12 Expert Tips for Cut Summer Abs

Do Steady-State Cardio

HIIT cardio gets a lot of attention but old-school, steady-state cardio with a twist burns tons of calories and torches fat, suggests Sotak. “I recommend clients do a fast-paced walk on a treadmill with an aggressive incline and keep hands off the handles,” she says. This will challenge your core and get your heart rate up. Aim for a minimum speed of 3.5 and incline of 10.

If you’re sick of the treadmill, do 30 minutes of cardio on the power mill, Sotak suggests. The break down is two minutes at an aggressive step per minute of around level 11, with one minute of moderate speed around level 7, keeping hands off the handles during this one-minute moderate stage. Repeat cycle and step for a total of 30 minutes. This routine will make you sweat and drop water weight, especially while keeping hands off the handles for additional core work. Aim for four steady-state cardio workouts at 30 minutes a pop each week, in addition to your strength training and abs workouts.

Be a Master Planner

Fail to plan, plan to fail, says Sotak, who credits planning her meals and workouts with helping her stay lean.

Put your workouts in your calendar. “Being disciplined is like building a muscle—the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets,” says Sotak. “So when you don’t feel like working out or want to stray from your daily regimen, you’ll have a plan in place instead of getting off track.”

Set Goals You Can Achieve

“I set long- and short-term goals, write them down, and give myself a realistic time frame to accomplish them,” says Los Angeles-based celebrity trainer Malachi Davis, a track and field Olympian who participated in the 2004 Summer Games representing Great Britain. “I always adjust as I go and remember to focus my intention on being the best person I can be in the present moment.”

Do Cable Rotations

“My hands-down favorite exercises for carving abs are wood chops and trunk rotations on the cable machine,” says Sotak. “I’ll incorporate a cable rotation exercise in almost every single training session. Try different cable machine variations and use different planes of motion to cut up the obliques, suggests Sotak.

Focus On After Burn

“HIIT training will burn fat and reveal abs,” says Drew Shipp, C.P.T., owner of HiFi Personal Fitness Studio in Chicago, IL. “Personally, I think the most effective cardio to help shrink the midsection are high-intensity intervals such as battling ropes and burpees,” says Shipp. HIIT burns 18% more calories 24 hours post-workout than strength training.

Doing cardio between strength sets also helps boost calorie burn during and after your workouts, he says.  

Prioritize Rest Days

Keep cortisol levels down by trying to reduce overall stress in your life and make time for rest, suggests Shipp. Consider taking a mid-day nap if your body is beat. Your body needs rest in order to recover and grow muscle. Learn all the ways sleep can help you get stronger and leaner.

Drink Coffee to Burn Belly Fat

Coffee contains anti-oxidants, increases dopamine levels, and gives you mental focus and energy to power through your workout longer, says Shipp. “Drink a cup before your workout for a java jolt of energy,” he suggests. Learn more about how drinking coffee can help you lose weight.

Avoid Nighttime Snacking

When Shipp and his clients want to achieve six-pack abs, he recommends they stop eating after 7 p.m. and practice portion control during the daytime. “Brush teeth after dinner to let your mind signal your body that eating is over,” he says. “Nighttime snacks are stored as fat.”

Stay Hydrated

You’ve heard it before but it’s worth repeating: Water is the best beverage for flat abs. Increase both your water and potassium intake. Great sources of potassium are bananas, sweet potatoes, and coconut water.

“I basically stick to water, sparkling water, and coconut water outside of coffee and green tea,” says Sotak. Sip water before you eat to help feel full. “I suggest clients divide their bodyweight in half and aim to drink at least that amount in water ounces daily,” says Sotak. It also goes without saying that you should eliminate sugary and alcoholic drinks if you’re on your way to carving flat abs.

Unplug to Reset

“When the central nervous system is [being taxed] all the time [with stress] it makes it difficult to lose fat in those troubled areas, so I unplug from technology as much as possible through meditation, yoga, and stretch frequently throughout the day,” says Davis.

Get Your Friends Involved

“The power of partner workouts always helps me stay on track, especially when I have those days where I need a little motivation,” says Davis. At the same time, collaborating with other fitness-focused friends on new routines keeps my program exciting, and always changing, which allows my body to constantly reach new plateaus, he says.

Train On Unstable Surfaces

Doing planks and pushups on an unstable surface will really target your abs, says Sotak. “You’re already working a bunch of muscle groups when performing a standard plank or pushup, doing these progressions will work your transverse abdominals like no other,” she says.

Whether you’re doing a plank on a Bosu ball or a medicine ball pushup, it’s important to keep your muscles engaged, hold your body in a straight line without dipping the hips, and breathe during exercises. “Destabilizing is a surefire way to reveal your abs,” says Sotak.