How To Get Abs For Women – 6 Trainer Tips To Tone Your Core

Staff
By Staff
13 Min Read

Ah, the elusive six-pack abs. You see them on strong women like Sydney Sweeney, Jennifer Lopez, and Lindsey Vonn, and might wonder: is it genetics, a celeb trainer, or endless hours of core workouts to thank? While every path to visible abs is unique, fitness experts agree on a few key principles to help you strengthen your core and enjoy benefits that go far beyond aesthetics.

The first thing to understand? Not all factors that determine whether you can see your abs are within your control. “If you’re wanting to see more muscle definition in your abs in general, you definitely have to pair how you’re eating and drinking with exercise,” says Kara Liotta, CPT, and co-founder of KKSWEAT. “Unfortunately, just the core exercises alone likely will not do it.”

Meet the experts: Kara Liotta, CPT, is a Brooklyn-based fitness trainer and co-founder of KKSWEAT, a training studio with digital and in-person classes. Jamie Costello, CPT, is a personal trainer with the Pritikin Longevity Center with multiple specialties. Rachel Nicks, CPT, is a Lululemon studio trainer and founder and CEO of Birth Queen. Steve Uria, CPT, personal trainer and creator of Switch Playground NYC. Tina Tang, CPT, is a personal trainer, strength coach, and founder of Iron Strong Fitness.

For example, body composition (or the ratio of body fat to lean muscle mass you have) is impacted by diet and exercise, sure, but also genetics. “Most women would need to achieve a range of 15 to 19 percent body fat,” says Jamie Costello, CPT, a trainer at Pritikin Longevity Center.

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“The best way to approach abs workouts is to think holistically about your core and train 360-degrees around the core of your body, as opposed to thinking just about a six pack, which is super unattainable for most people,” says Liotta. (Read: It’s not easy or even realistic for a lot of women.)

Curious to see what it really takes and if it’s attainable for you? Here’s what fitness trainers recommend to chisel your core and enjoy the benefits that go beyond aesthetics.

1. Exercise your abs muscles consistently.

“Every workout should involve core training,” says personal trainer Anna Kaiser, founder of AKT Fitness and the woman behind the abs of stars including Kelly Ripa. Just know that exercise alone isn’t enough to give your muscle definition because core workouts won’t necessarily decrease belly fat; you also need to follow a healthy diet, says Liotta.

Strengthening the core area will increase your muscular endurance, yes, but targeted abs exercises alone won’t unearth washboard abs. In fact, just focusing on core exercises will have little to no effect on reducing abdominal fat, but it will increase your core strength. (You’ve probably heard it before, but a six pack is really built in the kitchen—and we’ll get to that.)

Still, to build new muscle, you need exercise. When working out your abs muscles, it’s important to not just focus on your rectus abdominis (a.k.a. the six pack). You want to strength train your entire core, which includes your internal and external obliques, transverse abdominals, and internal stabilizers, by doing moves that sculpt from every angle (like in this abs workout from Kaiser).

2. Eat more protein.

If you’re already active, chances are you’ve likely heard that eating enough protein is an important part of the recovery process between workouts, as it helps your muscles rebuild and get stronger. But did you know that increasing your protein intake could also help you change your body composition by decreasing body fat?

It doesn’t even take a whole lot of extra protein to make a big difference—experts recommend aiming for 25 to 30 grams of total protein per meal. Here are the best high-protein foods to start eating now if you’re not already.

3. Work cardio and HIIT into your routine.

If you’re looking to burn belly fat and reveal your abs, balancing aerobic exercise and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with a strength training routine is your best bet.

Cardio helps you burn overall body fat, as supported by a review of 16 clinical trials showing its effectiveness in reducing belly fat. “Cardio is a great tool to shed stress and pounds. Both help build and define strength,” says Rachel Nicks, CPT, who says that incorporating it into your routine consistently has the power to shift your body composition and boost muscle tone and definition, including in your core.

Adding HIIT takes it a step further by combining cardio and strength into quick, effective workouts that rev up your heart rate and maximize fat loss. “The beauty of a HIIT class is that it gives you the benefit of body fat loss, as well as putting on lean mass,” says Steve Uria, CPT, who suggests aiming for three to four HIIT sessions a week to see noticeable changes in your body while saving time and boosting your fitness.


