and both arms under your shoulders holding onto the dumbbell bars.
2. Press the left dumbbell into the floor and lift the right dumbbell up to chest height by flexing your right elbow and pulling with your back muscles.
3. Return the right dumbbell to the floor and press it down, then lift the left dumbbell by flexing your left elbow up to chest height by flexing your left elbow and puling with your back muscles.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many reps as you can manage.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Dumbbell Renegade Row

Exercise 3 – Dumbbell Russian Twist

The dumbbell Russian twist is a fantastic exercise for tone your tummy muscles at the side of your midsection. Here is how to perform the dumbbell Russian twist:

1. Grab a single dumbbell by the plates and then get into a seated position and lift your feet off the ground. Both legs should be extended with a slight bend in the knees. You can also cross your ankles in order to minimize side-to-side feet movement. Then bend your arms so that your forearms and upper arms make a right angle, lean back and brace your abs.
2. Twist your torso to the right and move your arms in that direction as though you were about to place the dumbbell down beside your right hip, stopping just before the dumbbell touches the ground.
3. Twist your torso and your arms back to the starting position.
4. Twist your torso to the left and move your arms in that direction as though you were about to place the dumbbell down beside your left hip, stopping just before the dumbbell touches the ground.
5. Twist your torso and your arms back to the starting position.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 for as many reps as you can manage.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Dumbbell Russian Twist

Exercise 4 – Dumbbell Wood Chop

The dumbbell wood chop mimics chopping wood with an axe. The movement involves swinging a dumbbell with both hands in a diagonal line from the side of your hip to above shoulder level. This will help tone your tummy because your abdominal muscles are engaged during this exercise to provide support to the core area while your hips, shoulders, and oblique muscles act as stabilizers. Below are steps for performing the dumbbell wood chop:

1. Stand up straight with your feet a shoulder width apart and hold a dumbbell to your left side with both hands.
2. Swing the dumbbell diagonally across your body in an upwards motion until both arms are stretched just above your right shoulder.
3. Swing the dumbbell back down to your left side.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for 8 to 10 reps.
5. Rest for between 30 seconds and one minute.
6. Repeat on the other side.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Dumbbell Wood Chop

5. Lying Leg Raise

The lying leg raise is an excellent exercise to tone your tummy, It works your abs by requiring you to support the weight of your legs while they are suspended in the air. This exercise also engages your hip flexor muscles and thighs when you raise your legs up and down. This exercise is one of the great ways  to tone your stomach because no equipment is required. You can do lying leg raises by following these steps:

1. Lie down on your back with hands stretched out by your sides and lift your legs all the way up so your thighs and torso make a right angle and your feet are facing the ceiling. Make sure to press your lower back firmly on the ground and keep your legs straight at all times.
2. Slowly lower your legs down while keeping them straight, stopping just before your heels touch the ground.
3. Slowly lift your legs back up so that your thighs and torso make a right angle and your feet are facing the ceiling.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for as many reps as you can manage.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Lying Leg Raise

6. Plank

The plank is a stationary exercise that tests your endurance while building strength in your shoulders, back, glutes, and abdominals. This exercise will help you to tone your tummy since it primarily works the rectus and transverse abdominis muscles. Here are the steps for doing the plank:

1. Get into a push up position on the floor. Bend your elbows to a 90 degree angle to support your upper body with your forearms while keeping your feet together and balancing on your toes to support the weight in your lower body.
2. Hold this plank position for as long as you can while keeping your abs tight the whole time. Avoid raising your hips as this will engage the wrong muscles and make sure you keep your back flat like a plank.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Plank

7. Side Plank

The side plank is a total body move that isolates and works the transverse abdominis muscles and obliques in your abdomen area. Other primary muscles involved in this stationary exercise include the glutes and adductor muscles in your hips. To perform the side plank to help tone your tummy, proceed as follows:

1. Get down on your right side while maintaining a straight line from head to toe. Place your right forearm on the ground, bring your feet together on top of each other, then raise your torso off the ground, push your hips up and balance on the outer side of your right foot and your right forearm.
2. When you are properly balanced, raise your left arm up so that it is perpendicular to the floor, tighten your core muscles and hold this side plank position for as long as you can manage.
3. Repeat on the other side.

Click Here For A Video Demonstration Of The Side Plank

Tone Your Tummy For Good!

Once you have the right mindset and a simple plan that addresses the right things to eat and the right ways to tone your stomach with effective exercises, you’ll burn body fat and keep your tummy looking trim. Check out the 4 shocking facts on this page that reveal the reasons why you’re having difficulty trying to tone your tummy and how you can fix your broken metabolism to burn body fat 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.