Women’s Health The Women’s Health Guide to Strength Training: Dumbbells

The Women's Health Guide to Strength Training: Dumbbells

4. Hit your daily H2O goals.

Staying well-hydrated isn’t just good for your skin and system overall, some research suggests that it can actually help you burn more calories and lose more body fat too.

Drinking approximately 17 ounces of water can boost your metabolic rate by up to 30 percent for anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes as it boosts your energy expenditure, according to research. The same study found that you burn 23 calories for ever 17 ounces of water you drink.

5. Limit sugar, simple carbohydrates, and processed foods.

Your body stores any excess fuel from food that it’s not burning right away as fat for future energy use. This process happens particularly quickly with foods high in sugar and simple carbs, like sweets, packaged goods, soda, and even wine. Consuming these in moderation can help prevent fat accumulation—especially in your six-pack region.

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6. Prioritize eating a ton of fiber and complex carbohydrates.

Instead of refined grains, reach for complex carbohydrates like whole grains, sweet potatoes, legumes, leafy greens and vegetables. These low-glycemic foods (meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar) are rich in fiber and will help you feel fuller for longer. Plus, they’re a great energy source that your body can break down efficiently.

Fiber, in particular, plays a key role in reducing belly fat and supporting overall health. And boosting your fiber intake is an easy way to support both healthy digestion and your goals for a more defined core. Research shows that adding just 10 extra grams of soluble fiber daily can lead to a 3.7 percent reduction in abdominal fat over five years—even without making other lifestyle changes.

How long does it take to get abs?

“The timeframe will be dependent on your body’s genetics and hormones,” Liotta says. “You can certainly reduce your refined sugar intake to speed up the process so that you’re pairing diet and exercises instead of just relying on crunches.”

While there’s no way to predict how long it’ll take you to see results, if you’re consistent with your pelvic floor exercises, which is a personal fave of Nicks’, trying adding another 5-10 min of core work daily, “and truly in a week you will certainly feel a major difference.” “If you have a magical week of rest, hydration, balanced diet, no stress, cardio, and strength training it could be a week. AND everyone is different,” Nicks says. You’ll be thanking her by the end of the month!

The Best Abs Workouts For Women

If you don’t already have a go-to core routine, here are a few killer WH workouts for sculpting strong abs, from trainers.

  • 3 Quick Abs Workouts: “Quick [abs] workouts are effective in the same way “exercise snacks” (or short workouts between 10 to 15 minutes) are effective for people,” says Tina Tang, CPT, a personal trainer, strength coach, and founder of Iron Strong Fitness. Here she shares three quick abs workouts, ranging between four and 10 minutes, to strengthen your core in no time.
  • No-Equipment At-Home Abs Workout: An effective abs workout targets all four of the major core muscle groups: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, internal obliques, and external obliques. And you don’t need much to do it—just some floor space and this 10-move abs circuit workout created by celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson, CSCS, CPT.
  • 20-Minute Functional Core Workout: Even if you’re a fan of classic crunches, there comes a point where you’ll need to add more complexity and variety to push through plateaus. This standalone abs routine targets functional strength to help build stability for daily tasks and beyond.
  • Best Lower Abs Workout: Ah, the coveted and elusive lower abs. They’re tough to target, but oh-so gratifying to train. Feel the belly burn with this workout that hits *all* the core muscles, lower abs included.
  • 20 Best Abs Exercises: If looking for core move inspo to spice up your current abs circuit, you came to the right place. Here, you’ll find 20 trainer-recommended exercises that will challenge your abs in new ways.
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Samantha Lefave is an experienced writer and editor covering fitness, health, and travel. She regularly interviews pro athletes, elite trainers, and nutrition experts at the top of their field; her work has appeared in Runner’s World, Bicycling, Outside, Men’s Health and Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and more. 

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Caroline Shannon-Karasik is a writer and mental health advocate based in Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to Women’s Health, her work has appeared in several print and online publications, including The Cut, Tonic, Narratively, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and DAME. She is currently writing a collection of essays. 



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